17 Daily Habits of The Most Successful Dentists – Dental Practice Management
You can spend years and invest millions to be a successful dentist, but that cannot guarantee you a successful career as a dentist. What really matters are the habits that you have in your day to day dental practice.
We are discussing 17 daily habits of successful dentists.
Going forward to next 3 points.
13. Be adaptive to adapt to the ever-changing dentistry
As we discussed in point number 2 dentistry is a dynamic profession.
The dental science is ever changing.
- Treatment modalities keep changing.
- Dental instruments keep on evolving.
- Treatment procedures which were common a decade back are getting replaced by new procedures.
- Medicines keep on evolving.
- A decade back practice management meant manual works. But in the present day, dental practice management is synonymous to the application of software.
So, to succeed in dental practice, a dentist needs to adapt to the changing scenarios mentioned above.
Dr. Vladimir Chistoprudov, an experienced dentist, in his book “7 Habits of successful dentists” mentions this point about being proactive and adaptive.
“Proactive dentists are dentists who are open-minded to new techniques and procedures. Have you ever heard of a dentist that always says, ‘No, that can’t be done’ or ‘No, that won’t work’ when you mention a new dental procedure or talk about an oral health care product? …“If you want to be an effective dentist, be proactive! Be up for more challenges that will help you become the most competitive version of yourself.
14. Do not enter into price war with the neighboring dentist
In many parts of the world its common for the dentists to enter into a price war with the neighboring dentists. It is more common in Asian countries where there has been a sudden rise in the number of dentists. In many aspects, it is a very unhealthy aspect that if affecting dentistry.
Rather that using such negative tactics, dentists should improve their dental practice to a greater level and quote the price they feel they deserve.
Just be sure to never quote a minimum price. It is essential that you quote the correct price.
As Dr. Varun Bajaj says in his article on Practices in Dental Practice: Dentists must try to move ahead by providing a better service, interaction, and treatment. Not by trying to reduce the prices of the treatment below the market price.
15. Be Aware of the Consumer Protection Laws
All the dental practices in every country are governed by laws of that country. The laws have been placed to protect the rights of the consumer/patients against any malpractice. At the same time, there are also laws that are placed to protect the health professionals including dentists against false claims and allegations.
So, irrespective of any country you are located, always stay updated with the consumer protection laws.
Dr. Don (a practitioner with 10 years of experience) states this in his comments:
- Make a daily habit to keep all the records in your dental practice organized.
- Install a CCTV camera in your dental practice as a video proof to negate any false claims by patients or relatives.
- Always take proper medical/allergic history of the patient and note them down in the records.
- Before any procedure, explain them properly to the patient. Take their consent.
- Always be careful with the official prescription of your dental practice. It can be misused by others.
Every country has their own sets of laws. So, depending on your country of dental practice, stay aware of the consumer protection laws on daily basis.
