Practice Entrepreneur Network (PEN) wants to level the playing field for your autonomous practice.
 
By Danny Chan
 
Dentists may be adept at diagnosing and treating oral conditions but how do they analyse and improve the health of their own business? Unlike in the clinical arena, where they possess the attendent diagnostic training, skills and technology to unravel root causes behind symptoms and complaints, dentists are somewhat clueless when it comes to investigating the soundness of their own business systems. Utilising faulty methods to interpret patient trends and other data, they tend to exaggerate growth and overlook red flags, leading to bad marketing and management decisions that undermine the practice’s viability and stamina.
 
That is what Emanuel Recupero, Founder and CEO of Dental ED, surmised as the independent dental practice’s archilles heel, particularly when they are pitted against the well-oiled machinery of big corporates.
 
Dental ED, a leader in advanced dental clinical training and practice development, is an internationally recognised brand that pioneered web-conferencing for dental study clubs and online courses. With 17 years of experience providing industry-leading training solutions, Emanuel certainly knows a thing or two about helping dentists stay ahead of the learning curve. He recently embarked on a new venture to help optimise their competitiveness in a tech-driven business environment increasingly dominated by dental corporations. 
 
“Most dentists are not trained to run, manage and market a business. During the so-called golden years of dentistry, when competition wasn’t as intense, dentists were able to run lucrative practices simply by focusing on their clinical expertise.”
 
“The dynamics have changed. Today, dentists are on a different playing field. You need to be not only business savvy but also technologically just to survive in the current boom-bust climate where digitally enhanced practice building and management tools are the norm rather than exception.”
 
To level the playing field, Dental ED has joined forces with Momentum Management Programs (MM) to form Practice Entrepreneur Network (PEN). Dr Toni Surace, Director of MM, brings a wealth of coaching and mentoring experience towards crafting relationship-focused management practices that run more efficiently and effectively.
 
The new partnership fuses talents in software development, marketing and tech innovations with a proven practice management program. Through PEN, independent dentists are supported by an extensive array of centralised business and marketing resources – similar to what the big corporates enjoy – without having to lose their autonomy. PEN charges members a flat subscription rate of A$2800/ month.
 
“Unlike corporates or part ownership models, you do not lose your ownership of the practice or independence when you sign up with PEN. You will be joining a network of like-minded dentists while enjoying our support services, including advanced strategic marketing and business management resources.”
 
“There is safety in numbers. Together we can help give your business that competitive edge in today’s changing dental environment.”
 
Even currently adopted digital tools in patient lead capture and conversion, Emanuel warns, are losing relevance and reliability in an increasingly crowded digitised marketplace.
 
“Many dentists are banking on SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), social media and websites to attract and convert patient leads. However, the dental market is getting saturated with Google Adwords and SEO campaigns all targeting the same demographics,” he explains.  
 
“It’s ultimately a numbers game. These methods can only work to a certain point before customer fatigue sets in – and we are already seeing the signs. Even technological tools must constantly evolve to deliver a point of differentiation – that will help put your practice on your prospective customer’s radar.”
 
To stand out in the crowd, Emanuel says PEN member practices can take advantage of specialised electronic marketing tools that are not available on the market. Created by Dental ED’s team of software developers, MiPractice is a portal that lets dentists access a cloud-based suite of services, which he claims, help boosts the conversion of leads and word of mouth prospects by significant numbers. 
 
One of the nifty e-marketing services is a Customer Survey Questionnaire that qualifies leads before using various prompts to convert quality leads into prospects. Another one is a behaviour-driven pop-up ad that is designed to collect customer data from your website visitors in exchange for SMS video packages on specific treatments of interest. MiSmile, a first in dental, is another tool that allows patients to send a snapshot of their teeth through the portal thus providing staff menbers a useful premise for making a follow-up phone call – and opportunity for lead conversion.  
 
