The placement of dental implants is integral to the success of my practice. While it is one of the most lucrative parts of my practice, it’s not the only portion that has benefited from the Dr. Dick Barnes structure. When we started with the Dr. Dick Barnes Group, our practice was not doing well. But after learning and following the structure taught by Dr. Barnes, we are helping more people and doing more dentistry in a state-of-the-art facility that my wife, Terri, and I never dreamed we could own.
Based on our experience, I’d like to tell you how to add value to your practice, increase your bottom line, and provide a tremendous service to your patients.
There was a point in my career where I didn’t know how many more single-tooth root canals, build-ups, and crowns I could do. I was losing a sense of satisfaction in my work. Around that time, we had a young associate who was considering buying our practice. He informed me that he was placing implants. I thought, “If this young dentist can place implants, why can’t I?” So I decided to learn. I found that implants are enjoyable to do, predictable in their outcome, and give me a great sense of accomplishment.
Sometimes too much knowledge is a limiting thing and knowledge with no action is useless. So, I took an implant course from the Dr, Dick Barnes Group and I came to the conclusion that even an older left handed dentist can place dental implants with relative ease and predictable results. I realized that it is not a complex version of rocket science. If you follow correct guidelines and protocol implant placement is simple and easier than one first thinks in their mind. If a dentist that’s practiced for 26 years like me, can learn to do implants so can you.
I returned to my office after the program with knowledge to place implants and I had to finance the implant kit to buy implants because I was broke. I didn’t have any money but I had potential and courage. I was ready to place an implant. What a dilemma, I didn’t have any patients that needed implants My mother-in-law, with a failing 3 unit bridge replacing tooth #19 that was failing. I followed the protocol and twenty minutes later had successfully placed an implant and the patient survived. But that did not solve my problems.
Have you ever found a car that is so new and has such a cool color that nobody else has one yet? You buy it, pull out of the dealership lot and suddenly at every turn there is a car just like yours. Well, that was just like my problem, I wasn’t looking for what constituted an implant case so I wasn’t finding any. With a different approach and mindset, I soon realized that I had a plethora of patients that were candidate for implants. So I took other course from the Dr. Dick Barnes Group, I began to see the need for comprehensively treating patients. I realized how little I know about comprehensive dentistry so I set out on a mission to learn as much as my feeble little brain would allow me. Some may feel I know just enough to be dangerous, but now I had numerous, successful cases so my confidence level kept growing.
I can truthfully say I have never had a failed implant case. Yes, I have had implants that did not integrate even with the slight possibility of operator error, and yes, not all outcomes had the most ideal cosmetic result, but each and every one of the patients got out of the chair on their own and felt goof about it. Every implant that failed to integrate was later successful after proper bone grafting and healing. In every cosmetic shortcoming the patient was better off than when we started.
Arrowhead Dental Lab has enabled me to do complex restorative cases. From every one of these cases I learned and have been able to do more complex cases. I’m fortunate to have Arrowhead Dental Lab as a resource to help me with my more difficult restorative cases. Yes, you will have to make changes in the way you practice and no, I didn’t say you have to change the way you practice. These are specific changes that you should be able to integrate into your practice.
Now, if you have managed to somehow still be reading this article, I applaud you, and I will tell you the number one reason we place implants for our patients that are candidates for an implant procedure. That number one reason for placing implants is an easy one. It is because getting an implant placed and restored by our family dental practice is a wonderful service for our patients and adds tremendous value to them in time, money and comfort. Think of it. No more heroic root canals. No more post build ups with the little or no room for ferrule. Not even a thought about redoing a failed root canal even if it was the root canal you did last year. No more three unit bridges even if that is all insurance pays for. Now we can offer very long term solution to these issue we all have faced, and we offer these solutions without having to send our patients to a specialist.
I truly believe there is a need for endodontists, periodontists and oral surgeons. Endodontists are for those patients that simply refuse to get an implant when the dentists know that the tooth has a questionable future. An oral surgeons, God love them, are more than able to handle impacted third molars, cellulites and all weird conditions you have never before seen in your practice.
All of that silliness aside, what a great service if your patient can get an implant procedure done from someone they already trust, have a relationship with and understand the payment policy you have. I promise you will find that your implant cases will be completed in a much timelier manner, your patients will have already committed financially for their restoration before life’s unexpected events happen that derail their best intentions to come back to you to get their implant restored.
You will find many instances where doing an immediate placement implant is of tremendous value to a patient. These are very predictable procedures and highly successful if the case is chosen wisely.
Hopefully I have helped you see things from another perspective, stirred some emotions, be it revulsion or excitement to the possibilities, or even made you chuckle just once. Remember, life is a journey and we all need to enjoy it and have fun along the way.
