Blogs | Dental Software News and Updates - ABELDent Inc
Schedule a Demo

Blog

The Benefits of Online Learning
The Benefits of Online Learning

Education is never a “one size fits all” situation. Online training offers maximum convenience and flexibility for your team to enhance their skills and knowledge of your dental software. Through online modules, your team members can easily learn about the best practices for using your dental software, along with tips or shortcuts for more efficient daily workflows. In this blog post, we discuss five benefits of using ABELDent LMS, ABELDent's online learning management system to train your team to get the most out of your dental software.

Improving Your Practice’s Patient Communication with ABELDent: A Comprehensive Guide
Improving Your Practice’s Patient Communication with ABELDent: A Comprehensive Guide

It has always been essential to communicate effectively with your patients. However, these days, patients expect modern forms of communication, not the phone calls they once would have. ABELDent Patient Communication (PCS) provides easy, secure, and convenient options for improved daily communication with patients. ABELDent PCS not only provides options for texting and emailing patients but extends to self-booking and online forms, saving your team and your patient's time. ABELDent PCS is built directly into ABELDent Cloud and ABELDent Local+. In this blog post, we cover some of the main features ABELDent PCS brings to the table. Watch our video on ABELDent PCS to get the details on our communication system!

ABELDent’s 2023 Year In Review
ABELDent’s 2023 Year In Review

With 2023 coming to a close, we want to take the chance to thank ABELDent users for the continued support and trust as your dental software provider. Throughout the year, we were dedicated to enhancing our mainstream ABELDent products with new features and enhancements designed to help you streamline the operation of your dental practice.

Strengthening Your Practice’s Passwords: The First Layer of Defense
Strengthening Your Practice’s Passwords: The First Layer of Defense

With cybercrime growing more and more prevalent, we want to remind you to keep password hygiene in mind. This blog post discusses the first layer of defense from hackers: strong passwords. To learn about the best practices for maintaining, updating, and storing your practice's passwords, read on.

Customizing Your Dental Practice’s Online Forms with ABELDent
Customizing Your Dental Practice’s Online Forms with ABELDent

From new patient intake forms to health history to consent forms for treatment, your practice may already generate plenty of electronic files for forms every week. In this blog post, we cover some of the benefits of going paperless, as well as show you in detail how to customize your office's online forms using ABELDent.

Managing Online Reviews
Managing Online Reviews

How you can use review management software to obtain new reviews, monitor online performance, minimize negative reviews, and use positive reviews to boost your practice’s reach online. Also: how to effectively respond to a negative review.

A Deep Dive into Charting in ABELDent
A Deep Dive into Charting in ABELDent

Tasks like recording conditions, charting treatment, and planning treatment are easier than ever before. ABELDent’s extensive charting capabilities allow you to do more in less time. Watch our video to learn about ABELDent’s charting functionalities and see how simple charting and creating clinical notes can be.

Three Reasons You Should Regularly Update Your Dental Software 
Three Reasons You Should Regularly Update Your Dental Software 

Updating your dental software may seem like something that you only need to do infrequently, such as when there is a major new feature or capability in an update.  There are, however, incredibly important reasons for updating your software (and, in some cases, hardware) as new updates become available. From protecting your valuable practice data with security patches to running more efficiently with new features and bug fixes, here are three crucial reasons for keeping your dental software and hardware regularly up to date. 

How Your Practice Can Easily Leverage SEO to Raise Your Google Search Ranking (Part 3 of 3) 
How Your Practice Can Easily Leverage SEO to Raise Your Google Search Ranking (Part 3 of 3) 

How can you optimize your Google listing to maximize your online presence and raise your ranking in search results? In this third part of our three-part series on Google Business Profile Features, we are going over four ways you can improve your search engine optimization (SEO) to increase your online visibility, target local prospects, attract more patients, and gain a competitive advantage over other practices in your area. 