Of course, there are also business diagnostic tools that analyse patient trends in relation to internal and external factors that affect the clinic’s performance. It provides a more accurate means of studying and scrutinising available data in order to pin-point problemetic areas.
 
“Once we identify the real causes and effects, we can more confidently devise appropriate counter strategies to resolve or minimise the issues.”
 
“Instead of a shotgun marketing approach that fires indiscriminately – hoping to hit as many targets as possible – we’ll help you to strategise a more targeted approach. This way, you not only cut down on marketing costs, you are using your resources more effectively and efficiently.”
 
The concept, though not revolutionary, still sounds refreshing to a dental entrepreneur struggling with dated marketing strategies and the competitive onslaught. Before it’s too late, it may even throw a lifeline to dental entrepreneurs who don’t yet realise that they are indeed struggling.
 

Dr Jason Pang recounts his game-changing experience with dental lasers in this second instalment of our series featuring pioneering graduates of Laser and Health Academy (LA&HA) Masters in Laser Dentistry program. 

By Danny Chan

When Dr Jason Pang decided to change the name of his Neutral Bay practice by adding the word ‘laser’ – to become Cosmic Smile Laser Dental – he wasn’t simply trying to give it a tech spin. Rather, the new name reflected the profound impact that laser tech has had on his practice, following his introduction to the Fotona LightWalker in 2015.

The Sydney-based practitioner first heard about dental lasers in 2009 and was immediately drawn to their ability to treat multiple soft-tissue related problems, from healing inflamed gums and cold sores, lengthening teeth in gummy smiles to treating venous malformations.

For the self-confessed tech geek always on the lookout for new and better ways to do things, that initial brush with dental lasers represented a major discovery preceded by several others: Virtual Reality (VR) products, a CBVT x-ray machine, Minimal Intervention Dentistry, Lumineers and Snap-On Smile.

Dr Pang was one of six contributing authors of Game Changers: Entrepreneurs Leading Change, in which he chronicled his journey from an importer and distributor of VR wares to working as a dentist in his father’s surgery to founding his own booming practice. His suburban practice located on the Lower North Shore of Sydney has been featured on Seven Network’s Today Tonight and Channel Nine News for his anti-snoring work.

In the Amazon-retailing book, Dr Pang credits his introduction to dental lasers as the major turning point of an outstanding career. Another pivotal encounter, he notes, centred on a specific model:
​
“I was introduced to Fotona in 2015 when I attended a laser training course run by my colleague Hisham Abdalla. When I heard that the Fotona LightWalker could be used to treat snoring, I knew that this was something that I had to investigate. I travelled to Melbourne to visit Innovative Medical Technologies to see if the laser could really do what they said it could.”
 
That fateful meeting at the Oakleigh office of the Fotona Australian distributor led to two personal milestones: He became the first dentist in NSW to own the Dual Erbium YAG + Neodymium YAG Fotona LightWalker AT-S and one of the first dentists in Australia to be formally trained by Fotona in this revolutionary dental laser technology.
 
Since then, the Fotona LightWalker has been nothing short of a breakthrough technology permeating every facet of his professional work, from expanding treatments both in scope and approach – more holistic, technological and aesthetic – to becoming more customer-focused.
 
Applications varied across the spectrum: Prepare cavities in teeth without anaesthetic; laser trough margins to improve impressions; remove gingiva for subgingival preparations; remove fibromas and haemangiomas; treat snoring and sleep apnoea; treat periodontitis and peri-implantitis; perform one-visit root canal treatments.
 
Besides enhancing clinical performance and broadening treatment range, the Fotona LightWalker also proved to be a smart business investment:
 
“It would be an unusual day for me not to use the laser. In just doing the laser treatments for snoring, I was able to recover the cost of the laser within 6 months. Scheduled laser treatments of 5 or more per day are quite normal so the contribution that it makes to the practice each day is huge.”
 
