Dental Drills Bits

Could your dental practice be sitting on thousands of dollars in unscheduled treatment? As 2026 comes to a close, dental practices are focused on production goals, patient scheduling, and preparing for 2027. But before looking for new patients or cutting expenses, what if some of your biggest opportunities are already sitting in your practice management software? In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana Pardue and dental practice management consultant Sandy Pardue discuss how to uncover missed production opportunities, reconnect with patients who haven't scheduled recommended treatment, and make the most of remaining dental insurance benefits before year end. Consider this: If just 20 patients schedule treatment averaging $3,000 in adjusted production, that's $60,000 in potential additional production. And you may not need to spend another dollar on marketing to find those opportunities. In This Episode: How to identify unscheduled dental treatment opportunities using your practice management software Why patients leave without scheduling recommended treatment and how to reconnect with them How to use unscheduled treatment reports to uncover missed production Why personal phone calls still matter in patient communication How to create a fall dental insurance benefits letter that encourages patients to schedule Strategies for reaching patients with and without dental insurance Why front office training and accountability are essential to successful patient follow up How to finish 2026 strong while preparing for a more productive 2027 Key Takeaways: Your next production opportunity may already be in your patient database. Before investing in new patient acquisition, review the treatment your practice has already diagnosed but hasn't scheduled. Automated messages are helpful, but meaningful conversations often make the difference when patients have questions or concerns about treatment. Every practice needs a consistent follow up system with clear responsibilities, appropriate training, and documentation. And don't overlook your fall insurance project. A timely letter can remind patients about outstanding treatment and remaining benefits before the end of their plan year. The goal isn't simply to increase production. It's to help more patients receive the care they need while building a more predictable and efficient dental practice. Your challenge this week? Pull your unscheduled treatment report, identify one patient, and make the call. Thank You to Our Sponsors! Identity Dental Marketing Identity Dental Marketing helps dental practices attract the right patients, strengthen their online presence, and grow through strategic dental marketing. From branding and website development to SEO and digital advertising, their team specializes in marketing for dentists. Learn more: https://identitydental.com/ Practice by Numbers Practice by Numbers helps dental practices make smarter business decisions with real time analytics, performance dashboards, patient communication tools, and practice management insights. Track the numbers that matter, identify opportunities, and improve practice performance. Learn more: https://practicenumbers.com/ Thank you to Identity Dental Marketing and Practice by Numbers for supporting Dental Drill Bits! 📲 Join the Conversation! How much unscheduled treatment is sitting in your practice management software right

A Dentaltown post started a bigger conversation: A dentist wanted to bring back a former dental assistant, but a current front office employee didn't want her back. Then someone argued that the assistant was more important because she directly contributed to production. So, who is more valuable to the practice? In this episode, Dana and Sandy talk about what really makes someone valuable to a dental practice, what to consider before bringing back a former employee, and why front office vs. back office conflict is often a symptom of a bigger issue. They also discuss why patients can feel tension between team members, how unclear systems create conflict, and why practice owners need to address problems instead of hoping they work themselves out. In This Episode: Should you rehire a former dental employee? What should you do when a current employee objects? Is the front office less important because they don't directly produce dentistry? Why reference checks still matter Front office vs. back office conflict How systems and unclear responsibilities create tension Why patients notice when your team isn't getting along How team members can better demonstrate their value The role of training, communication and accountability Key Takeaways: The front office can't do its job without the clinical team, and the clinical team can't operate effectively without patients being scheduled, communicated with, checked out, followed up with and financially taken care of. Before rehiring someone, find out why they left and listen when current team members raise concerns. And when there's ongoing tension between the front and back office, don't assume it's simply a personality problem. Look at your systems, responsibilities, training and communication. Your patients don't see a front office and a back office. They see your practice. Thank You to Our Sponsor: Identity Dental Marketing Identity Dental Marketing helps dental practices build stronger brands and smarter marketing strategies designed for long-term growth. Learn more about Identity Dental Marketing and how they help dental practices stand out in competitive markets. https://identitydental.com/ 📲 Join the Conversation! Have you ever rehired a former employee? Did it work out—or did the same problems come back with them? And where does your practice struggle most: communication between the front and back, unclear responsibilities, or addressing conflict before it gets bigger? Join the conversation in the Dental Drill Bits Facebook Group. We'd love to hear what's happening in your practice. 🎧 Subscribe to Dental Drill Bits Follow Dental Drill Bits for practical conversations about dental practice management, team training, systems, leadership and practice growth. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe so you don't miss an episode.

