Most dentists have no idea which procedures they do are profitable and which are not. This is singularly one of the most important pieces of business knowledge you need to know about your practice right now! For all you know, your practice is losing money because you are losing money on the procedures you are delivering the most! You know that beautiful MOD composite resin you did on tooth number 19? You spent 50 minutes delivering this restoration for a fee of $350. Do you think that was profitable? You most likely didn’t cover your overhead on that procedure.
The only way procedures are profitable are if you can do them faster, easier and better than ever before. Those procedures that are time efficient are by far the most profitable and this depends on the procedure itself and your ability to deliver. Your ability to deliver dental services is also dependent on getting the best training available so that you can do faster, easier and better dentistry. Let me give you some examples on two of the most profitable procedures in dentistry and all you need is proper training.
Dental implants and Botox – what do they have in common? Two things – they are both among the most profitable procedures in dentistry once you are trained to deliver them faster, easier, and better. A simple dental implant or Botox procedure can easily produce a profit of anywhere from $2000-$2500 per hour when a dentist is properly trained to do these procedures and manage the time and costs involved. The second commonality is there are turf wars among other professionals and even within dentistry claiming that general dentists should not be providing these services. Let me present the truth in regards to dental implants and Botox.
We constantly hear that implant dentistry is more special than other areas of dentistry. Why do you think that is true only as it relates to dental implants? In my nearly 40 years of dental practice, which area of dentistry is not multidisciplinary? I am surprised to keep reading that implant dentistry is multidisciplinary and therefore general dentists without years of training should not be placing dental implants. That thought process is absolutely absurd. To say so is demeaning to every dental professional who delivers complex dentistry every single day.
The biggest reason I hear general dentists are fearful of surgically placing dental implants is because they read that dental implants requires multidisciplinary training and that without CBCT guided surgery, it is almost malpractice to place a dental implant. Nonsense!
I am sure that this idea will ruffle many feathers in the dental implant world but let’s be honest. There really is nothing special about placing dental implants. The vast majority of dental implant cases are single unit straightforward cases on healthy patients with sufficient bone. These straightforward implant cases do not require computer guided surgery but rather “brain guided” surgery on behalf of the dentist. These cases are simple and quick to accomplish after proper training with simple dental implant systems that any general dentist can use.
Every area of dentistry requires vast multidisciplinary knowledge in the areas of anatomy, biomechanics, radiology, pharmacology, pathology, oral medicine, physiology, bruxism, occlusion, restorative dentistry, dental materials, periodontics, esthetics, endodontics, orthodontics, surgical techniques, avoiding and treating complications and more. All of these areas involve every dental discipline and are involved in everything we do whether it is placing a simple restoration to performing a complex full mouth reconstruction. Let me give you some examples.
Is restorative dentistry multidisciplinary? Of course it is. As a restorative dentist, I need as a restorative dentist to understand the dental materials I am using, the anatomy and biology of the teeth and the surrounding structures, and how the restoration will last long term. I need to make sure the tooth is in proper occlusal harmony and will function properly so as not to cause harm and will properly support the entire TMJ complex. Restoring a tooth is not just filling or covering a hole and is in truth a very multi-disciplinary procedure. Dentists are not afraid of this procedure because they have been properly trained in all of these aspects. As a matter of fact, much of this knowledge dentists already possess is used to surgically place and restore dental implants.
Let’s take the areas of Botox, dermal fillers, bruxism, TMJ, orofacial pain, and dental sleep medicine as other areas which typically are much more multidisciplinary that dental implant cases. In these cases, the multidisciplinary approach is from the outside of the mouth going in. All of these areas need to be taken into consideration with every area of dentistry. 1 in 3 patients has bruxism. Bruxism monitoring (STATDDS) and knowing the patient’s bruxism episodes index (BEI) before implant and other complex treatment is essential. Is the patient one of 40 million people in the US with obstructive sleep apnea? Do they need an oral appliance for OSA? Have you performed a head/neck trigger point examination and eliminated the patient’s TMJ/orofacial pain before treatment? A dental clinician needs to know all of the pharmacological options such as Botox (Allergan), Xeomin (STATDDS), or lidocaine 2%.
Every area of dentistry requires detailed knowledge of anatomy to successfully perform every treatment procedure, this is especially true in orofacial pain cases. Diagnostic data, establishing a proper diagnosis and careful treatment planning to successfully treat TMJ and orofacial pain cases is essential to successful patient outcomes. Like implants, general dentist for years were fearful of providing this treatment.
From the experience of the American Academy of Facial Esthetics (AAFE) teaching thousands of general dentists orofacial pain, bruxism, dental sleep medicine, facial esthetic and dental implant treatment techniques in the last few years, it is obvious that with the multidisciplinary knowledge that every dentist already has and once properly trained, any dental clinician can be very successful in providing new services to their patients.
My hope is that most dentists reading this article will understand that they already have a lot of the knowledge required because of the dentistry that they already provide to patients to successfully learn how to surgically place dental implants. The approximately 50+ AAFE implant and facial injectable educators around the US are primarily general dentists teaching other dentists and have proven how successful general dentists can be placing implants and facial injectable treatment every single day.
For all those dentists who tell me they are not busy enough, it is time for you to learn how to do Botox, fillers, and dental implants. Add these most profitable procedures to your practice today. All it takes is AAFE live patient training so you can start producing and profiting $2000+ an hour. You can do this – the AAFE has already trained nearly 10,000 professionals just like you. Get trained today.
Louis Malcmacher DDS MAGD is a practicing general dentist and an internationally known educator. Dr. Malcmacher is president of the American Academy of Facial Esthetics (AAFE) and is a consultant for STATDDS. You can contact him at 800 952-0521 or email drlouis@FacialEsthetics.org. Go to www.FacialEsthetics. org where you can find information about live patient Botox and Dermal Fillers live patient training, dental implant training, Frontline TMJ/Headaches/Orofacial Pain live patient training, Bruxism Therapy and Frontline Dental Sleep Medicine, Medicare/ Medical Insurance, download his resource list, and sign up for a free monthly e-newsletter.
AAFE is offering a great tuition savings to Profitable Dentist readers, use code Fall to save hundreds for a limited time. Contact the AAFE at 800 952-0521 or email info@FacialEsthetics.org today!
