Episode 560: What Is Magic?

The Dental A-Team is made up of consultants with front office, clinical, and leadership expertise who are here for your practice to make it the best it can be! In this episode, Kiera talks about the benefits, opportunities, and support that DAT brings to your office — all revolving around increasing profit, encouraging you to be the best version of yourself, and perfecting your practice’s systems.

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0:00:05.6 Kiera Dent: Hey everyone, welcome to The Dental A Team podcast. I'm your host, Kiera Dent and I have this crazy idea that maybe I could combine a doctor and a team member's perspective, because let's face it, dentistry can be a challenging profession with those two perspectives. I've been a dental assistant, treatment coordinator, scheduler, filler, office manager, regional manager, practice owner, and I have a team of traveling consultants where we have traveled to over 165 different offices, coaching teams. Yep, we don't just understand you, we are you. Our mission is to positively impact the world of dental, and I believe that this podcast is the greatest way I can help elevate teams, grow VIP experiences, reduce stress and create A Teams. Welcome to The Dental A Team podcast.

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0:00:51.8 KD: Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and you guys. I hope today it's just a fantastic day for you, I am actually sitting in our... Drum roll guys, our house. Kiera Dent officially owns a house, and I loved all of your guys's input on where we should move, I got Chicago, I got Kansas city, I got Oregon, I got East Coast, I got so many different ones. If you wanna weigh in, please do. Just to update all of you, we did end up buying a house in Reno for right now, and so I'm actually sitting in this beautiful house, I feel like I'm still living in a fairy tale, we've been building this house for about two years, if you guys heard the podcast where I bought that house and we were doing the delayed maintenance, that house actually ended up getting what's called a Lis penden on it. I've never heard of it. My realtor had never heard of it. And what that actually means is that somebody put a lien basically on the house. I was devastated, distraught. I remember being at a client's office and just feeling like my life was over. There's dramatic care for you guys.

0:02:00.6 KD: And so we found this house that I'm currently living in about a year and a half ago, it's a new build, and it literally has an unobstructed, almost 360-degree view of these gorgeous mountain ranges. I've had a few people come to our house, and they've said, "I never knew Reno could be beautiful." And I said, "You and me both." But it's really, really, really stunning, and I just feel like I'm living in a dream. So my husband and I decided we would live in Reno for right now, 'cause my parents live about two hours away, and with us doing IVF, we start our second round in a couple of weeks. I just needed some sanity in my life. So keep the ideas and suggestions coming, hopefully this next round of IVF will be successful, and then we'll have more options of where we can move in the future, but for right now, this is where I'm at. So wherever you guys are, I hope you are loving your day, I hope you are enjoying it, and just know Reno is not my long-term destination. However, if any of you come to Tahoe, to California, drive through Reno, you better email me at [email protected], 'cause I will surely meet you and it would be very fun to show you. We have paddleboards and mountain biking. I've got a hiking trail literally across the street from where I live right now and there's... I've decided... Shelby and I decided it's going to be operation, Fall in love with Reno this summer.

0:03:24.7 KD: So if any of you wanna join in, Reno is never my last stopping point, nor will it be. Mark my word, guys, I'm pretty confident we'll be moving within the next six months to two years at the most. I get that's not financial savvy, but guys, there is an emotional ROI, that's not always a financial ROI, and I think that that's important in life to remember that not all decisions rank equal, not all decisions are just a financial decision. Some are emotional. We were on a consultant collaboration yesterday, and we were talking about an office who has pretty high overhead right now, we're talking an 85% overhead, and this person wants to hire a pretty big position in their practice, and we were talking and financially on paper, it might not make sense. They won't go under, that's for sure, rule. You're not allowed to go negative, you still have to be taking home a paycheck, otherwise, I think that will always lead to a lot more negatives, but this client wants to hire somebody that they trust, that they can delegate to, and we debated.

0:04:28.6 KD: We had three consultants on there in a pretty hefty debate, which I absolutely love because just like dentistry, there is truly no right answer, there's a lot of right answers, and we came to the conclusion that the emotional ROI of this hire would probably far exceed the financial setback for a couple of months. And so all of us got to a point where we all ended up agreeing that this client should probably hire this more expensive hire, simply because of the emotional ROI. I know when I was in my practice, I hired a treatment coordinator that truth be told, I could not afford. However, I knew I needed this person to take me where we needed to go, and so with that, it really ended up being something where the emotional ROI paid far bigger dividends than any paper calculation could be. So I really want you guys to think about what is your ROI on your practice? What is the ROI of the emotional decisions of where you live, of the type of car you drive, of the people you hang out with? So not all decisions can just be simply financial right there.

