Principles of Practice Management with Pam Maragliano-Muniz

[music] >> Welcome to the navigating dental insurance podcast [music] where we don't take from insurance companies. Here your hosts, Mr. [music] Jordan Comstock and Mr. Ben Tuinei. This podcast is sponsored [music] by BoomCloud Dental Membership Software www.boomcloudapps.com and >> [music] >> Veritas Dental Resources www.veritasdentalresources.com. >> [music] >> Enjoy the show. >> What's up everybody and welcome to another exciting episode of the navigating dental insurance podcast. I am your solo co-host today, Jordan Comstock. Ben is I think it's Friday so Ben is probably having a barbecue

somewhere. But I am his neighbor so I will probably be joining him right after this. >> [laughter] >> Today I got an awesome awesome guest. Um Pam, Dr. Pam from Dental Economics Magazine. Pam, what is up? >> What is up? I'm so happy to be here. Sorry to keep you from a barbecue but this is going to be >> [laughter] >> so much fun you won't even need a barbecue. >> Can you imagine that like right after this I just go to Ben's house and I'm

like, "Hey dude, you I I know you're having a barbecue." and he'd be like, "What are you guys talking about?" >> [laughter] >> To be honest with you, Ben is awesome. I think that might be like the best barbecue on your entire block. >> [laughter] >> The first week I moved in uh into into where I live now, I remember talking to my wife and I'm like, "Ben lives around here. I just can't I can't remember if it's like two streets away cuz I've only been

to his house like once or twice. We always meet on the podcast or he comes to the the BoomCloud office or he's he's out uh we're we're out at an event hanging out, right? So I rarely go to his house." And she's like, "Oh, Oh, awesome. It's so cool that you you know that you potentially have a friend that lives close by. I'm like, "Yeah, Ben's awesome." And all of a sudden, as we're like hauling like a bed frame into my into my new house, Ben

like pulls up in his truck. He's like, "Jordan?" I'm like, "What's up, Ben?" He's like, "Did you buy this house?" I'm like, "Yeah, dude." He's like, "We're neighbors!" >> [laughter] >> And that first week I did have a barbecue and I I sent him over a bunch of steak, so he liked that. >> Nice. [laughter] Always nice to have good neighbors, that's for sure. >> Yeah, it's always fun, right? So, anyways, I'm excited to have you on the show today because um you guys are doing

an event, a live event in Nashville, Nashville, correct? >> Yes. >> Uh which is somewhere that I've always wanted to go. I have never been there yet. I'm a big music guy. I play the guitar. Um I used to have a band. I still record in the studio. Um with my brother and he's my my twin brother who's our chief operating officer here at BoomCloud. He uh is an amazing guitarist, so we are we're always jamming and my wife sings and plays, so we I like

music. It's a huge thing. So, uh Nashville, Tennessee has been uh somewhere where I've always wanted to go and I have never had a chance to go and uh now I'm able to go. So, thanks, fam. >> [laughter] >> Of course. Now you have a really great excuse to come to Nashville. >> Yes. So, tell us about um what's going on in Nashville in here in a few months. >> So, on August 26th, 27th, Dental Economics is hosting their annual conference, Principles of Practice Management, and

the theme this year is Rock Your Practice. >> Yeah, that's my type of theme. >> A good one. >> Yeah, Rock Your Practice. It's a two-day event? >> It is, two full days. >> Yes, and and Dental Economics has have been doing this conference for some time. Um I think five or six years, six years. >> Yes. >> What What made you guys end up starting, you know, start to launch this type of event? Because you guys put out a lot of content and a lot

of awesome information in the industry. What's What's got you interested in doing live events? >> So, I can't speak for Chris, but I can tell you from what I know that basically DE puts out a ton of content like you mentioned. Um and there's We've got so many experts that share information and advice and experience um to practice owners. But sometimes it's hard as the individual practice owner to take that advice and implement it if it doesn't perfectly jive with, say, your practice or your business

model. So, the spirit of Principles of Practice Management is for you to come to a conference, roll up your sleeves, get some face time with our industry experts, get your specific questions answered, and depending on the content or the theme for each year, you know, it's it Basically, this is the first year it doesn't have a very tight specific focus. Um because um you know, back in the day we had um content about reading a P&L, bring your you know, bring your reports with you, you