AI is changing how patients search for dentists, but simply creating more content isn't enough. As AI-generated content floods the internet, credibility, expertise, and proof may matter more than ever. In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana Pardue and Sandy Pardue welcome Grace Rizza, founder and CEO of Identity Dental Marketing, back to the show for a conversation about how AI is changing dental marketing, search visibility, content creation, and the way patients discover and evaluate dental practices. Grace explains why using AI effectively isn't as simple as asking ChatGPT to write a few blogs or social posts. The technology can make marketing faster and more efficient, but the expertise behind the prompts, strategy, quality control, and execution still matters. AI can produce content in seconds, but that doesn't mean the content is original, accurate, optimized, or capable of moving the needle for your practice. The conversation then turns to AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization, and what dental practices need to understand as patients increasingly use AI platforms to find information and make decisions. Grace explains how AEO builds on many of the same foundations as SEO, while placing greater importance on context, credibility, proof, and a practice's broader digital footprint. What happens when a patient isn't simply searching for a "dentist near me," but asking AI to help them find a dentist who understands dental anxiety, performs cosmetic dentistry, or offers a specific type of care? Your website can say you're an expert, but patients and AI platforms are looking for evidence to support those claims. Before-and-after photos, patient testimonials, reviews across multiple platforms, strong service content, and third-party credibility can all help reinforce what makes your practice worth recommending. Dana, Sandy, and Grace also explore an important part of the AI conversation: the more technology we have, the more valuable real human expertise and connection can become. Automation can handle repetitive work and make businesses more efficient, but it shouldn't replace the people responsible for building trust, understanding patients, and delivering the experience your marketing promises. In this episode: • How AI is changing the way patients discover dental practices • What AEO is and how it works alongside SEO • Why credibility, proof, and your digital footprint matter more than ever • How to use AI without creating generic content or losing your brand voice • Why brand positioning gives patients a reason to choose your practice • Where automation can improve efficiency without replacing human connection The takeaway? The tools are changing, but the objective isn't. Your practice still needs to generate interest, build credibility, become visible in the market you want to serve, and give the right patients a reason to choose you. AI, SEO, AEO, content, reviews, and digital marketing shouldn't operate as separate strategies. They work together to create the evidence and visibility that help patients, and increasingly AI platforms, understand who you are, what you do well, and why your practice may be the right fit. But getting discovered is only the beginning. As Grace explains, never replace quality with automation. Technology and quality can coexist when practices are intentional about how they use it. Marketing can create the exposure. AI can help patients discover you. Your people and patient experience still have to deliver on the promise. Learn more about Identity Dental Marketing Visit IdentityDental.com to learn more about Identity Dental Marketing and marketing strategies designed specifically for dental practices. Practices that need greater clarity around their positioning can also work directly with Grace to identify their unique selling proposition, clarify what makes their practice different, and build the strategic foundation needed before moving into marketing execution. Dental Drill Bits with Dana Pardue and Sandy Pardue brings you practical strategies for building a stronger, more productive and profitable dental practice.

What if employees got a bonus simply for showing up? In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana and Sandy tackle a surprisingly controversial question: Should reliable attendance be rewarded, or is showing up on time simply part of the job? Sandy shares an attendance incentive she has used in dental practices for years involving ping-pong balls, cash rewards, and one simple qualification: reliability. But the conversation goes much deeper than bonuses. Because an attendance incentive won't fix a practice that hasn't clearly defined its expectations. Dana and Sandy discuss the importance of work-hour policies, PTO and time-off procedures, defining what "on time" actually means, and creating a culture where team members understand that their presence matters. They also explore when occasional absences become an attendance problem and why the behavior of leaders and long-term employees can quickly influence the rest of the team. In This Episode: Sandy's ping-pong attendance incentive and why it works PTO, attendance problems, and clear policies How workplace culture affects reliability Why rewards should never replace accountability Key Takeaways: The goal isn't perfect attendance at all costs. It's reliability. Employees need to know what's expected, how to request time off, what "on time" means, and how to communicate when life happens. And while you're addressing the employee you can't count on, don't forget to recognize the ones you can. You can't hold people accountable for a standard you haven't clearly defined or trained. 📲 Join the Conversation! Would you offer an attendance incentive in your practice? Or do you believe showing up reliably is simply part of the job? Join the conversation in the Dental Drill Bits Facebook Group. We'd love to hear what's working in your practice and may feature your experience in a future episode.

Getting more dental leads isn't always the answer. The real goal is attracting the right patients and giving them a reason to choose your practice. In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Dana Pardue and Sandy Pardue welcome Grace Rizza, founder and CEO of Identity Dental Marketing, for a conversation about what dental marketing looks like as AI, automation, Google Ads, Meta advertising, and patient expectations continue to change. Grace explains why effective marketing can't be one-size-fits-all. A startup practice looking for patient volume needs a very different strategy than a fee-for-service practice looking for a small number of high-value restorative or cosmetic patients. The process can be consistent, but the strategy has to reflect the practice, its goals, its strengths, and what patients in that market actually want. The conversation then turns to lead quality. Cheap leads can become expensive when your team spends time chasing patients who aren't a good fit, don't show up, or never become long-term patients. Grace and Sandy discuss why marketing has to connect with what happens inside the practice, from answering the phone and following up with leads to appointment availability and the patient experience. Grace also breaks down how Google Ads and Meta can work together. Google captures high-intent patients actively searching for a dentist, while Meta can help retarget and nurture people who visited the website but weren't ready to schedule. When those efforts work together, practices have a better opportunity to get more value from every marketing dollar. In this episode: • Why dental marketing should be built around the individual practice • The difference between a consistent process and cookie-cutter marketing • Why more leads aren't necessarily better leads • How poor-fit leads can contribute to broken appointments and team burnout • Why your marketing has to give patients a reason to choose you • How Google Ads and Meta advertising can work together • How automated lead nurturing keeps potential patients engaged • The difference between automation and AI • How AI chatbots and knowledge bases may change dental marketing • Why AI should handle the mundane instead of replacing human connection • Where AI receptionists can help and where the human team still matters • Why your brand, patient experience, and marketing strategy have to align The takeaway? Technology can help your practice communicate faster, follow up more consistently, and get more from your marketing, but it can't replace what makes patients choose and stay with a practice. As Grace explains, automation should replace the mundane so your people can operate at a higher level. Sandy reinforces that patients can get dental procedures anywhere. The relationships and experience your team creates are what make your practice different. Marketing can get their attention. Automation can keep the conversation moving. But your practice still has to give patients a reason to choose you. Learn more about Identity Dental Marketing Visit IdentityDental.com to learn more about Identity Dental Marketing and schedule a complimentary marketing planning session with Grace's team. Practices looking for a deeper business and brand positioning strategy can also schedule a consultation directly with Grace to evaluate their market, competition, opportunities, and what makes their practice truly marketable. Dental Drill Bits with Dana Pardue and Sandy Pardue brings you practical strategies for building a stronger, more productive and profitable dental practice.