FEATURE #76 – Enhancing the Dental Team with Kathy Metaxas

With over 44 years of experience in the dental industry, Kathy Metaxas knows a thing or two about dental practices. She is the founder of Platinum Professional Development, a motivational speaker, dental educator, coach and advocate for patient care and management, fostering strong team culture and implementing systems to ensure dental practices can function at the optimal potential.

One of the things we love doing on the podcast is bringing on people who aren’t necessarily dentists, but are fundamental and integral to our industry. We all know a dental practice is only as good as its staff, and in today’s episode Kathy talks us through it all. We talk about leadership, teamwork, how generational differences affect us and her advice for new grads entering the world of dentistry.

TIP #102 – Show & Tell With Photography with Dr Paul Jay Hwin

They say a picture tells a thousand words, and in the world of dentistry, this could not be more powerful.

In this episode, we’re joined with Dr Paul Jay Hwin to talk about the power of photography and the various ways we can implement it into our appointments to communicate, educate and ultimately, connect better with our patients.

It’s one thing to look smart with tech, and take Insta-worthy photographs, but it’s a whole different ball game to know how and when to present these photos to really hit home.

TIP #99 – The Legal Side of Practice Ownership with Harry Nicolaidis

For a number of us, the goal is perhaps to one day own our own dental clinic. However, we were only ever taught how to be good clinicians, and practice ownership is a whole different can of worms.
In this episode, we are joined with Harry Nicolaidis, one of Australia’s leading lawyers in the field of dentistry. We discuss the different ways we can get into practice ownership, what we should look out for and the checklists we should cover before getting our feet wet.
This is just a small introduction into the world of practice ownership, but for those who are interested we hope it’s a little taster. Let us know if you’d like to hear more!

TIP #96 – A Complaint? Now What? with Harry Nicolaidis

So you’ve gotten yourself into a little bit of a sticky situation and received a complaint…now what? Now, fingers crossed this never actually happens to any of us, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry, to be informed and to have all our bases covered.

Harry Nicolaidis is one of Australia’s leading alternative dispute and litigation lawyers, and assists health practitioners and dental practice owners across a wide range of issues. In this episode, we talk about what to do and perhaps more importantly, what not to do when faced with a complaint. We talk about the protocols we should have in place to look after ourselves and our patients, and who our first point of call ought to be.
Litigation is a scary part of dentistry, but at the end of the day, there is a wide support network around us that we can tap into. You don’t have to face it alone.

TIP #95 – Who Needs Insurance? with Bhupesh Kaphle

I’m young, fit and healthy…do I really need health insurance? Can’t I cheap out and just not buy travel insurance? What exactly is professional indemnity?

Just like tax, there’s a lot of different types of insurance. And when we haven’t directly experienced a sticky situation, it’s often hard to see the value of it or understand what they entail.

In this episode, Bhupesh Kaphle talks us through the basics of insurance and why it’s important. At the end of the day, you’d rather have your back covered, than to have regrets when things don’t go to plan.

TIP #93 – What Did I Sign Up For? with Harry Nicolaidis

Congratulations – you’ve just landed yourself a job offer! But now, as you sit down to have a look at the contract you’ve been given, you start to wonder, ‘What did I sign up for?’

It’s job hunting season, and whether you’re new to the game and looking for your first gig or if you already have a job under your belt but have questions about your contract, we’ve got you covered.

Ever wondered what the differences between employee-employer relationships, contractors or service and facilities arrangements (SFAs)? In this episode, we bring it back down to basics to cover all the things we should know when signing a contract.

TIP #88 – Practising Safe and Defensive Dentistry with Dr James Tran

How many times have you dreaded going in to work knowing you have a certain procedure in your books, or gone home thinking if what you did was the right thing. No doubt most of us have experienced this and would love to keep these days to a minimum.

In this episode, Graeme speaks with James about practising safe and defensive dentistry and what this means in your daily practice. Everyone is happy when you are having fun and doing the dentistry you enjoy doing. Predictability while you’re practising reduces your headaches so you can go to work more relaxed and go home without having to worry about the day’s work.

FEATURE #71 – Mastering Your New Patient Consult with Dr Derry Rogers

Dentistry is rapidly evolving and there are so many concepts which we just take for granted nowadays. It’s hard to imagine a time where composite resin wasn’t the normal, digital dentistry didn’t exist and social media wasn’t as prevalent as it is now. 

But Dr Derry Rogers has been able witness all of these changes first hand. Having graduated in 1977 and practiced for over 40 odd years, Dr Rogers was there when the adhesive revolution occurred and was one of the founding fathers that helped bring cosmetic dentistry to Australia. With this wealth of knowledge, Dr Rogers continues to lecture internationally, runs courses through The DR Institute and hosts his own Online Dental Mentoring Podcast

In this episode, we dive into how Dr Rogers conducts his new patient consultations and the tips he has for new graduates to become more effective clinicians. We explore the topics of Personality Profiling, Data Collection & Photography, Diagnosis, Treatment Planning & Sequencing. 

We’ve also created a Google Drive with templates and additional notes on all the concepts we discuss in today’s episode. Check it out here!
ps://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qHg8SBHNkW1j5NsMjDeNx3_eDfeDrqo2?usp=sharing

TIP #72 – Upskilling & Critically Evaluating Yourself with Dr Andrew Cheng

If there’s anyone who’s really mastered the act of up-skilling rapidly in their early years, then surely it must be Dr Andrew Cheng. From implants, grafts and All-on-X to orthodontics and high level cosmetic dentistry, it seems like he’s done it all for someone who still humbly considers himself a new-grad.

This was a really thoughtful conversation where we talk about developing the right attitude and mindset towards our continuous learning and growth. We talk about how to go about critically evaluating our work, asking for feedback and taking actionable steps to improve. Join us in this episode as we dive into Dr Andrew’s own journey and reflect on how he’s gotten to where he is now.

FEATURE #68 – The Future of Dental Head Start with Dr David Keir

Taking on the challenge of starting a podcast and delving into a world that you know nothing about is daunting. Putting yourself out there in a close knit community is a brave thing to do, and David has done it flawlessly.

David holds an engineering degree, been a dental assistant for a millennia, played semi-pro poker and can now add a successful career as a podcast founder to the mix. There’s not much David can’t do. 

Erica and Graeme sit down with David as they explore David’s life, talk about what Dental Head Start means to them, the future of DHS, and David’s parting wisdom have worked for 5 years and is now leading into a new, fun life adventure. 

We couldn’t think of a better interview to start off the new year 2022 with.