DentalTown Book Review By: Thomas Giacobbi, DDS

Ugly teeth have cursed many humans since the beginning of time, and thanks to the miracle of modern dental materials and marketing, we have Aesthetic Dentists. I just finished reading my copy of Aesthetic Dentistry: How to Create an Exceptional Aesthetic Practice, 10 Dentists Who Have Done It, by Bill Dickerson, DDS, FAACD and Nate Booth, DDS, MS. This book uses ten case studies to illustrate the transformation from General Dentist to Aesthetic Dentist. General Dentists are certainly capable of providing beautiful restorative dentistry, but this book focuses on a growing number of practitioners that are specializing in Aesthetic Dentistry.

The case studies provide glimpses into the lives of ten Las Vegas Institute (LVI) graduates as they make the changes in their personal and professional lives to realize their dream of becoming an Aesthetic Dentist. Skeptics will be critical of their choices, but I think most readers will realize that this path is not for every dentist.

Each of the ten stories is presented with the same eleven sections; Core Beliefs, Marketing, High Touch, and Advice to You, just to name a few. This format was helpful because it reinforced the key concepts and assured the reader of a consistent presentation of information. Chapter 12 pulls all the information together one more time in a brief summary of each section.

The story of Dr. Burr Bakke’s practice was interesting because he has a staff of one person--his office manager. His office is a modest 950 square feet in downtown Dallas, and he sees one patient at a time. Dr. Bakke does not rush from room to room, as many dentists do. His average case is $12,000 - $20,000.

Aesthetic Dentistry:
How to Create an Exceptional Aesthetic Practice, 10 Dentists Who Have Done It
221 pages
$129 ($99 until 11/01/01)

Many of the dentists profiled seemed to ‘weed out’ patients with high fees and lack of insurance participation. Dr. Jill Morris said, “I can’t be everybody’s dentist, and that’s OK”. Aesthetic dentistry is a unique, specialized area of dentistry, and it is not for everyone. With that in mind, if the $129 cover price is too much for you to spend, then you may want to reconsider your plan to become an aesthetic dentist.

The closing chapters of this book do an excellent job summarizing key similarities and differences among the group. Additionally, the authors provided a brief guided exercise for the reader that will serve as the first step on your journey to the promised land, or in this case, Las Vegas. As you might expect, the ten LVI graduates profiled in this book highly recommended multiple visits to their CE Alma mater for training. The course descriptions listed in the appendix were impressive.

This book is an excellent first step and required reading for dentists contemplating a focus on aesthetic dentistry. I sincerely hope Drs. Dickerson and Booth will write a sequel to this book five years from now, because this group will have many meaningful lessons to share.

The 60-Second Summary
Chapter 1: “High quality, aesthetically based dentistry is the saving grace that will defeat the curse of managed care.”

Chapters 2-11: Case studies of ten LVI graduates using the following sub-headings:

Introduction: Small towns, big cities, new and seasoned practitioners, relocations and varied staff sizes.

The Journey: See Bill Dickerson, DDS, attend LVI, throw away amalgamators, stop taking insurance, raise fees.

Core Beliefs: “Aesthetic dentistry isn’t easier than traditional dentistry, but the rewards are much higher.” “Dentists are only as good as their fees allow them to be.”

The Team: Morning huddles, fun activities, profit sharing, bonus system, key component of case acceptance.

Marketing: High profile, focus on your image as aesthetic dentist, spend plenty, unique brochures and business cards.

High Tech & Materials: Empress porcelain, Premier laser, cosmetic imaging, cameras (film or digital), digital radiography, special labs and no metal.

High Touch: Patient comfort items, gifts for referrals and completed cases, framed before & after photos and call patients at home after treatment.

Case Acceptance Process: Some will do initial visit followed by consultation 1 week later, case fees comparable to new car, staff must be involved, offer outside financing, and realize some patients will say no.

Advice to You: Don’t ignore your family, get good education in this area, assemble an excellent team and have a plan.

Primary Question: “How can I provide outstanding, comprehensive, modern dentistry that looks great to more people?” “How can I do more and more comprehensive dentistry on fewer and fewer people?”

Vision for the Future: Spend more time with family, one full mouth case per week, continue educational pursuits at LVI and bring in an associate.

Chapter 12: Summary of common themes such as new attitude, right image, effective marketing, insurance independence, communication, no amalgam, and case acceptance.

Chapter 13: Map out your own plan and prepare for the journey.

Rating:

E-mail Tom at tgiacobbi@todaysdental.com