know, like that kind of thing or >> That's awesome. >> you know, that kind of thing. This year is a little different because we're kind of emerging from the pandemic and I feel like some of us are swamped with patients, some of us are struggling big time, some of us are having a horrible time finding staff, some of us just kind of need to take this crazy momentum from the pandemic and harness it and just continue to grow. So, I feel like everybody's dealing with something

different. So, >> Totally. >> we needed to have content this year that was kind of relevant to everybody. And so, that's kind of why we've kind of made it Rock Your Practice. So, we're going to help you, you know, get back on your feet if you're struggling, but also help you just take off from where you're going. >> That's awesome. What are what are some of the the the speakers and what are they speaking about this year? >> So, it's interesting. I have it kind of

broken into two the two days are broken up kind of intentionally. The first day is about the economy and systems and getting the most productivity out of your practice. So, we're starting the day with Roger Levin who's kind of going to sit down and talk with us about the economic climate. Obviously, what we've been endured which we kind of know what's going on but also what to expect down the road and how do we brace for that. So, again, this is really really great info. Um

we've got David Rice talking about staff and really trying to harness you know, get the most out of your staff and also you know, how to you know, really just continue to be a motivator and a great leader. Um I also have invited my dental hygienist, Sarah Crowe. She's amazing. She is the president of the Mass Dental Hygienists Association. So, she's no slouch on her own. But when she joined my practice, she increased the hygiene production in just her one chair by over $80,000. And so,

she's going to speak with everybody about turning your hygiene room into a profit center. And I'm so thrilled to have you and Ben speaking because you're going to help us kind of break free from PPO. If you're going to keep a PPO, how to negotiate the highest fees but also if you just can't kind of find a common ground with them, how do you lose them? And so, how do we do that successfully? So, I'm thrilled to have you guys joining us as well. >> Yeah,

it's going to be it's going to be fun. I'm I'm super excited that you know, Nashville rock and roll uh getting rid of PPOs. Those are my favorite topics. >> [laughter] >> It's a win-win all around. >> all around. Yes. >> It is and then we're going to cap off the day with Scott Fromm, who is you know, if you don't know who Scott is, which I'm sure you do, he's a really successful periodontist. He's actually running a conference for the Perio Implant Advisory right next

door from us, so we run actually two conferences at the same time. And Scott's going to be talking about implants and some um interesting facts that have come up in the research as to um items in patients' health and you know, um what's contributing to implant failure and what we can expect down the road because I think some concepts that we had with implant dentistry that we've kind of grown to accept, um he's challenging them. And so I think it's going to be a really, really

interesting day. >> So that's day one, day two, what does that look like? >> Day two, I feel like it's so interesting because um actually earlier today I was shooting a video and the the phrase came up, you know, it's not about what happens to you, it's kind of what you do with your circumstance and how do you kind of grow from it. And I think that you know, it's interesting. I mean, you go on social media, there's so many negative posts towards dentists and posts

from staff about dentists and different things happening that I think that we as dentists need support. And I think that we not only need support, we need to really be our best selves so that whatever our circumstance is, we can kind of come out of it with the best outcome. And so I really wanted day two to be about you, about the practice owner. So I have Jay Geier from the Scheduling Institute talking about how to harness your leadership skills and to give you some really

great tips about that. I have Jessica Emery, who's an amazing um branding expert. She's going to talk about personal and practice branding. And then um we're going to kind of shift gears a little bit. We're going to have Aaron Elliott, who's um awesome. She's going to come and talk about the importance of sleep. So, the importance for us as humans to sleep, but also how do you bring sleep dentistry successfully into your practice? >> Mhm. >> So, she's [clears throat] amazing with that. And then we

have Joshua Austin, one of my faves, coming in and talking about mental health and wellness and, you know, how to how do we keep ourselves, you know, as mentally and as mentally healthy as we can. >> Especially after a long couple years of just economic issues for all of us Americans. >> Oh, yeah. I mean, it's been rough. It it almost doesn't matter where you are, how you practice, how many practices you have. I mean, I think this is support we all sort of need. And