How To Complete Your Google Business Profile (Part 2 of 3)
How To Complete Your Google Business Profile (Part 2 of 3)

Having a complete Google Business Profile helps maximize your office’s online exposure, makes a great first impression with prospective patients, and raises your office’s ranking on search index listings. In this blog post, we continue our three-part series on using Google's Business Profile and Google's features for better online recognition and reach. This blog post provides a checklist that details how to fill out your dental practice's Google Business Profile.

The Reasons for Building Up Your Google Profile (Part 1 of 3)
The Reasons for Building Up Your Google Profile (Part 1 of 3)

Join us in our three-part series as we delve into the details of the benefits, features, and best practices for using a Google Business Profile for your dental practice. In this blog post, we go over the reasons your practice should set up a Google Business Profile if your office does not have one set up already.

A Guide to Patient Communication Software 
A Guide to Patient Communication Software 

Effective patient communication is critical to a successful practice. Improving patient communication methods can increase patient retention, strengthen office-patient relationships, boost your practice's reputation, and improve practice performance. While there are many patient communication options available to dental practices, it is important that you choose communication software that best meets your practice needs. Join us as we dive into the various aspects of patient communication solutions to keep in mind when shopping around, and learn more about ABELDent's Patient Communication System.

Three Tips to try for Minimizing Patient No Shows
Three Tips to try for Minimizing Patient No Shows

Harnessing software that provides time-saving benefits, such as ABELDent, can help you easily send multiple patient reminders with a click of a button.

One Key Reason to Always Keep Your Software Up to Date
One Key Reason to Always Keep Your Software Up to Date

Over the past few decades, cyberattacks have evolved into large-scale threats with devastating consequences. Governments, healthcare providers, businesses, service providers, and even individuals fall victim to ransomware, phishing scams, and malware. Healthcare is one of the industries most at risk of cyberattacks.  Patient data has a high price tag for hackers searching for personal health information (PHI) and financial records. In addition to complying with security best practices, there are some ground rules for keeping your practice data safe from hackers. In this blog post, we will explore the reasoning behind why your office should always keep all software and operating systems up to date from a data security standpoint. 

Understanding Data Encryption’s Role in Your Dental Practice
Understanding Data Encryption’s Role in Your Dental Practice

Encrypted data is a software and technology industry standard. Data encryption is necessary in the healthcare industry, working as an effective tool to protect patient information (PHI). In this blog post, we want to help you understand the importance of data encryption and explain the steps ABELDent takes towards protecting and securing your practice’s valuable information via encryption.

Online Reviews: The Powerful Way to Make or Break Your Digital Image
Online Reviews: The Powerful Way to Make or Break Your Digital Image

Public online reviews, such as Google Reviews or Facebook Reviews provide powerful leverage that can help potential patients make decisions about where to go for dental care. By proactively curating great reviews, your practice’s online presence can work towards guiding new patients to your office for treatment.

Check Up On Your Practice’s Security
Check Up On Your Practice’s Security

How often does your office do a security check-up? Much like personal wellness, your office’s security also requires regular maintenance. Keeping your practice safe is not limited to one security precaution, but rather, a network of systems, practices, and precautions that together continually prevent threats and breaches. Ensuring all your practice’s security steps are seamlessly coordinated is the key to ensuring your office is best protected from cyberattacks. In this blog, we have compiled some key points for assessing your practice’s security.

Why ABELDent Is Your One-Stop-Solution For All Of Your Practice Management Needs
Why ABELDent Is Your One-Stop-Solution For All Of Your Practice Management Needs

How much does your current dental software allow you to do? Does your current software provide you with all the tools you need to manage your practice? How many different programs does your practice use daily? These are some burning questions fuelling the growing number of offices switching to practice management platforms that provide more tools. Whether it is because of the simplicity of automatic updates, or the surety of meeting compliance standards, many practices are moving to modern, comprehensive solutions like ABELDent CS/LS+.

