KPIs and Me
One of the things that orthodontists constantly ask one another is “What key performance indicators are most important?”This question is only slightly less popular than “What’s the one thing...
Orthodontic Assumptions
I was perusing mass emails in my spam folder when I came across one from OrthoYes. It was interesting for lots of reasons but the thing that struck me most were the assumptions that almost all orthodo...
Orthodontists Don’t Understand the Definition of Average
Definition of average /ˈav(ə)rij/, noun a number expressing the central or typical value in a set of data, in particular the mode, median, or (most commonly) the mean, which is calculated by divid...
Anterior Implants Suck
I had a very interesting conversation with a dental school classmate today. He’s one of the smartest people I know and given his class rank in dental school, he could have done any specialty he want...
Omnidirectional Orthodontics
Marc Ackerman & Ben Burris We were discussing orthodontic theory and practice from an historical point of view today and remembering that 1) Transverse First was a big deal in the 1990’s and ear...
Pricing Implications
You get what you pay for… This was never more true in orthodontics than today. Though we try and ignore the fact, there is an implied agreement between orthodontists and our customers that transcend...
$800,000
The other day I was asked why I think the median orthodontic pracrice is doing less than a million in production and, even if most orthodontists are producing in the 800 k range, how can they be broke...
White Coat Syndrome
Online, in lecture halls and in print, there are fanatical devotees of evidence based orthodontics whose shrill voices lament the absence of science in our profession. For proof and for comedic relief...
Shame On Us
I received a text a few days ago from a young orthodontist who is a few years out of school. They were distraught over a case that “didn’t turn out the way it should have” and they “didn’t f...
Death of a Salesman
The Hazards of Buying the Practice of an Orthodontist Who Dies Unexpectedly Several months ago a good friend of mine was confronted by a situation I see all too often. A local orthodontist died, had n...