Office Visit Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director Dentaltown Magazine



Dr. Brian Harris practices dentistry with his dad and brothers, attends countless hours of continuing education, stays on top of cutting-edge dental technology and operates DCEdental.com – how does this guy keep it together?!

by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine


Welcome to the newest installment of Office Visit, where we visit a Townie's office and profile his or her equipment, design or unique practice philosophy. If you would like to participate or nominate a colleague, please send me an e-mail at tom@dentaltown.com.

This month we visited Dr. Brian Harris' practice, Harris Dental, in Phoenix, Arizona. In this interview, he discusses dental consultants, mentors who have greatly impacted him, the origin of DCE Dental and even conversation etiquette at the Harris dinner table (at least while the wives are within earshot).
Name: Brian Harris, DDS

Graduate from: University of Pacific School of Dentistry

Year graduated from dental school: 2005

Practice Name: Harris Dental

Practice Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Web site: www.harrisdental.net
Office Highlights

Five Star Service

· Blankets
· Flat screen TV's with headphones
· Harris Dental Water Bottles
· Pillows
· Warm lemon-scented towels
· XM Satellite Radio

Technology
Click Here To View Brian's Top 5
· Biolase Diode Laser
· Cadent iTero
· Cannon 10D & 30D digital cameras
· Casey patient education
· Cavitrons
· CEREC 3D
· Dentrix
· Dexis Digital X-rays

· Diagnodent (KaVo)
· Sirona Digital Pano
· Smile Gallery Pro
· Smilereminder
· Tek Scan
· Telapatient on hold system
· ZAP Diode Lasers (x2)
· Zoom Advanced Power lamps (x3)

What is your practice philosophy? How do you cultivate this philosophy in your practice?
I try to produce a high-quality product for my patients while making their experience unforgettable. We cultivate this philosophy through many hours of staff training and setting up systems to help me measure our progress.

Describe your experiences with dental consultants?
We have been lucky over the years to work with some amazing dental consultants from Blatchford and The Hornbrook Group to ToPS Institute and Gary Takacs. We are currently working with Mercer Advisors and are extremely pleased with what they have done.

When did you engage the help of a consultant and what specific areas of your practice did they improve?
In February 2007 we started working exclusively with Mercer Advisors and have seen tremendous growth in an already successful practice. Most of us know what we want our practice to be like but sometimes it is difficult for the team to see our vision. Mercer does an amazing job of putting systems in place and holding both the team and doctors accountable for their responsibilities. We have monthly conference calls to review numbers and get help with our weaknesses. By far one of the best things we have done for the practice was to adopt the Mercer philosophy.

What piece of technology has the biggest “wow” factor for your patients?
Hands down, CEREC technology is the biggest “wow” for the general public. People cannot believe it when we tell them that their procedure will be completed in one visit. The iTero digital scanner also creates a buzz whenever it is used. Patients can see dentistry changing right before their eyes.

Which procedures are performed with your Zeiss Microscope?
The microscope is great for endodontic procedures but is also used to refine margins during cosmetic cases and for decay removal in operative. The microscope plugs directly into the overhead TV and the patient and assistant can observe the procedure as the doctor sees it.

What is your top practice management challenge and your strategy to deal with it?
I feel my biggest challenge will always be consistency in doing the little things. Whether it is asking for referrals or building value for our dentistry, being consistent with the little things is the key to taking our practice from good to great.

You have mentioned that you practice with your father and brothers. What advice do you have for other dentists that want to mix business with family?
I am lucky to have a great mentor in my life – my father. He is always willing to teach his sons everything he has learned in dentistry. My brothers are huge examples to me and we share a bond in dentistry that most families don't have. You can imagine what our family vacations and dinners are like. Let's just say the wives have established some “rules” about dental talk. We all know that working together with family takes patience and understanding. As far as fathers and sons working together, the only advice I would give would be to buy a CEREC machine. I know that might sound odd, but the best thing my father ever did was to make his sons the “technology geniuses” of the practice. It gives younger doctors instant credibility when they sit down and design a three-dimensional onlay in front of a patient.