Get Ahead of Outstanding Treatment
Get Ahead of Outstanding Treatment

Have some of your patients fallen behind on treatment in the past two years? COVID-19’s impact stretches beyond a health crisis, causing job losses and lay-offs worldwide, especially in 2020. Perhaps some of your patients are just now getting back on their feet but have not had a chance to think about getting their routine cleaning at your office. Possibly, some of your patients have been apprehensive about coming in due to health risks, such as immunocompromised patients, elderly patients, or individuals with heightened anxiety. Despite the possible reasons that patients have fallen behind on treatment, one major question stands: does your office have an efficient method for contacting patients who have outstanding treatment? Learn about APC, our communication system, and how it can help you get patients back in your office, and get ahead of outstanding treatment.­­ 

Managing Patient Treatment with ABELDent
Managing Patient Treatment with ABELDent

It can be a challenge to convince some patients of the importance of their oral hygiene. Oftentimes, patients do not realize how important regular cleanings are until they are facing issues such as decay, potential extractions, and endodontic treatments.

5 Ways Patient Communication is Enhanced in ABELDent CS and LS+
5 Ways Patient Communication is Enhanced in ABELDent CS and LS+

blog post is an overview of the highlighted features that ABELDent users find most helpful when using our software. Watch our video to see these functionalities in-action and learn just how much simpler your office’s communication with patients can be. 

3 Ways Using Video Tools Benefit Your Practice
3 Ways Using Video Tools Benefit Your Practice

Has your dental practice made any videos in the past? Do you currently record videos for patients, or does your office have a YouTube channel? Even posting videos on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok can be effective in building an online presence. Whether your practice posts videos or not, it is helpful to know the potential impact videos can have on both your dental office and your patients. Understanding the outcomes that may come from creating a few videos is the first step in deciding whether or not to produce some video content, and also deciding whether it is worth it for your office, or not. In this blog post, we are going to cover some of the ways you can use videos as a dental clinic.

Simplified Charting in ABELDent CS and LS+
Simplified Charting in ABELDent CS and LS+

A comprehensive charting system is a necessity for your office. While most practice management systems offer the same range of charting mechanisms, ABELDent offers simplified systems for clinical charting such as templated clinical chart notes for quick and easy record-keeping with no compromises. These fast templated notes mean your team spends more time focusing on providing top-quality treatment without sacrificing detailed records. Other benefits much like templated clinical notes are what makes ABELDent such a useful tool for dental professionals.

Here’s Why Dentists Are Opting For an All-In-One Practice Management Solution
Here’s Why Dentists Are Opting For an All-In-One Practice Management Solution

How many different software platforms does your dental practice use daily?  Dental offices have a growing number of technologies available to meet practice specific practice needs. Some practices use more of these than others, trying to get the most benefit from each. This approach can sometimes get complicated.  For instance, if one or more of the solutions have difficulties, it can lead to having to spend time on the phone with multiple companies while at the same time trying to work through the issues created in the office. Most of all, having many different types of software can result in new problems when one of the solutions is updated without a corresponding change in other software.  A more comprehensive dental software can help to minimize these issues, and often save you money at the same time. 

Checking In With Your Wellness and Settling Back Into A Routine
Checking In With Your Wellness and Settling Back Into A Routine

Physicians and scientists are finding dramatically higher rates of depression and anxiety due to COVID-19's impact on our social lives, work lives, and overall wellbeing. Taking your own personal wellness into account not only benefits your mental and physical health, but also enables you to be more effective in the office. Furthermore, you may find that you provide better quality care to your patients when you make your wellbeing a priority. In this blog post, we want to highlight some techniques you and your team can use to check-in with your wellness and make settling back into routines easier this season. 

Strategies To Get Patients Back In Your Office For Routine Appointments
Strategies To Get Patients Back In Your Office For Routine Appointments

The dental industry has undoubtedly been negatively impacted by the pandemic’s ripple effects worldwide. Oral healthcare was quickly identified as a risk due to the nature of the virus transmission, as well as the use of aerosols in many dental treatments. Dental providers have adapted and implemented many new processes to keep patients and dental teams optimally safe from the virus. In this blog, learn 5 strategies for getting patients back in your chairs for routine appointments to get your office back on track.