Of course, Dr Pang will have you know that investment in laser dentistry does not end at equipment purchase but encompasses the training component. After using the Fotona laser for about 9 months, he was invited to speak at the International Fotona Weekend in Slovenia, which coincided with the launch of the Laser and Health Academy (LA&HA) Masters in Laser Dentistry program. On invitation of Paul Baltas, the Founder and Sales Manager of Innovative Medical Technologies, Dr Pang enrolled in the course.
 
“Our Masters colleagues were oral surgeons, periodontists, endodontists and each brought knowledge of their disciplines into our education. Our mentors were the most experienced Fotona users in the world and they were researchers as well.”
 
“Being able to ask them questions and watch them perform procedures accelerated our learning dramatically,” Dr Pang enthuses.
 
In May 2017, Dr Pang and fellow Australian dentists, Dr Linhlan Nguyen and Dr Johnny Chan, joined 5 other international course attendees to become the first graduates of the Masters Program. For Dr Pang, the program was meaningful in professional and personal ways. Reminiscing their camaraderie during the course, he says the doctors still keep in touch, “leaning on each other for support”.
 
Individually, they also brought their knowledge back to share with other dental laser enthusiasts in their home country. For his part, Dr Pang designed a teaching program for newcomers to the fledging technology, built around the various disciplines including restorative, endodontics, periodontics and implantitis, snoring, surgery and hard/soft tissue.
 
As a laser educator, Dr Pang has come a long way since his maiden public demonstration at Aestheticon in 2015 where laser procedures were performed on live patients. Today, he runs courses throughout the year with Hisham Abdalla, training dentists around Australia. Apart from Australian gigs, international engagements speaking to diverse audiences in Slovenia, Manila, Singapore jostle for whatever leftover time he can squeeze out of a busy work schedule. He will soon be travelling to Orlando to lecture at the Academy of Laser Dentistry conference.
 
On hindsight, Dr Pang believes the value of attending the Masters Program extends beyond learning new techniques to include lifelong lessons in knowledge application and transfer: 
 
“As a practitioner, the Masters program taught me new procedures that I hadn’t done before like laser peels, skin rejuvenation and wrinkle removal. It gave me an understanding of best practices for periodontal and peri-implantitis treatments taught by laser periodontists and a deeper understanding of laser physics.”
 
“As an educator, I found that I was taught not only knowledge but how to deliver that to an audience in a way that allows them to absorb and process the information in a meaningful way.”
 
It’s amazing to see how laser dentistry has updated treatment concepts both as a practice-building feature and for the wellbeing of patients. For Dr Jason Pang, it has further reinvigorated his passion for dentistry. In Game Changers: Entrepreneurs Leading Change, Dr Pang called the Fotona LightWalker “the perfect complement to the dentistry that (he) was doing.”
 
He wrote: “The laser impacted almost every dental treatment that I did. I remember thinking to myself just the week before, “Why would you change the name of your business?” as a colleague recently did and yet as soon as I came to realise the impact the laser was going to have in my business it made perfect sense to change the practice name to Cosmic Smile Laser Dental. Mentally for me this was a huge turning point.”
 

Ekera Dental supports professional and personal aspirations of partnering dentists
 
By Danny Chan
 
Dr George Koudos graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2001, the same year he began a lasting and career defining relationship with Raglan Dental. Starting as a part time employee, then progressing onto full-time work, he finally assumed the mantle as a full practice owner in 2014.
 
Since its establishment in 1958, Raglan Dental had been a trusted family practice serving the patient community in Ballarat. Determined to carry on the legacy no matter who is in charge, Dr Koudos is proud to report that the clinic’s longstanding commitment remains firmly intact – a worthwhile assertion, considering Raglan Dental’s recent partnership with Ekera Dental, a company that specialises in practice acquisition.  
 
Reasons for the partnership, Dr Koudos reveals, boil down to management fatigue and lifestyle choices. What began as piecemeal work had over the years evolved into full on commitment for the dental entrepreneur. Between clinical and practice management duties, Dr Koudos at one point, found his time increasingly consumed by his dual roles as Practice Principal and Owner.
 
