As someone who has been in the dental industry for many years, I’ve seen trends come and go, buzzwords rise and fall, and corporate jargon infiltrate our profession like an unwanted procedure on a noncompliant patient. Recently, a dental consultant contacted me to see if she would be a good fit to work at The Madow Center. Her resume included a statement of purpose that read like this:
“As a dental consultant, I specialize in leveraging synergistic frameworks to optimize operational workflows and drive sustainable growth across all verticals within dental practices. By implementing best-in-class solutions, I enable practices to streamline their patient engagement funnels, enhance ROI through precision-targeted KPI alignment, and maximize the scalability of their service delivery models. Ultimately, I empower practices to achieve operational excellence by transforming pain points into touchpoints and converting obstacles into strategic opportunities.”
Huh? I had to laugh (and maybe cry a little). Was that written by a human being or an early version of artificial intelligence? In either case, this is a prime example of the corporate--speak and linguistic double-talk that drives me absolutely nuts. It also got me thinking about some of the phrases in dentistry that I wish would just go away. These phrases aren’t nonsensical corporate talk or undecipherable jargon—they’re worse! Why? Because we’ve been putting up with them for years when we should be challenging them instead.
Here’s a list of five dental phrases that I’m tired of hearing and why they need to be put to rest.
1) Low dental IQ
“Too many of my patients have a low dental IQ.”
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that phrase, I’d have enough to buy a lifetime supply of bonding agent. Let’s think about it for a moment—what does it even mean? Are we expecting our patients to come in with a comprehensive understanding of periodontal disease, occlusal forces, and the latest in implantology? Of course not! I have a “low plumbing IQ,” but that’s why I call a plumber when my sink is clogged.
It’s not our job to turn our patients into dental professionals; it’s our job to communicate in a way that makes them understand the value of the treatment they need and trust us to provide. If we’re throwing around phrases like “low dental IQ,” maybe it’s time to reassess how we’re connecting with our patients rather than blaming them for not being experts.
2) Here’s how to drop your PPOs
Sometimes I feel like I’m on every dental email list out there. You probably feel the same way. And let me tell you, nothing gets my inbox buzzing more than an email with a subject line promising to teach dentists how to “Drop your PPOs NOW!”
Don’t get me wrong—there’s value in transitioning to a fee-for--service model, and it can be a great move for some practices. But let’s be real: going fee-for-service isn’t a magic bullet. For many practices, thriving within an insurance environment is not only possible, but highly profitable. The key is knowing how to maximize reimbursements while providing high-quality care that patients value, and getting patients to opt for treatment they need and want regardless of insurance coverage.
At The Madow Center, we teach practices how to excel in all environments. Whether you’re fee-for-service, in-network, or a hybrid, it’s all about finding the right fit for your practice, your patients, and your personal goals. While dropping some or all of your PPOs can sound exciting, if it’s not done correctly, the results can be disastrous.
3) Work/life balance
Ah, the elusive “work/life balance.” It’s the holy grail of every self-help book and motivational seminar out there, including the dental ones. While it sounds great in theory, I think the concept is a bit misguided.
The goal shouldn’t be to perfectly balance work and life as if they’re opposing forces in a tug-of-war. Instead, why not aim to enjoy both your work and your life? After all, we spend a significant portion of our lives at the office, so finding joy in what we do is crucial. If you hate Monday mornings (“Sunday night blues,” anyone?) and live for the weekends, maybe it’s time to take a closer look at your practice, your team, or even your mindset. Dentistry can be incredibly rewarding when you love what you do. Let’s stop searching for balance and start looking for fulfillment.
4) Scale your practice
For some reason, many dentists (I’m looking at you, millennials) believe that “making it” means owning multiple practices. The idea of scaling your practice has become synonymous with success, but I’m here to tell you that bigger isn’t always better.
Don’t get me wrong—multi-practice ownership can be a fantastic way to build wealth and expand your impact. But before you start dreaming of a dental empire, make sure your primary location is an efficient, well-run, low-overhead operation. If your current practice isn’t firing on all cylinders with fantastic systems and protocols and bursting at the seams with patient flow, adding more locations will only multiply your headaches and drain your resources.
The lesson? Scaling your practice (and your perio patients) can be a great thing, but if you’re not 100% ready, it can be not only a distraction, but quite detrimental to your existing office. Focus on making your primary practice the best it can be before you even consider scaling. Remember, quality should always come before quantity.
5) More new patients! More new patients!
It’s the golden promise of every dental hustler and snake oil salesperson: “We’ll get you more new patients!” And who doesn’t want more new patients? They’re fundamental to practice growth, and in some ways, a metaphor for your success, so it’s always tempting to improve this statistic.
But here’s the thing—more new patients won’t solve your problems if your practice isn’t set up to handle them properly. If your front desk team doesn’t know how to convert potential new patients from phone calls to scheduled appointments (trust me, you might think they do, but I’ve done thousands of mystery shopper calls and can tell you they probably don’t), or if you have a back door that’s so wide open you could drive an F150 through it (i.e., existing patients slipping through the cracks), then all the new-patient marketing in the world won’t make a difference. You’ll just be throwing money down the drain. Instead of chasing more new patients, focus on optimizing your current processes. Close that back door, train your team to truly convert telephone inquiries to scheduled patients who show up, and watch your practice thrive. Then you can escalate your efforts to capture, retain, and maximize your new-patient flow.
So, there you have it—five dental phrases that need to be retired. Let’s ditch the buzzwords, skip the jargon, and focus on what really matters: providing excellent care, building trust with our patients, and running successful practices with proper systems in place that we can truly enjoy.
Editor's note: This article appeared in the November/December 2024 print edition of Dental Economics magazine. Dentists in North America are eligible for a complimentary print subscription. Sign up here.
