Articles GET READY –THE INFANTS ARE COMING As the reduction of caries in the patient population continues, dentists scramble to keep their practices busy and attract new patients. For many, the strategy has been lower fees, dental panels, capitation plans, and bigger and bolder newspaper ads. Unfortunately, dentists frequently overlook a potential source of patients who already exist in their practices - the infant patient . . .Click to read more THE MAGIC OF A HAPPY SMILE While researching references for this article, the catchphrase "The Magic of a Healthy Smile" was used. Over 80,000 references were accessed, the vast majority relating, in some manner to dentistry and the profession’s goal to create healthy smiles. For thousands of year prior to the advent of modern dentistry, magic has been used to entertain, impress and motivate individuals. Today’s dental professionals can promote the concept of The Magic of a Healthy Smile not only through their use of modern clinical techniques but by using magic as a means for practice marketing, patient education and patient stress and fear reduction... Click to read more A GUIDE TO PLANNING SUCCESSFUL SEMINARS How do you express appreciation to your referrers? Candy . . . cookies . . .flowers . . . paperweights? Those that eat candy and cookies remember them by the pounds gained. Flowers wilt in a week. Paperweights collect dust. A creative and effective way to express appreciation to referrers is to invite them to a seminar sponsored by your practice. Providing an educational, motivational and entertaining experience to those that contribute to the success of your practice will reinforce and solidify your relationships and practice recognition. Promoting such an event may seem to require a lot of effort and expense. But by following these steps, one can create a program with nominal effort and expense, which will pay off in increased good will and patient referrals . . .Click to read more