The challenging roles and responsibilities were also distracting from both his professional and personal commitments. Ideally, he wanted to devote more hours to the clinical aspects of his practice as well as continuing education. Away from the Ballarat clinic, Dr Koudos had around the same time, become more involved as a volunteer dentist with a Christian outreach organisation.  
 
The Practice Principal began to wonder whether partnering a corporate outfit would be a plausible next step for Raglan Dental. The brief contact he established with one about five years ago had seeded an idea, the prospects of which slowly unravelled around the middle of last year. After investigating various corporate models available in the marketplace, the prudent dentist narrowed the field down to Ekera Dental.
 
Ekera Dental Pty Ltd identifies existing high performing dental practices with growth capacity for the purposes of an acquisition. On and off discussions with the Ekera team spanned over approximately six months until Raglan Dental finally joined the corporate family in February.
 
“Compared to other corporates, I found that Ekera Dental offered several points of difference that made the company an excellent fit for Raglan Dental,” Dr Koudos reasons.
 
“First of all, and most important to me, the Ekera team has been very purposeful in the way they maintain the existing ethos, name and values of the practice. This stems from having a strong and highly consultative partnership model that involves the staff and myself in the ongoing decision making process.”
 
“Ekera also plays a much needed support role that allows me to focus on my clinical duties with minimal distractions.”
 
True to Ekera Dental’s stated credo of “allowing Practice Principals to reduce their administrative workload and focus on clinical activities”, Dr Koudos says one of the biggest rewards from the partnership is “reduced stress” from not having to deal with practice management issues.
 
Besides practice management, clinical and other operational support services – including financial management, human resource advisory and recruitment services, marketing and public awareness initiatives – the company also provides detailed orthodontic training and mentoring programmes to each Practice within the Group.
 
“With regards to professional development, I feel supported from both a professional and personal standpoint.”
 
Ekera Dental has also been supporting Dr Koudos’ personal aspirations – especially when it comes to his volunteering work, which has become synonymous with Raglan Dental.
 
Attached to the Australian Christian Dental Aid (ACDA) – a not-for-profit, non-government organisation that helps to deliver dental aid to underprivileged populations – Dr Koudos frequently brings his unstinting altruism to the Republic of Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean.
 
Raglan Dental sponsors flight and accommodation for the practice’s very own volunteer team, comprising Dr Koudos, fellow Raglan dentist, Dr Abanob Saeed, and two dental assistants. Over the last 18 months, Raglan Dental has funded seven such dental aid trips to Vanuatu.
 
“Outreach services are the main aspect of work provided thus far through ACDA. We have mainly provided oral surgery services in more remote villages where access is difficult,” Dr Koudos informs.
 
“Dental education and restorative services have also been provided but to a lesser degree. Volunteering provides massive value to people and villages that would otherwise never be serviced.”  


Clearly passionate about the cause, Dr Koudos tells me the current dental situation in Vanuatu is growing desperate, calling it “a modern day epidemic”:
 
“The situation is getting more appalling as a more processed, high sugar diet – common amongst the local populations – compounds the problem of limited education and services.”
 
He gives a few explicit examples: “Sixteen year-old girls are having all 24 of their adult teeth extracted while adult molars are pulled from the mouths of 6 year-old kids due to decay – even before their roots have fully formed! Five year-old children suffer multiple infections; some have multiple infections from a single tooth.”
 
Making a sincere plea for increased dental education and funding, Dr Koudos also appeals for volunteers:
 
“We encourage any dental volunteer to join the mission, to come out and see the beautiful people of Vanuatu for themselves. We feel that every dental volunteer has been blessed with invaluable skills that can literally change entire communities. Once you get a chance to see these communities, it is very hard to “unsee” them ever again.”
 
