Top Ten Tips for Dental Office Managers

Can you remember your first day working at the front office in dental?  We all started somewhere and most likely your career began sitting at the front desk. It may have felt new and at times you may have been unsure about whether this career path was for you. We all strive to learn more and in the earlier days before social media there wasn’t a cheat sheet. We learned by example of others in the dental field.  Today we have social media Facebook groups such as Dental Office Managers which can help foster relationships and develop communities to help us grow and further our education without having to pay for it.

Whether you are a new dental office manager or a seasoned one, I share with you tips on what has helped me to excel and lift others in dental practice management. As a dental community, we should embrace each other and teach fellow colleagues our tips and tricks.

Some of these you may know, others, may not work for your office, but one just one might make your day a little easier and that is the end goal.

1) What if there was an easy, quick, way to identify cash paying, non-insurance patients on your schedule without having to click into a patient account. This could save you time and make you more effective and efficient without having to go through tedious steps. My recommendation to enter those accounts is to use ALL CAPS. When you see it, you think private pay, non-insurance. Most dental office managers and supporting staff enter patients with lower reimbursement plans or even Medicaid in capital letters so you can count how many are on the schedule for the day.  It is simply a visual for whatever you need to recognize quickly without having to look deeper into the account.

2) Is your supporting staff continuously updating new patient information when the patient walks through the door? Here is my recommendation on how to avoid wasting time by updating the patient's information before they walk through the door. Use this simple verbiage skill and have your supporting staff do the same. If a patient calls in to schedule or change an appointment or for just about any other reason. Instead of asking, has anything changed in your contact information or job location?  Confirm each item, for example, “I have your street address as Sunny Field Road, is that still the correct address?  I see here that you work for Comcast and have United Concordia insurance, is that still your active primary insurance?” “I have your email address as” is this still the email we should keep on file?  Be sure to walk through each detail to ensure the account is up to date.

3) Having trouble collecting new patient information over the telephone? Don’t ask, TELL!  Don’t say, “do you have an email address? Instead, say “In order to have a successful appointment, I do need some information from you.  I’ll need now insert whatever you need! This will make it easier to collect information from patients who may be hesitant at doing so. The more information you gather the better. It is important to get their email address, their best contact phone number and even alternative methods of contact. This could be their work number, their spouse’s number or even as rare as they are now a days a home phone number, making sure to use this method will help you collect everything you need to make the patient experience a happy one.

4) Do you find yourself spending way too much time sending Pre-authorizations and losing same day production? In my experience Pre-authorizations can be a time waster. (disclaimer unless required always by a certain plan, which should be rare) A dental pre-authorization/determination is not a guarantee of benefits.  Take one that you have done in the past and blow up the disclaimer such as this one from Delta Dental.  This one specifically states that this piece of paper does not guarantee payment from the insurance company.  My recommendation would be to take past insurance statements from a few of your current patients. Be sure to remove all identifying information and put it all on one sheet of paper to show the patient.  Use this to show your patient why a pre-d may not be a necessity. In my opinion a pre-authorization/determination only prolongs the treatment plan, takes away the sense of urgency that your provider has established, and gives the impression that the insurance company knows best.  In most cases a pre-d is useless. Most importantly coverage books or payment tables provide you the information you need to make an informed decision on what your patients out-of-pocket cost will be.

5) Use better words when discussing financials to get better results. It has been my experience to eliminate the words co-payment, out of pocket, and your portion because this gives the impression that it is all the patient will owe.  No one knows FOR SURE what the patient will owe until after the claim is received and processed.  Replace those weak words with “Estimated patient portion”, “Your estimated investment”, or “Best guess estimate based on what your insurance has told us about your coverage”.  It is best to tell the patient the entire amount for the services, what is estimated to be paid by the insurance, their estimated patient portion and verbally let them know that the insurance company controls their portion.  Things may change and they may owe more after the claim is processed.  Don’t just rely on written disclaimers on the treatment plans, tell them!  Be clear: Clear communication + clear expectations will equal less headaches in the long run.  