0:05:37.5 KD: So with that, I just wanted to kinda give you guys a thought on that because so many times people ask, What does Dental A Team actually do? What do we do as a company? What is Dental A Team all about? And our motto is, We are all about three things, and I call it MYSE. So Money, Making sure your practice is profitable, I do not believe that you can be a business owner, hashtag dentist, and run a business that is not profitable, otherwise we just have a hobby, so making sure that you are profitable, so that's the M for money. You as a person, we wanna develop you as a person, making sure that you're living your dream life, whatever that is, and really helping you hone in on your own personal vision, your own personal balance, and then also systems and teams, so system development and team development from top to bottom, and we always ask the question of what if it could be easy, because with Dental A Team it can. And so, so many times people are like, "Kiera, running a dental practice is hard." And I ask the question, "What if it could actually be easy? What if having an accountable team could be easy? What if having somebody to bounce these ideas off of of, Hey, my overhead is high today because they just bought the practice, but I wanna hire this person? What if somebody could actually think through the emotional ROI, the financial ROI and think about it specifically for you?

0:06:55.1 KD: So many officers ask me, Kiera, are you cookie-cutter? And the answer is, Absolutely not, guys. Every single thing we do, we do have 12 systems in our company, so every single month there is a system theme, meaning that way we don't forget any of the 12 things that make a practice run, so from overhead to billing to case acceptance, to new patient, to hiring and onboarding, to patient flow, to hygiene, to our dental assistance, to operations manuals, to team meetings, to morale, to HR, all these different things are systems to have in a practice. Now, I don't believe that every practice needs to have every single system, I believe that we need to know where you and your practice want to go, we need to have a clear vision, and then from there, we're gonna build the systems to support that vision. Some people are die hard and they want to ensure that they have massive growth and they're going to grow to multiple practices, fantastic, I'm gonna have a completely different plan for that person than I am for the person who's like, Nope, Kiera, I need you to grow this practice with me so I can work two days a week and serve more people in our community. Those are two radically different practices who are going to have a different "treatment plan."

0:08:13.6 KD: Do they both still need a new patient experience? Check the box, yes. Do they both need to work on case acceptance? Yes, check the box. Do they both need an operations manual? Yes, check the box. But the type of operations manual, the type of new patient experience, the type of case acceptance, tracking and delivery will be radically different. So that's where we have our 12 systems, but we also have the customization within everything. Also, we don't come in and do an A to Z cookbook. It is not, "Alright. Today is lesson one. Tomorrow is lesson two." It is just like you treat your patients. We do a comprehensive diagnosis of your practice, of your goals, of your team's goals, and we put together a custom plan together of where do we want to go, and then we start building support systems in place that will truly support that vision. So it is not ever an A to Z Cookbook. By the end we've got alphabet soup.

0:09:06.0 KD: So we've got every single system plugged in there, it usually takes us between one to two years depending upon where your practice is, and within those one to two years, we are able to have those systems in play, you should have increase in profitability, you should have systems that you can rely on whether the people come or go, you should feel confident as a business owner running your business, and you should have a perfect life map planned out for you, you should have the confidence in yourself as a leader and as a team to know how to set goals and achieve those goals, you should be able to have all your systems documented in an operations manual. Those are the things that we execute on with every practice, but again, it is all 1000% customized, we have some DSO practices that have five to 10 practices, and those practices, most of the time, they've got the nuts and bolts of foundation.

0:09:57.8 KD: We'll still spruce them up, fine tune them but they're really looking more for leadership and execution and org charts and profitability amongst multiple practices and teaching those office managers how to read P&Ls, figure out overhead, how to systematize their practice, how to have leadership conversations of accountability, of delegation, of execution, that's a totally different type of consulting, than a startup practice. A startup practice needs to have the foundational core to emplace morning huddles, handoffs, case acceptance, case presentation, follow-up, billing, billing A to Z, overhead, P&Ls, hiring, onboarding. That is a much different type of consulting experience between those two practices, and we do it all.

0:10:46.8 KD: So our team comes with front office experience, so all of us have been office managers, treatment coordinators, schedulers, billers, and then we all also have clinical experience, whether that's dental assistant, or dental assistant and hygiene. That is a pretty powerful dynamic. Not only that, but all of us have been on the leadership board, we have grown practices from startup to multi-doctors, multi-operatories. All of us have worked in multiple offices at one time. Myself, I've been a Regional Manager of over 10 practices, and we consult practices of start-up all the way to multiple DSOs. And a lot of our smaller practices, when they begin with us, if their aspiration is to grow into DSOs, we're able to help them. However, I will say that that's not our mission. Our goal is not to get you to a DSO or multi-practice. Our goal is to get you where you want to go.