Grateful that Raglan Dental can continue to support the much-needed work in Vanuatu, Dr Koudos believes that Ekera Dental deserves some of the credit as well:
 
“Ekera has been 100% supportive of Raglan Dental in its continuing dental aid work for ACDA. Ekera has funded the flight and accommodation of 2 dental assistants in the latest Vanuatu dental aid trip in April. The next trip is planned for June.”
 
Most dentists cite “lifestyle changes” as benefits for partnering with a corporate outfit. To Dr Koudos, the intangible rewards also translate to having more time and opportunity to better the lives of others. The biggest beneficiaries though, he insists, are the volunteers themselves:
 
“Witnessing people living in difficult conditions makes you appreciative of what you already have, and it does affect the way you live.”  
 
“Interestingly, we often think about changing the lives of others in doing volunteer work, when in fact, we are the ones most positively impacted by the experience.”
 



 

Peter Mac’s Dental Oncology team shares how dental professionals can help to enhance the quality of life and survival of cancer patients

By Danny Chan

According to Cancer Council Australia, around 134,000 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in Australia this year. That number is set to reach 150,000 by 2020. If not already, it is likely that you will soon be seeing some of these patients at your dental practice.

A patient’s health and quality of life may be significantly compromised by oral complications arising from cancer treatments, including head and neck radiation or chemotherapy. Conversely, pre-existing oral diseases can also affect cancer treatment.

This brings to the fore questions on the readiness of the dental profession in caring for a steadily increasing number of cancer patients: Are you or your staff sufficiently equipped to deal with the potential side effects? Are you prepared to counsel, guide or educate patients at different stages of their treatment cycles? What is your role in patient management related to – and beyond – the oral cavity?

If these questions do not sound to you as pertinent as they should, the dental oncology team at Peter McCallum Centre believes, and rightly so, that more awareness campaigns and educational programs on the importance of dental health in oncology are necessary.

“Yes, there is a need for greater awareness on the subject within the dental profession. As a community, all dental professionals will see more and more cancer patients and survivors in practice,” notes Margaret Randles-Guzzardi, Dental Hygienist at Dental Oncology Clinic, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. 

Equipping Australian dentists to handle cancer patients

Peter Mac is one of the world’s leading cancer research, education and treatment facilities and Australia’s only public hospital solely dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer.
 
The Centre’s Dental Oncology team comprises a General dentist, an Oral Surgeon, a Prosthodontist, an Oral Medicine Specialist, two Dental Hygienists, and nursing and administrative support staff. The team focuses on the prevention and management of oral complications associated with cancer and cancer treatments.
 
The clinic’s functions are divided into 3 core areas: 1) Education; 2) Oral examination and dental care; and 3) Research. The educational component is further divided into different target groups: Patients; Dental Professionals; as well as Medical and Allied Health personnel.

Concurring with her colleague on the need for greater awareness within the dental profession, Dr Sophie Beaumont, adds: “At risk of over generalising, I would say that Australian Dentists are not usually well equipped to deal – or are familiar – with cancer types and complications.”

Areas for improvement range from Patient Education to Patient Management, Pre- to Post-Treatment.

There is relevant information online – including from leading cancer centres Lifehouse Sydney and MD Anderson (USA) – but Margaret says the field would benefit from a “comprehensive set of recommendations and strategies that are the same in each institution.”

Equipping dental professionals with the right educational tools paves the way for informed patient management. Dentists may be required to treat and advise cancer patients on a range of oral conditions before, during and after cancer treatment.  

“It needs to be understood that oral side-effects from treatments such as radiotherapy and bone modifying agents are for life,” Margaret qualifies, “These side-effects impact on quality of life and self-esteem. They don’t cease when the all clear is given or the cancer is in remission.”

Multi-faceted roles and responsibilities

Clients are referred internally by the hospital’s staff. Dr Beaumont says it may be more effective for patients to be referred prior to radiation therapy in order to allow more time for pre-treatment and healing – however, this is not always possible.  

