Howard Speaks: Maybe Don’t Pick Up the Pace by Dr. Howard Farran

Howard Speaks: Maybe Don’t Pick Up the Pace 

by Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, publisher, Dentaltown magazine


Sometimes it’s not about the pace but the production. I’ll share a couple of examples that illustrate this idea, one from personal experience and one I found while reading through posts on Dentaltown’s online message boards.

A more thoughtful podcast
Can you believe I started podcasting more than nine years ago? The first installment, which went live Sept. 8, 2014, was a Q&A with Dr. Mike DiTolla, director of clinical education at Glidewell Labs, and back then the podcast was called Howard Speaks, not Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran.

By the end of that decade, I was scheduling multiple back-to-back podcast sessions, several times a week, because I thought as long as my producer and I were coming into the studio, we might as well maximize our time there. Plus, you may have noticed, I like talking to people! (And just talking, in general.) Over time, though, this breakneck pace wasn’t sustainable. So for about a year, I pulled back from podcasting, posting new episodes only sporadically.

I greatly enjoyed my time away from the studio chair but didn’t want to give up on podcasting entirely, so we recently went back to the drawing board to determine a focus that would help solidify a plan for who makes a great Dentistry Uncensored guest. My goal with Dentaltown has always been to ensure that no dentist practices alone, and the dentists who tend to need the most help and guidance are new ones, so I think it makes sense to dedicate Dentistry Uncensored to helping those new dentists find their footing both clinically and as practice owners.

If you haven’t noticed that I’ve recently started posting new episodes, shame on you! Subscribe and turn on your notifications! And be sure to tell the younger dentists you know to tune in for lots of advice from dentists who’ve been in their shoes—often very recently—and have lessons to share. There may be fewer episodes to binge on each week, but the guests and topics will be more focused on helping dentists (young and old) improve their practice. (Click here to head to to the Dentistry Uncensored opening page to discover more.)

A savvier production schedule
This issue of Dentaltown includes an excerpt from one of the buzziest message boards on Dentaltown.com, in which one Townie asked his fellow dentists if they share practice numbers with their team members. (Check it out here.)

One thoughtful response came courtesy of Townie “marmaduke,” who explained that because his scheduling team knew the daily production goal, they also knew the importance of getting patients with higher-margin procedures on the books.

“They understood the value of getting implants and ortho case acceptance up because it was less work on the office as a whole for the same amount of production or more as a day of fillings,” he says. They’re not working harder to earn more; they’re working smarter—all pointed together toward the same goal.

Being thoughtful about what you spend your time on both inside and outside the operatory can improve how you see life and practice. Be sure you’re living purposefully!

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Sally Gross, Member Services Specialist
Phone: +1-480-445-9710
Email: sally@farranmedia.com
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