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0:11:41.4 KD: How many of you would just love to DIY and get the secrets of people who have been there, done that on your own time? Because I know for me, I love to learn from the best of the best, the people who have been there, done that and can give me the shortcuts. That's why we've created our Dental A Team Virtual Academy, where it's on-demand courses for you at your fingertips, where you literally can learn the secrets from all of my experience, all of Tiffany's experience, of Britney, Dana, our entire team's experience at your fingertips. So stop taking the hard route guys, there's a shortcut sitting there waiting for you. And it's also CE. Head on over to thedentalateam.com and click on our Virtual Academy. Be sure to use coupon code podcast and get started on that DIY and become the practice of your dreams.

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0:12:27.5 KD: I have a fantastic practice that I worked with for the last... Gosh, I think we're at four years now. Not all of our clients stay for four years. In this office, truthfully, I've tried to graduate them out, but they said, Kiera, you just keep growing us and refining the systems, and we need that. We know that if we let you go, our momentum is going to slip, so for us, the cost of you far, far, far is surpassed because the ROI that we get from you is so high and then you come in every four months is how often I see this practice. Every four months, I go in and we do basically a pep rally with them, so we boost morale, we fine tune systems, we look for opportunities, we simplify what they're already doing, and we we refine, and I will say that is what has made this practice successful. This practice could grow to another level, they work four days a week, they have an overhead of below 35%, this is true, they have six operatories and they do insanely, insanely well for the doctors, for their team and for their community.

0:13:32.7 KD: It is not a one-sided coin, it is three sides, so I would say this is a three-sided triangle. And all are equal, and we really worked hard to ensure the team has an amazing experience, that the patients have an amazing experience and the doctors are living their dream of a life. They are truly living that, and so many people coach these people and tell them you need to open another practice, you've gotta dial it in, that's not their dream today, their dream is to be off work every single day by 3 o'clock to hang out with their kids, not work Fridays, travel whenever they want and be radically successful. Their dream is not to grow to multi-practices, so we are really big at Dental A Team, I believe that everyone has their own dream, you have your reason for why you got into dentistry, and today might be a good day for you to think about that. Have you thought about that in a while? Why did you get into dentistry? Why did you become a dentist? Why did you become a dental team member? Why? For me, it was to wear scrubs, guys. That was my why.

0:14:32.1 KD: And now, Dental A Team, the reason I have Dental A Team, the reason why Dental A Team exists is because we wanna positively impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. I believe that is helping each person that we can, live their best life, to give back to their communities, to train their teams, to help them be radically successful, so they're able to support more team members and more patients in the best way possible. I'm on a moral mission to stop bad dentistry, whether that's through coaching you... I'm not a dentist, so I'll give you some great CE courses, or if that's on helping the better practices be more well-known in their communities, but that's our mission. That's why we exist. Why do you exist? And that's why we help every practice develop their dream, we help every practice from doctors to teams, come together for a cohesive vision. Not all team members are going to stay with that practice for the next 10 years, the team member or the office might outgrow each other and that's okay, but I want every practice out there to feel safe, that they've got systems in place, so no matter what team member is there or not there, that practice is taken care of.

0:15:38.2 KD: I want every team practice to be profitable, that way your doctor is safe and secure and they're not stressed out that they're not going to be able to pay bills. They're much better dentists, they're much better leaders and they're much better bosses if they're secure, and I want everybody to have their vision clear. I don't care if it's you wanna work one day a week, I don't care if it's if you wanna work five days a week, I don't care if you want multiple practices, I don't care if you want one practice, I don't care if you wanna be an associate, I don't care if you wanna be a dental assistant, I don't care what you wanna do, as long as it's what you truly want to do, and that is where we build from, that is that customization, that is helping with that emotional ROI, plus the financial ROI. And most of our clients, they see a 10% to 30% increase in revenue, they see usually a 5% to 20% reduction in overhead depending upon where they are, they're less stressed, they are happier, teams are more cohesive, they've got solid systems in play and yeah, sometimes it takes us a good one, two, sometimes even three years, to get there.

0:16:40.3 KD: It's not an overnight success story, and we're not a magic diet pill, but our company is one that sees results every single time, but offices have to do the work, we're not there, we are little fairy godmothers, we do customize a ton, we'll pop on interviews and help you interview team members, we will literally do whatever it takes to help you see results as long as you're partnering with us, as long as you're doing the work on your side too, you're following up, you're showing up. We do it through coaching calls, so we have accountability calls every other week. You can email us, text us anytime. We also do team training calls so it can be for your leadership team, it can be for doctors and office managers, it can be for full team, it can be for Departmental Training, and your consultant will customize it based on what your needs are and where we're headed, and then we also do in-person visits, so coming to your practice, seeing your blind spots, helping your team all get on board, and we have a variation of all three of those.

