Roger P. Levin,
D.D.S., M.B.A.

Roger P. Levin, D.D.S., M.B.A., is the founder and president of The Levin Group, an international practice management and marketing consulting company that has worked with more than 1,000 practices throughout North America. Dr. Levin lectures more than 100 days annually to both specialists and general dentists and is a member of the National Speakers Association. He has written more than 800 articles and 20 books, and publishes 6 national newsletters on management and marketing. Dr. Levin has also produced 11 audio and 5 video tape series focusing on practice marketing and management. He is a regular columnist for Dental Economics and a consultant to the American Dental Association Council on Dental Practice. Dr. Levin has been elected to Who's Who in Sales and Marketing every year since 1987. In addition, Dr. Levin is a former finalist for Maryland's Entrepreneur of the Year.

You can contact the Levin Group, Inc. at 1-800-443-3303.


Seminar Schedule

July 12-13
Hyannis, MA
Levin Seminars

July 20-21
Myrtle Beach, SC
East Coast Convention
for Orthodontists

July 26
Gatlinburg, TN
East Tennessee Academy
of Dental Practice Admin.

August 9
Keystone, CO
Profitable Dentist

August 30
New Orleans, LA
New Orleans Dental
Conference

September 4
Park Ridge, IL
To Be Determined

September 6-8
Waterville, ME
To Be Determined

September 11
Mellville, NY
Long Island Academy
of Periodontists

September 12
Nashville, TN
American Orthodontic
Society

September 20-21
Baltimore, MD
Levin Seminars

September 30
Orlando, FL
ADA National Meeting






NOTICE:
Keystone Summit
Excellence In Dentistry, the publisher of The Profitable Dentist Newsletter, is holding its 3rd annual Fall seminar on August 7-10 in beautiful Keystone, Colorado. This four day seminar will include focus groups, exhibitors, and exhibitor presentations, along with lots of fun, food, and entertainment. Highlighting this event will be a panel discussion on "Saving Fee-For-Service Dentistry" featuring keynote speaker Dr. Gordon Christensen.
Space for this important event is limited. To register, call The Profitable Dentist office toll-free at 1-800-337-8467.And for more info about beautiful Keystone, Colorado click here.

The foundation of the boutique practice is high-quality dental care. Without quality care, the practice will be unable to charge appropriate fees and offer distinctive customer service. Each team member in the practice must make a conscious effort to offer and promote quality. One way to ensure quality is by attending continuing education seminars and study clubs. These outlets help you and your staff stay on top of the most current techniques and materials available in dentistry. While attending seminars and study clubs may be somewhat time consuming, it is an investment, which, if it becomes a routine part of your and your staff's duties, will surely pay off.

In addition, highly successful boutique practices become so as a result of increasing the percentages of elective services they perform. Why? The answer is simple. Elective services are the most effective way to combat the effects of managed care and to deal with the changes in modern society's dental needs and wants.

For example, suppose your practice adds additional cosmetic procedures to its list of elective services. Begin tracking each cosmetic procedure's production, and compare this figure to the practice's overall production. The percentage you come up with indicates the role each service plays in your office's production. Say your office's production for July is $70,000. Of that $70,000, porcelain laminate veneer procedures account for $14,000. Use the following calculation to figure the percentage of production from veneers:

[$14,000 (veneers)/$70,000 (total)] x 100=20%

This formula shows you that 20 percent of July's production is from porcelain laminate veneers. Using this figure, you can now formulate a goal for your production from veneers. Each procedure you perform should be given a specific goal with an overall objective to increase the total percentage of cosmetic procedures. In addition, this calculation will help you determine which services to market and to what degree.

Turning boutique also requires extremely high levels of customer service. Each patient should leave the practice with what I call the "WOW" factor. This means that your patients are so impressed by how they are treated that they literally say "wow" as they walk out the door. This may sound a bit unrealistic, but I have seen first-hand the effects the boutique practice has on its patients. Exceptional customer service goes a long way in enhancing your practice and helping you achieve your goals.

Do not misunderstand your motivation for charging high fees. Do not feel bad for charging high fees. You are not out to take advantage of patients, and you know it. If you are going to have a well-trained staff that can provide exceptional care and outstanding customer service, the best materials available in dentistry, and the newest techniques available in the industry, among other things, you will need to charge high fees. Getting the best doesn't come cheap. In addition to covering your expenses, your fees will have to be high enough to allow for reinvesting in the practice.

Investments have one purpose - to increase productivity and profitability. How can you invest in your practice? If you purchase the latest in dental technology equipment and close the office for continuing education seminars for your staff, you can expect your expenses rise significantly. But with this rise in overhead comes an increase in employee productivity and practice profitability. With a more educated staff and a head start in the industry's technological advances, you can expect your fees to be well worth their weight in gold, so to speak.

The Levin Group has surveyed hundreds of thousands of patients for our clients during the past 10 years, and one primary concern regarding fees continually surfaces. Most patients believe that the fees in their dental practice are too high, yet they continue to return. Meanwhile, patients in boutique practices report that the practice's fees are reasonable - even though these fees are among the highest in dentistry! Why? Patients appreciate the better care and higher level of customer service the boutique practice provides, and they are willing to pay more for it.

While the boutique practice enables you to have the highest quality care, highest levels of customer service, and highest fees of any practice in dentistry, perhaps its greatest asset is its ability to handle changes in dentistry such as managed care. It's not just financially beneficial, it's also the smart way to practice dentistry today.