Practice Management Insider: Legal cases; financing; and your 2016 goals

In their latest column, William S. Spiegel and Dr. Marc R. Leffler present a case from a general dentist's office. This dentist, experienced in implant placement and restoration, saw a 49-year old patient for a single implant. What happened during and after treatment is a cautionary tale. Read it here.

Also featured in the Practice Management Community, the availability of treatment financing can often make the difference between accepting and rejecting your recommendations for some patients. By making treatment affordable, such as offering a payment plan from a reputable lender, it opens the door for increased production and reduces your financial risks and collection headaches, according to Dr. Roger P. Levin.

Do you know where you are going this year? It might sound trite, but it's also true that without a direction, you're never going to get where you are going. In his first column of 2016, Scheduling Institute President Jay Geier offers four steps for goal setting.

What is the best way to teach patients about oral health? The U.K.'s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recently released guidelines to help dental teams create effective patient-centered oral health promotions. Read Assistant Editor Theresa Pablos' article here.

When you first got into practice, how did you react to the questions and difficult cases that came your way? As Dr. Lisa Knowles writes, it wasn't easy at first. Here she offers six tips to help you answer those questions from your staff.

Patient retention ratios are far below what they should be for practices to thrive in today's competitive environment, according to a survey by practice management consultant Sally McKenzie. In her latest column, she offers four tips to help improve your practice's recall numbers and grow your bottom line.

For thoughtful practice management insight such as these columns, visit DrBicuspid.com every day.