Dear DrBicuspid Member,
Including today, there are seven Saturdays left in 2020. Yes, many of us are ready to get rid of a year that has brought so much uncertainty into our society, but these remaining days are also valuable time for members of every dental practice to establish a plan to ensure a high level of success in 2021.
Of course, ensuring success means making sure the business side of your practice is running at maximum efficiency, including the ins and outs of insurance claims. Now more than ever, it is important to submit complete and correct insurance claims, Steve Roberts wrote earlier this week. He provided seven common reasons why your dental practice's claims might be getting rejected and some steps you can take to expedite approval and payment.
Another key part of your practice's success in 2021 will be patient satisfaction. Dr. Teresa Yang tackled this topic earlier this week and offered a scenario to think about: Your patient seemed happy when he or she left the operatory. However, after a few days, the person's attitude has changed and now you're getting a phone call or seeing an unhappy post on social media. How can this be prevented? What can you do after it happens? Dr. Yang offered her tips and advice.
Speaking of attitude, if you're looking for a positive boost this week, look no further than Dr. Robert Maguire's article. Despite feeling overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted after the dental shutdowns caused by COVID-19, dental professionals have needed to press on. Is it possible to do this and still experience some semblance of positivity and joy? Dr. Maguire believes the answer is yes, and he shared a few things he has done (and you can do as well) to stay positive and productive in the midst of this pandemic.
On the clinical side, an oral surgeon diagnosed and treated a teen with a rare vascular tumor in her mouth after a dentist and periodontist improperly treated her for periodontitis for two years. It's a fascinating case of a tumor deceiving dental professionals, and it's certainly worth your time to learn more about it and what to watch for in your patients.
Finally, in addition to oral lesions being an early sign of COVID-19, infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus may trigger the late onset of secondary ulcers in patients. "Routine intraoral examination should be performed in patients diagnosed with the new coronavirus in search of oral manifestations," suggested the team tackling this case study.
As always, thank you for reading DrBicuspid.com. Here's to a great weekend ahead!