6) Decrease patient cancellations. I recommend removing words like, cancellation or reschedule from your vocabulary.  Dental supporting staff tend to say, “let’s go ahead and schedule this appointment for in 6 months and if it doesn’t work for you, you can call us back and reschedule.”  Instead use the phrase. "It is important that we see you again in October to evaluate the bleeding we saw today on the lower left.  Let’s find a day and time that you know for sure you can make it our schedule is filling up fast and we want to reserve a time that works best for you now!”  Notice I said when and why the patient needs to come back not just in 6 months people will remember better when you use the month and the important reason for the appointment.

7) Fill the empty holes in your schedule by avoiding conversations such as “Hi Mrs. Jones, this is Brenda from ABC Dental, we had a cancellation in tomorrow’s schedule, and I wanted to know if you wanted to come in?”  A better way to phrase this would be, “Hello Mrs. Jones, this is Brenda from ABC Dental.  Dr. Smith asked me to give you a call.  She noticed that your appointment to fix your cracked tooth isn’t for another 2 weeks.  She is concerned that waiting could cause more costly or more painful dental treatment, so she created an opportunity in the schedule for tomorrow at 2pm.  She wanted me to offer it to you.”  Don’t lie always look in the chart for what was diagnosed, why it is needed, and what could happen if they don’t proceed with the recommended treatment.  Pulling the power of the Dr.’s name works really well but make sure you tell the doctor because if Mrs. Jones does come in tomorrow, she may mention the call to the Dr.

8) Be insurance aware not insurance driven! Remember, the plan and coverage is decided by the patient’s employer not by your office. Choose phrases such as “Your employer’s benefit plan determines how much the insurance will pay towards your services.  We do our best to estimate your benefits based on the fax back your insurance provides.  For other people on your same plan, this is what your insurance has paid.  Insurance can be unpredictable.  Would you like me to write the insurance telephone number on this treatment plan so you can give them a call with any specific coverage questions?”  Consider giving the patient a copy of your insurance breakdown and letting them know that this is what you are basing your information off for the estimate.

9)  Take control of your schedule.  Don’t ask when a patient would like to come in or would you prefer mornings or afternoons.  Instead offer of 2 appointment days and times that work for that procedure. “Mrs. Jones, our doctor does your procedures at certain times.  Would you prefer Tuesday at 10:00am or Wednesday at 3:00pm?”  Don’t worry, if they need something else, they will tell you.  Keep in mind that 50% of personalities who were planning on scheduling will accept one of those 2 appointments without question.

10)  Best tip of the day treats your patients the way you want to be treated!  Smile, be empathetic, and explain the details.  They expect you to be the expert show them that you rate that title!  

BONUS TIPS:

Document everything!  If it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen.

Submit clean claims by submitting EVERYTHING for the first time.

Speak highly of each other in front of patients they hear everything!

Discovering which tips and tricks resonate best with your practice can be a delightful journey. While some may seamlessly integrate with your workflow, other may not align as expected. Embrace curiosity over skepticism resists the urge to shutting down ideas with “Yeah, but that won't work in our office because instead, foster an environment of encouragement and celebration for every success achieved. Remember without this spirit, it's merely a job and not a fulfilling career.

About the author:

Kyle Summerford

With over two decades in dental practice management, I’ve made it my mission to help dental office managers rise into confident, strategic leaders. I started at the front desk and worked my way up — mastering leadership, insurance, case acceptance, and team culture through hands-on experience.

I’m the founder of DOMA – The Dental Office Managers Alliance (JoinDOMA.com), a national organization built to support and elevate office managers through real-world training, coaching, and community.

I also created the Dental Office Managers Community (DOMC) — the largest and most active online platform for dental teams nationwide.

Through my writing, speaking, and the Bagel Method™ for case acceptance, I help practices build stronger, patient-focused systems that drive real growth.

“Leadership isn’t about the title you hold. It’s about the trust you build.”

Let’s connect.

www.KyleSummerford.com | www.JoinDOMA.com