Howard Speaks By: Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, MAGD, Publisher, DentalTown Magazine

Business advice is very different during a massive economic upswing, as from 1992 - March 2002, than it is while in a huge downturn. Our most recent downturn began March 2000 and still continues today. Where there was boom now there is bust. Where there was no boom there is no bust. Some areas of the USA had huge booms and are now big busts.

The last three years have been a little rough and tough. The United States has lost 3.1 million jobs since “The Great Bubble” popped in March of 2000. The US government has gone from a $232.2 billion surplus to over a half trillion-dollar deficit. The grand ole USA is now over $7 trillion in debt, or about 70% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). US private-sector debt is another 165% of GDP. Hopefully this downturn is over, or nearly over, but no one knows for sure. But what I do know and what all winners know, is when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Be sure to send out your yearly unused benefits letter. Don’t let something this easy and this beneficial slip through your fingers.

Every year our Today’s Dental family practice in Phoenix, Arizona, sends a letter out called “Today’s Dental Unused Benefits Letter.” In late October or early November, we start running reports from our dental software, SoftDent (which is now owned by Kodak) to get a list of patients with treatment plans in the current year that never scheduled an opportunity to have the work done.

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November, 2003 Dear Mr. Procrastinator, Today’s Dental provides our patients with the best care possible, and an important part of this process is informing patients of their dental needs. Many individuals who are paying for dental insurance do not realize that their plans provide coverage up to a certain dollar amount annually. Consequently, some patients are not scheduling for dental treatment they need, deserve, and have insurance to cover. Unfortunately, numerous patients do not realize insurance benefits for each year cannot be carried over to the next year. The bottom line, what the patient does not use they lose. Please contact our office to discuss your current pending treatment plan and our staff will be happy to discuss your dental benefits at that time. For further information on our services and location please visit our website at www.todaysdental.com. If you choose to have these services performed before the end of this year, please mention that you received this letter and we will give you an additional 10% off your estimated patient portion. Yours truly, Howard Farran DDS

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My front office staff cross references the names on this report with the patient’s chart to verify what insurance benefits they have used so far. We only send this letter to patients who have unused benefits left to cover the work, or a portion of the work, that has been treatment planned for them. By sending this letter, we are informing our patients of their remaining dental benefits, as well as giving them a reminder about the treatment they should complete before their dental concern gets worse.

In an upturn you keep raising fees to reduce your line waiting to get in for an appointment. In a downturn you now have excess capacity, empty and excess chair time, and have to do a 180 to reverse course.

In a downturn you:
1) Reduce labor cost – No new hires and do not replace any natural employee attrition.
2) Lower fees since you have an increase in excess capacity.
3) Increase marketing.

To increase marketing you have several choices. On page 72, I have listed some for a quick reference.

1-800-DENTIST I have been a member since 1987. They are good for an easy 10 to 15 new patients per month. They can be contacted at: 6060 Center Dr., 7th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90045 Phone: (800) 222-9633 Website: www.1800dentist.com Classic Practice Resources, Inc. Sandy Pardue, Consultant E-mail: SandySPardue@aol.com Phone: (800) 928-9289, ext. 10 Directory Rx The #1 phone book consultant in dentistry is Bob Beckmann. He can be contacted at: 4727 E. Bell Rd., Ste. 45-PMB356 Phoenix, AZ 85032 Phone: (480) 922-1770 E-mail: directoryrx@hotmail.com DC Marketing Specialists A direct mail guru in dentistry is: David L. Stone. He can be contacted at: 11939 Rancho Bernardo Rd., Ste. 110 San Diego, CA 92128 Phone: (800) 736-3632 E-mail: dcmspec@dcmspec.com Website: www.dcmspec.com DentalPostcards.com The #1 postcard guru in dentistry is: Jerry Jones. You can contact him at: 2713 22nd St. SE Salem, OR 97302 Phone: (800) 311-1390 E-mail: info@dentalpostcards.com Website: www.dentalpostcards.com Drake Products Makes a great cosmetic photo album with 44 before and after pictures. Their contact information is: 12110 Murphy Rd. Stafford, TX 77477 Phone: (281) 498-8700

New Patients, Inc. The best marketing books in dentistry are The ‘No-Coupon’ Marketable Dentist by Rodger “Rod” Kurthy, DDS as well as Unlimited New Patients and More Unlimited New Patients by William “Howie” Horrocks. These books can be ordered by calling (702) 263-7087 or online at www.newpatientsinc.com. Practice Café Rebecca Palmer and Jodi Moore have a ton of great marketing ideas. They can be contacted at: 1906 South Flores San Antonio, TX 78204 Phone: (210) 271-0362 E-mail: rebecca@practicecafe.com E-mail: jodi@practicecafe.com Website: www.practicecafe.com McKenzie Management Can take any office to the next level. You can contact them at: 7660 Fay Ave., Ste. H #132 La Jolla, CA 92037 Phone: (877) 777-6151 E-mail: info@mckenziemgmt.com Website: www.mckenziemgmt.com Dental Marketing Inc. Has a zillion marketing products & services. They can be reached at: 8400 B Jane St., Ste.6 Vaughan, Ontario L4K 4L8 CANADA Phone: (800) 499-8299 E-mail: sales@dentalmarketinginc.com Website: www.dentalmarketinginc.com The Practice Marketers Also offers marketing products and services. They can be contacted at: 304-3909 Witmer Rd. Niagara Falls, NY 14305 Phone: (800) 291-2291 E-mail: info@thepracticemarketers.com Website: ,a href=http://www.thepracticemarketers.com target=_new>www.thepracticemarketers.com

In conclusion, if you think it has been a little tough on you lately, consider the average Americans, who are your patients. According to the IRS the median household income is $42,400. The average per capita income is $22,794. Try to remember this the next time you wonder why all your patients don’t accept complete full mouth reconstructions.