Episode #360: The Importance of Systems in the Dental Office, with Dr. Sully Sullivan

  Whether you want better patients, better working hours, more vacations, or all of the above, it all comes down to one thing: you need to have systems in place. In today’s crossover episode, Kirk Behrendt and Dr. Sully Sullivan (from The Millennial Dentist) chat about generational differences in dentistry, the systems you should have in place, and some important keys for the success of your practice. To hear some of Kirk’s best advice for improving your practice, listen to Episode 360 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

• Surround yourself with great people and great thinkers.
• It is your responsibility to train patients how to treat you and your team.
• Invest in training your team so they can handle problems efficiently.
• Show your team and your patients that you value what you do.
• Have regular morning huddles with your team.
• When you can't change the person, it’s time to change the person.

Quotes:

• “Here’s the thing. You go to dental school to learn how to do dentistry. And then, you get out and then realize, ‘Wow, I've got to run a business, and there are people attached to these teeth. And now, I have to manage the emotions of all these women.’ And the true fact is that you've got to learn how to run a business.” (4:09—4:22)
• “You can do whatever you want to do [in dentistry]. You can hire whoever you want, and you can fire whoever you want. You can go, ‘This isn't working. Buh-bye.’ We don't even call it firing. We call it freeing up your future and money.” (4:51—5:05)
• “A new dentist, rule number one, stay away from dentists. Just stay away from all dentists. And I mean that in a tongue-in-cheek way, but the truth of it is that as a young dentist, you've got to pick your neighborhood. You've got to get around great people that are going to influence your thinking, because [if] your thinking goes bad, your business model goes really bad. Because you're going to sit next to a dentist who goes, ‘There are no good people out there.’ And you're going to go, ‘No, there are a lot of them. They're just not working in your office.’ And then, people are going to go, ‘You've got to work Saturdays. Say goodbye to your kids and your family for a while. And sign up for all the PPOs.’ And I'm like, that's dumb. Why would you do that? You earned the greatest profession, ever. You've got to surround yourself with people that think really well.” (7:08—7:49)
• “You can't work any harder [at a certain point]. You've got to think better.” (8:21—8:23)
• “When you open up your practice, you've got to train patients to pay. You've got to tell them when to come in. You can't let the inmates run the asylum. Because what happens over time is you go, ‘I hate this!’ You've got to effectively teach people how to treat you in a business.” (8:59—9:19)
• “The seven most expensive words in business are, ‘That's the way we've always done it.’ That's the worst phrase. ‘Why do you guys do that?’ ‘That's the way we’ve always done it.’ You can't do that. That's a dumb reason to do anything.” (13:28—13:41)
• “People love structure. They love to know what to expect. If you tell me it’s a one-hour appointment, you can't keep me for an hour and 15. I'm mad. But if it’s an hour and you get me out in 55 minutes, I'm happy. It’s super simple. You can build a whole practice just by being on time.” (15:09—15:28)
• “You can't be late for a huddle, because whenever you're late it screams, ‘I don't care.’” (19:53—19:56)
• “All cancellations happen in one place. They don't happen at the front; they happen at the chair. Everyone says, ‘Fix it up front.’ Cancellations happen at the chair.” (25:17—25:24)
• “Don't say, ‘What works for you?’ because it screams you don't value what you do.” (26:21—26:24)
• “You've got to hang around with the right people. You just have to. There are some people you should not spend time with. You just shouldn't, because you're like, ‘This is a bad investment of time.’” (29:15—29:22)
• “The smart, really good people want to mentor and teach.” (30:40—30:43)

Snippets:

• 0:00 Introduction.
• 2:44 Kirk’s journey.
• 3:42 Kirk’s company and what they do.
• 6:49 Biggest struggles with young dentists.
• 8:58 Teach patients how to treat you.
• 9:35 Prune your organization.
• 13:19 The seven most expensive words in business.
• 15:07 People love structure.
• 15:31 Invest in training your team.
• 17:16 The fear of consultants in a dental office.
• 19:42 How to make morning huddles effective.
• 21:07 Roles in the morning huddle.
• 22:11 How consultants can help your practice.
• 24:59 Cancellations happen at the chair.
• 28:09 Biggest hurdle for graduating dentists.
• 28:57 Keys to Kirk’s success.
• 30:17 Ask for help.
• 32:37 What dentists need to know about consulting.
• 35:00 Kirk’s contact information.

Reach Out to Kirk and Dr. Sullivan:

Dr. Sullivan’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sully3

Dr. Sullivan’s social media: @millennialdentist

ACT Dental website: https://www.actdental.com/

ACT Dental Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/actdental/

Dr. Sullivan Bio:

Dr. Sully is a fourth-generation dentist from Nashville, Tennessee. After receiving his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Tennessee, he moved back to Nashville to practice with his father. By continuing to invest in his education through adult orthodontics, soft tissue grafting, dental implants, third-molar extractions, and obstructive sleep apnea, he helped double his practice in just 24 months.

As a millennial, he truly believes in working smarter, not harder, which has led him to utilize technology to not only deliver better patient care but more efficient care.

Dr. Sully regularly uses CEREC, 3D imaging with Galileos, 3D printing, and multiple lasers. In addition to his practice, he started the Millennial Dentist Podcast in February of 2017 to help push his fellow colleagues to take their dental careers to the next level. Dr. Sully lectures around the country on cone beam technology, CAD/CAM dentistry, obstructive sleep apnea, and practice management. He is also an ambassador for the 3D Dentist teaching facility in Raleigh, North Carolina.