As a senior in high school, you do not need to pass “electives” to obtain your high school diploma.  The same goes for college, trade school, credentials, or any other education system.  In high school, one of my elective courses was shorthand, those of you that are younger, may need to look that one up.   You may be thinking to yourself, “It’s only an elective.” But let me tell you, it was HARD!  I studied and practiced, did my homework, and on my midterm, I got a C.  Frustrated with myself, I went to my instructor and asked, “How can I get this to stick in my head?”  My very wise teacher told me something that has stuck with me

We all remember the Aesop Fable, the Tortoise and the Hare. The hare (dental insurance) ridiculed the tortoise (medical insurance) for being too slow, and then challenged the tortoise to a race.  In the beginning, the overconfident hare ran around in circles, mocking the tortoise before taking off. Midway through the race the hare thinks, “I am better, faster, and will always win against that tortoise.”  Because of that, the hare decides to take a nap!   As the hare awakens, and starts on the track to finish the race, the tortoise has already crossed the finish line.   During the race, the tortoise was focused on the prize…finishing.  Even though the tortoise is slow, he would continue even if the hare

Daily we are asked or ask the question, “How are you?” Despite the fact that not much attention is paid to the question, the response (unless you have been on hold with insurance for 1 or 2 hours), is usually “I’m fine.” This is all well and good, but does it really get answered truthfully? We see patients that endure chronic daily headaches, migraines, and jaw pain from arthralgia (pain in joint), and the list of head and jaw-related issues goes on and on. Patients that have these types of problems are dysfunctionally functioning. The term dysfunctional or dysfunctionally functioning describes that they are functioning with a dysfunction.  I, personally, am one of them, that is until Dr. Alan Anderson of Salt

By: Laurie Owens, CPC, CPB, COC Devdent Director of Medical Billing for Dentistry Buying a new home, uprooting your family, and leaving the familiarity of your old life behind is scary. Moving from state to state can bring some trepidation. During the initial inspection, there are questions that echo in your mind. How is the foundation? What is it made of? When was the last inspection done? Let us ask you, how is your practice foundation? Introducing new regional concepts like landscaping and the fact that your grass will be brown during the winter months because it’s dormant is not unlike explaining to your patients what periodontics is.  At our practice in Kenmore, Washington, we would help our patients understand

What is one of the most challenging jobs in a dental practice? We’ll give you a clue: They have their hands in surgery, hygiene, lab, exams, post-op appointments, and admin. They are a one-person show with many different skills rolled into one. One of the most demanding jobs in a dental practice is that of a dental assistant. Dental assistants play the star, hero, victim, and even the detective of the dental practice. This makes them well-suited for an integral role in medical billing for dentistry. Here are the five areas where dental assistants and medical billers for dentistry can collaborate to make their practice successful:  1. Investigator Dental assistants are investigators. They gather vital information from the patient prior