There was a time I was temping for a doctor that needed an Office Manager position filled immediately for one of his multiple offices. His permanent Office Manager took an emergency leave of absence due to an unforeseen family health issue. Before her leaving, she was handling a difficult patient situation. The Patient did dental work in the office and is saying it’s faulty. The extent of the faultiness was in dispute because the Patient did have extensive decay that did not guarantee the lifespan of the restoration. Nonetheless, the Patient went to another doctor for a second opinion and was ..read more

The Office Manager Syndrome is the behavior of an individual in a management position that feels the title represents makes them rather than the other way around. In other words, the “title gets to their head.” They fail to realize a great manager becomes a leader before having the title and do not need the role to be influential. They are mistaken in thinking that being an Office Manager is to be bossy, rude, and dismissive. As much as we might like to believe that these managers have the best of intentions, they may not be a good fit for management at all. The signs are often all-around when ..read more

I remember one time a patient walked in with a distraught look on his face, red eyes full of tears. He was breathing quite heavily with a large napkin covering his mouth. He removed the napkin revealing his highly swollen upper lip. I cringed inside. I asked “what happened? How may I help you?” He explained, “I tripped on my driveway, I had something in my hands, unable to react and protect my face, I fell and hit my front teeth on the ground.” “This is the closest dental office near me; I have never been here before. I just got MetLife insurance. Do you accept it here?” He asked. I replied ..read more

Tis’ the time for code changes! The ADA has made changes to and deletions of certain codes. If not aware of this, mistakes and decrease in income will ensue. It happened to me. I was on a groove sending all procedures performed per Patient. I was billing procedures that were outdated and some deleted, I had many denials. I wasted time and productivity by my ignorance to the changes. In addition to educating myself on these new codes and how they applied, I spoke to the doctors and staff to ensure we were all on the same page. We discussed any additional steps we had to take as a team so we may ..read more

I remember being introduced to Dentrix in 2006. I had a 2 year run with Easy Dental which at the time, I learnt Henry Schein is the parent company of both Dentrix and Easy Dental. It was explained to me in a way that made me understand Easy Dental was a less complex version of Dentrix. While working with server based Dentrix I saw many limitations when I wanted to do certain things quickly. At its worst, I noticed I needed to take multiple steps to complete one task, that doesn’t contribute to the bottom line of the office mission and demand. From the family file to the reports and everything ..read more

The Office Manager Syndrome is the behavior of an individual in a management position that feels the title makes them rather than they make the title. In other words, the “title gets to their head.” They fail to realize a great manager becomes a leader before having the title and do not need the role to be influential. They are mistaken in thinking that being an Office Manager is to be bossy, rude, and dismissive. As much as we might like to think that these managers have the best of intentions, they may not be a good fit for management at all. The signs are often all around when someone isn’t ..read more

In the early 2000s the billing process was rather different than what it has become today. Sending dental claims consisted of printing out the claim form, attach physical X-rays that were made in an x-ray machine, print periodontal charts, narratives, pre-estimates, secondary insurances or some other supporting document, stuff them into envelopes, weigh the envelopes on a scale (that is a hefty envelope!), pay for and attach stamps and walk into the post office. Following the post office drop off, the envelopes don’t leave the site before the following day. It takes 2-3 days in transit for ..read more

Hello Resolvers! I remember a time when the office had more than 57 outstanding claims for Humana Dental insurance. During various phone calls, I was bounced from one department to another. The reps were unwilling to try to assist me. One rep would tell me one thing, another would tell me something else. Nothing was concise or made any sense. It felt like they were plotting against me. They tried it. I immediately took down names and requested reference numbers. I learned the power of obtaining the name and reference number at the beginning of every phone call. I requested to speak to a superv ..read more

I started my dental administration career in 2004 in an office which accepted a combination of Medicaid plan, Managed Care Capitation plans, and fee for service Union and PPO plans. Indeed, it was a melting pot with many patients from different walks of life and personalities. I knew that I had to do away with mistakes or carelessness. I developed a system that allowed me to successfully see a Patient from the phone call to the claim payment because everything should be done in a proper sequence to achieve the right results. In reality, we all use different systems to achieve our goals and the ..read more