then >> Totally. >> capping the conference with Uche Odiatu. >> Yes. >> He's going to talk I love him. He wrote a book about wellness and, you know, taking care of yourself, your your patients, your practice, and really, you know, oral systemic health. So, I think it's it's going to be different for DE, but I think it's needed. >> Yeah. No, that's awesome. I'm excited to be a part of it. Excited to you know, talk and learn more about and meet new friends. There's a few

people that I haven't met yet in the industry and I'm excited to meet some more new friends. What So, for those of you that that are listening Pam is the chief editor of Dental Economics magazine. I didn't push that, did I? >> No, that's right. >> [laughter] >> I want to know how does one become the chief editor of a dental magazine as a as a as a practicing dentist? >> Yeah, you know, honestly, I feel really lucky. I feel like I was really just in

the right place at the right time. Um and so, basically, I came back So, I was with PennWell, you know, who's now Endeavor, who Dental Economics falls underneath that umbrella, back in 2015, so I was actually, you know, part of the the family there for a little while, and then they got acquired a couple of times, and then um I kind of left for a bit, but then right in 2020, I came back as the chief editor for Dentistry IQ and the editorial director for the

Dental Academy of CE. And to be honest with you, I kind of thought I was done. I was like, you know, I'm really happy, I'm content, I've got my practice, like this is kind of perfect, and I kind of felt like I don't I don't there's nothing really more I feel like I need to do. I'm really happy in this role. And then all of a sudden, out of the blue, I get this call that Chris Salierno stepping down. And um it took me a while

because it was almost bittersweet. Chris put me up for this role, and so I'll always be super grateful for Chris Salierno for this >> He's awesome. >> and so many things in the past, and Chris is awesome. And um it was one of those things where I was excited about it, but I was actually a little more sad because I didn't want to see Chris leaving us. And so >> Sure. >> it was one of those things that people would congratulate me. I'm like, "Thanks, but

I'd give it up in a heartbeat if Chris wants to come back." That was kind [laughter] of my answer. do everything, and then all of a sudden I said, you know, Chris by choice moved on to something that has inspired him, and he's excited about it, and it's time for me to be excited about this, and you know, roll up my sleeves and and do it. And so it's been almost a year, and it's like nothing I could have ever imagined, but I also love it

so much. >> Yeah, I bet. I bet you're meeting lots of people around the world of dentistry, which is if you haven't noticed, that's my favorite thing. I love meeting new people. So that sounds like a an awesome benefit of being the chief editor of a magazine. Um and then obviously contributing to improve and and better dentistry. I think that's that seems like a fun role to be in. So, that is awesome. Yeah, I I remember when um Dental Economics was PennWell. I think I was

writing for uh as a contributor at the time during 20 2015 for 14-15. I started writing for Dental Economics and Dentistry IQ. All those you I think you can still find a lot of my early articles of of uh those days, but yeah, I've I've enjoyed being a part at least a contributor to the magazine and Dentistry IQ. That's been a that's a it's a fun group of people and a it seems like a fun environment. So, that's awesome. So, for those of you listening, I

would encourage you to go and register for the Principles of Principles of Practice Management. August, what were the dates again, Pam? August >> August 26th, 27th in Nashville, Tennessee. >> In Nashville, Tennessee Tennessee. Is there a website people can go to to register? >> Oh, absolutely. I'll share the links with you. Um it's >> I'll put them in the show notes. >> Yeah, it's not like ppm.com. It's a little bit more confusing than that. So, I'll share the link with you. >> No worries. I did

do a Google search search and all you have to do is Google search Principles of Practice Management and it's the first one there. Also, I will put the the link in the show notes for those of you that are listening. You can look at the If you're driving, you can stop and and click link and look at it and register, but I would recommend that you go Sounds like it's There's going to be a rocking event and we're going to have a good time and there's

going to be lots of awesome learning going on in August. So, Pam, thanks so much for coming on the show today. >> Jordan, thank you so much for having me. I couldn't wait to be asked to be a guest for you guys. So, thank you. >> Awesome. Rock on everybody. We'll talk soon.