Practice Protection: How to spot a phishing scam
Practice Protection: How to spot a phishing scam

With the digitization of much of our everyday tasks, ransomware poses as huge risk to companies, healthcare providers, and even governments. COVID-19 resulted in even more digitization, and therefore a higher occurrence of cyberattacks. In this post we are expanding on our blog post from April 2020 to provide you with some updated advice on protecting your practice from ransomware.  

3 Ways You Can Maintain and Improve Your Practice’s Positive Environment
3 Ways You Can Maintain and Improve Your Practice’s Positive Environment

How do you improve morale when hard times hit?  Whether your dental assistants or reception team are leaving a first impression, or you are treating a long-time patient, patient acquisition and retention comes down to the quality of care provided. Providing quality care to patients involves multiple factors, one of which is having a positive team. Your patients are more likely to be comfortable with someone who has a happy presence in the operatory.  

Guiding Your Patients: How To Minimize Disinformation From Online Sources
Guiding Your Patients: How To Minimize Disinformation From Online Sources

One of the crucial roles of a healthcare provider is to ensure patient understanding, whether by dissipating false information for patients, or educating and explaining topics to patients. As of 2021, we are growing increasingly reliant on social media platforms and various websites. While our growing connectedness via the Internet fosters an age of understanding, there are also more opportunities for spreading disinformation. Some statistics, tricks, tips, or other forms of media that may initially be harmless can be altered, or flat-out harmful practices can be shared.

3 Tips for Dental Receptionists in 2021
3 Tips for Dental Receptionists in 2021

The role of the dental receptionist is a complicated one, and it differs from office-to-office. There are varied job descriptions, tasks, and duties established by each practice. Something consistent, however, is that dental receptionists are always on the "front lines" in a practice. Fielding patient and team inquiries, managing patient issues, and keeping all records organized are just some of the tasks receptionist's handle. For many prospective patients, receptionists and front-desk workers are the face of the practice.

Why Cyberattacks Have Risen During COVID-19, and How to Protect Your Practice
Why Cyberattacks Have Risen During COVID-19, and How to Protect Your Practice

As mentioned in previous posts, the COVID-19 pandemic opened the door for increased cyberattacks of all kinds. With many of our interpersonal communications moving online, hackers and criminals are continuously finding new ways to compromise our cybersecurity, and by extension, access our personal information. This problem goes beyond our personal devices, however, as healthcare-providers are a major target due to the valuable information that is kept on file. With countless breaches, ransomware attacks, and lost data, healthcare providers are turning to off-site backup services to ensure their patient and office data is safeguarded from threats.

Scaling Back and Preparing for What is Ahead
Scaling Back and Preparing for What is Ahead

The end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 has been a difficult time for everyone with COVID-19 cases steadily rising throughout December and January. With lockdown continuing in various areas, we are turning our focus back to making the most of your practice’s downtime and preparing for the future influx of patients.

Why Should You Use Patient-Facing Features in Your Practice?
Why Should You Use Patient-Facing Features in Your Practice?

Practices are incorporating patient-facing solutions because patients can easily interact with dental providers or access resources online. Patient-facing systems are accessible, simple solutions that prove useful for a variety of reasons. For instance, the touchless aspect of online solutions eliminates face-to-face interactions, and by extension, minimizes health concerns caused by COVID-19.

3 Simple, Necessary Steps to Take for Data Security
3 Simple, Necessary Steps to Take for Data Security

Security professionals, financial advisors, and even government agencies suggest that in 2020, cyberattacks can be more devastating on a business than a natural disaster. If your office faced a cyberattack today, would you have a plan to follow to recover your valuable data?