Patients are brought in 6 weeks following completion of cancer treatment, and subsequently, every 2 months for a further 6 months – typically or until ready to return to their general dentist.

At Peter Mac, the dental oncology team performs a variety of tasks that most general dentists do not, including:

• Mapping tooth loss risk: Predicting up to five years whether teeth will stay and recommending prosthetics for those that may be lost or require removal.
• Dealing with cases of osteonecrosis (in the jaw): This can result from therapy, especially some sulphur-based drugs used in treatments – “some patients have bone erosion so significant that teeth literally fall out.”
• Handling the client’s self-esteem: “Many struggle with self-image after losing dentition so the service is vital. It is also vitally important for their ongoing nutrition.”

Advocating patient education as an integral part of pre-treatment evaluation, Margaret says that it should encompass discussion of potential oral complications. She stresses on the need for patient education and oral cancer screening at every dental visit.

“Australian dentists need to understand their role in terms of prevention and early detection – they go hand in hand. From organising regular oral cancer screenings to recommending high fluoride toothpaste to providing restorations that are functional and easy to clean, the dentist plays a unique role in the preventive process.”

“The oral side-effects of many cancer treatments can affect the patient for life. As dental professionals, we need to understand how these treatments can be detrimental for teeth.”

To provide an avenue for Australian Dentists to learn more about treating cancer patients, Margaret reveals that the Centre intends to run an education program in the future. How dentists would respond to such a program, given that many suffer for being time-poor and overloaded with work and business commitments, remains to be seen.

Indeed, playing an active role in cancer treatment may seem like a chore to many dentists, Shae Beaton, the Clinic’s other Dental Hygienist, readily acknowledges, before issuing a gentle warning about measuring it in monetary terms:

“Finances should not be the consideration. A simple cancer screening should be part of every dental examination. The dental professional has an obligation to do this as the medical profession generally are not familiar with the oral cavity. That said, providing ongoing empathetic care will attract patients and lead to referrals from cancer centres that indirectly will build their practices.”

“Practice building is also about having a rewarding experience,” Dr Beaumont reminds, “like being able to positively influence the outcome for a cancer patient.”

Building bridges and team effort

Dental oncology occupies an uncharacteristic area of dentistry that spills into the medical domain. Focusing on the dental and oral manifestations of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and/or head and neck surgery, dental oncologists find themselves in a unique position somewhere in the middle of the dental-medical divide.

Operating within a multi-disciplinary dental specialist clinic means that the team works in close association with all of the oncology streams, including: Head and neck, haematology, breast, lung, and skin.

 “At Peter Mac, we believe that it takes an entire village, including dental and medical professionals working alongside one another, to care for people affected by cancer,” Shae comments. 

From their vantage viewpoint, the team sees the Australian dental and medical fields converging in positive ways.

“There are well established communication lines and mutual respect on both sides. Oncologists regularly discuss patients with dental staff and vice versa,” Margaret confirms.

Dr Beaumont adds: “You will find excellent team work and no real hierarchy at the Centre – there’s always good communication and respect for what we do.”

That same open-style communication and professionalism extends to the dental community with which the team regular works and liaises – including all referring specialists, community dental clinics and private dentists.
 
“Whether for resources or support, we want to make our department the go-to for dental and medical professionals,” the Oral Surgeon concludes.

“We work together as a team for the best patient outcomes, reduced morbidity and improved quality of life.”

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Check out these dental wall art ranging from cute to simple to avant garde. Hope you find them an inspiration for your own practice walls! Enjoy!

The list includes:

Brush DJ
Teeth Whitener
Dictionary of Dental Terminology
Dental Expert
iBraceHelp
My Smile
Monster Mouth DDS
Dental Phobia
Tooth First Aid
KidsDental
Tooth Brushing Motivator
Dentistry Encyclopedia
Dentistry ProConsult
Dental Manager
Paediatric Dental Expert
DentalXChange Activity Snapshot
​Orasphere