How do you leverage marketing budgets for the two practices?
While both offices are separate businesses, we share the same name of Harris Dental. This allows us to share on all marketing costs including Web site, brochures, magazine ads, logos and branding.

The Harris Boys

(From Left) Joseph Harris, DDS, and Brian Harris, DDS, work together at the Phoenix, AZ. office. Eric Harris, DDS, and Scott Harris, DDS, work together at the Queen Creek, AZ. office.

Dr. Joseph Harris established Harris Dental in 1979, and his commitment to patient care is continued through his sons. Brian joined the practice in 2005, two years after his brother Eric signed on. Scott joined in 2007. Harris Dental upholds strong family values, dedication to providing excellent patient care, and a deep sense of community through many philanthropic efforts.

What is your largest source of new patients?
Our largest source is always referrals from other patients. Second to that has been charity whitening projects that we do every year where we whiten more than 200 patients' teeth and donate all proceeds to charity. It gets hundreds of people through our doors where we can wow them and make them want to come back.

Describe your approach to continuing education?
I love continuing education! It is so exciting for me to get out every year to more than 200 hours of CE and learn new things to help progress in dentistry.

Do you prefer individual lectures or continuums?
I think its good to have a little of everything. It is wise to stick with certain continuums to get a complete education but I also think we need to know about what other philosophies are out there. What's also exciting to me is the advancement of online CE and how easy it is becoming to get quality CE in the comfort of your own home while eating Top Ramen and sitting in your underwear.

Who are some of your dental mentors?
There are many that I have learned from clinically over the years but if I have to name a few they would be the following: My father for his love and passion for dentistry; Dean Lodding for the way he treats others; David Hornbrook for his clinical skills; and Imtiaz Manji for his work ethic.

What is your least favorite procedure/specialty to perform?
Dentures and molar endo. They're out of my comfort zone.

What is your favorite procedure/specialty to perform?
A tie between the smile design and a quadrant of CERECs.

How has Dentaltown impacted your practice?
It has opened my eyes to the many different ways to do things in dentistry. I am never afraid to try new techniques. I can always find tons of information about any subject in dentistry.


Harris Dental Front Lobby
Where did the idea for DCE Dental originate?
Sitting on the couch two months out of dental school. My brother informed me that we'd just missed a Gordon Christensen lecture here in Arizona. I couldn't believe I missed such a great opportunity and saw the need for one location to go to and find out which courses were out there and satisfy all of my CE needs. I felt like it was something that was needed in dentistry to help doctors have a clear picture of what CE is available to them today. DCEdental.com allows doctors to search for CE courses by name, date, location, cost, etc. It also has a rating system that allows doctors to leave honest feedback for courses taken. DCEdental also powers the CE calendar found on the Dentaltown homepage. It is a great way to plan your year in advance and find CE where you will be vacationing.

Are you involved in other businesses outside of your dental practice?
Along with DCEdental, I started a company called All Star Education (www.all-stareducation.com) where we specialize in high-end CE events at locations such as the Grammys, the Masters, Kentucky Derby, baseball and basketball all-star games and the Indianapolis 500. It has been a blast finding other ways to have fun while practicing dentistry.

Tell me something that nobody knows about you – something people would be surprised to know.
When I was 17, I broke both wrists at the same time snowboarding. I had to get help going to the bathroom and taking a bath for two months. My big teenage ego got smaller in a hurry as I fabricated a device to hold the toilet paper. Luckily, I can still practice dentistry today.

What is your best advice for new dentists seeking associateships?
Be patient. It takes time to find out how you want to practice dentistry. Find out where your passions are and start looking for a senior doctor that will give you the freedom to do the things that you like. It is an amazing time to be in our profession and I am so proud to be a dentist!

If you would like to participate in or nominate a colleague for the Dentaltown Office Visit, please e-mail at tom@dentaltown.com.
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