0:17:37.5 KD: So that's a lot of what Dental A Team does. And the reason I share that is because sometimes people hear the word consulting, and you've heard from other friends of what it is. With Dental A Team, we partner with you, we see ourselves as an extension of your team. So imagine if you will, you have an extension of your team. No, we are not a replacement office manager. We've had some people try to have as that. We are not. However, we can get all the pieces in play, help you write the ads, help you interview for that office manager, help get systems in play before office manager's transition, help get your billing department set up, help get your systems set up and do it in the plan of, Alright, this is where you are, this is where you wanna go, and we bridge that gap with ease.

0:18:18.9 KD: So my question is, What if could be easy? What if your dream life could actually be easy? What if the emotional ROI of living your dream life could actually be a reality for you? What would you pay? What would you do to have that? 'Cause for me, I would do a lot to have that be a reality, and I will promise you, 'cause I've seen it in hundreds... I'm talking hundreds. We're about to break the thousands, I'm sure it has been thousands of people's lives, hundreds of practices, thousands of people's lives consistently. That could be you. We'd love to have you. So email me or call me [email protected], or truly call me 801-885-5351. That is legitimately Kiera Dent cell phone number guys. Use it with caution.

0:19:05.7 KD: Yeah, I put it out there because I want you to know that I want to talk to you. If this is something you even are thinking about or you've been wondering it or if you want to know if you're even a good candidate for it, I would love to personally talk to you about it. Because I believe that if I can keep helping change and our company can help keeping change and inspire people, we're going to be able to accomplish our mission of positively impacting the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible.

0:19:30.2 KD: You are that person, your team are those people, your practice and your community needs you, you have a moral obligation to change and to grow and to radically shift. We do doctor calls. We're starting it out, we're calling it, Talk About It Tuesday. Yeah, I bring your tacos guy, talk about it Tuesday. And we're having all of our doctors get together for collaboration with our doctors because we realize that that was something we were lacking as a company, and that our doctors needed it. They need to have that support group. They need to have a system, they need to have best ideas being shared, that's what we do as a consulting company, and I will say that you have somebody who is in it to win it with you, and winning it means whatever winning your life looks like for you. Completely customized with systems that work in a plan that's custom for you, that jives with you and that resonates with you. And you really do believe that it could be easy. I would truly love to work with you... [email protected] at or call me, I'm not kidding, I wanna chat with you, you can text me.

0:20:30.0 KD: It would be a blast. But guys, what I hope you leave with is your dream life can be today, having a systematized practice can be this year, having an accountable team that loves accountability can be... This year, it just depends. What are you willing to do to get there? So many people say, I don't have time and I say, really, you don't have an hour and a half, 1.5 hours a month to dedicate to changing your life. That's all we ask. That's all we require is an hour and a half a month. Yes, you have to go implement, but our time, the time required for consulting is 1.5 hours in an entire month, and if you don't have an hour and a half that you're... I mean, let's just think of where we might be wasting an hour and a half. If you don't have an hour and a half you're right. You can't change, but I would bet my soul that every person out there has an hour and a half a month that they could dedicate... That's it. That's all we ask. We'll follow up with you, yes, you have to do emails or pieces of that, but actual true dedicated time during patient time, no we're not talking to you on your drive home from work, that doesn't work, 'cause if you don't give up a little bit of time, I know you're not committed to results, an hour and a half of time is all it takes, and if you could dedicate that a month and see radical shifts and radical changes...

0:21:51.4 KD: I'd love to hear from you. Guys, live your dream life, it can be easy, whether it's with us or rather it's on your own, you don't need us, you do not need us, you can do it on your own, but if you're like me and having somebody be there consistently to remind you to check in with you, to push you to grow you to support you, that's what we're here for, and those are the offices that we're so excited to work with, and we love bringing you on. Guys, dental A team is my passion, it's my pride, it's what I'm so proud that we've been able to create, and we just keep getting better and better and better, and I hope you and your practice feel that way, and if you don't make a change, it's never too late to make a change and your life is truly one decision away from a totally different life. Alright guys, go Have the best day-to-day as always, thanks for listening, and I'll catch you next time on the dental team podcast.

0:22:44.2 KD: And that wraps it up for another episode of The Dental A team podcast. Thank you so much for listening and we'll talk to you next time.