3 Reasons to Leverage Web Analytics as a Dental Practice
3 Reasons to Leverage Web Analytics as a Dental Practice

How well is your website contributing to your practice goals? Is there someone in your practice gathering information and taking action to improve your web presence? Who in your office has time to check data analytics? How would it benefit your dental practice?

3 Ways Efficient Dentists Lead Their Practice
3 Ways Efficient Dentists Lead Their Practice

Leadership is one of the main cornerstones of a healthy organization. Many dentists own and operate their own dentistry practice, but some offices work as a conglomerate. Whether you are an office manager or a practicing dentist, knowing what to do as a practice leader will strengthen your team. This blog post delves into three ways to harness your leadership skills to promote and maintain an efficient dental practice.

4 Reasons for Attending Dental Conventions
4 Reasons for Attending Dental Conventions

Dental conferences and trade shows are among the longest-standing traditions in the industry. Dental professionals, stakeholders, exhibitors, and various other guests attend conferences and trade shows commonly held in convention centres or hotels.

3 Reasons You Should Keep Your Software Up To Date
3 Reasons You Should Keep Your Software Up To Date

In a Pew Research Center study on Americans and cybersecurity, roughly one out of ten people do not update their smartphone software at all. While ignoring software updates poses a major risk to the individual user’s security, a staggering number of people still choose to stay with the older version of the software. Why is this the case?

Video Tutorial: Securely Send Touchless Health History Forms to Patients
Video Tutorial: Securely Send Touchless Health History Forms to Patients

Much like our previous video, our new tutorial shows you a new ABELDent CS/LS+ feature that allows you to send touch-free health history forms to patients. Not only does this easy feature help your practice save paper for hundreds of patients, but it also saves time. Once the patient finishes their health history form, they can submit the form which goes directly into their electronic patient chart.

4 Tips for Managing Stress as a Dental Provider
4 Tips for Managing Stress as a Dental Provider

September is a time of year full of changes, some of which can be a source of stress for you or your family members as kids go back to school and families transition into new routines that can add uncertainty and stress at the best of times.

How to Send Hands-Free Questionnaires to Your Patients in Seconds
How to Send Hands-Free Questionnaires to Your Patients in Seconds

Whether your practice is fully paperless or not, pre-screening can take up a significant amount of time over the phone or in-person. ABELDent’s new feature gives providers the option to send COVID-19 pre-screening forms to patients before they even step foot in the clinic, saving your team time and preventing paper forms.

Mental Health’s Relationship to Oral Health
Mental Health’s Relationship to Oral Health

How do mental health and oral health influence one another? In today’s blog, we explore the connection that oral health and mental health have with one another and provide some resources that provide further insight into the relationship between the two. This blog references various studies from multiple researchers and serves only to be a general outline.

Do You Use Social Media to Encourage Ongoing Healthy Habits for Patients?
Do You Use Social Media to Encourage Ongoing Healthy Habits for Patients?

Some, maybe even most individuals that come to your office are very motivated when it comes to keeping up their oral hygiene routine. For most offices, however, there are a few patients that struggle to allocate time for the necessary hygiene practices that prevent oral disease. Can you do more to ensure your patients are sticking to proper oral health habits in-between visits? In this week’s blog, we are going over some approaches that your office can take that may help prevent your patients from falling back into old habits.

Revisiting Your Practice’s Vision: Remaining Adaptable in a Changing World
Revisiting Your Practice’s Vision: Remaining Adaptable in a Changing World

What is your dental practice’s mission statement? Do you base your practice’s daily operations around your mission statement? How often do you revisit your mission statement, particularly when circumstances change?

How Patient Alerts Simplify Your Day
How Patient Alerts Simplify Your Day

Running a dental practice is far from formulaic. Patient needs vary from person to person, which sometimes presents barriers. Language barriers, for example, are common issues that dental teams need to address for a portion of patients. Ensuring that you have the necessary tools and resources to communicate with your patients effectively is crucial. Having solutions prepared ahead of time limits stress for both parties and allows for a more rewarding experience for both your team and your patients.

Getting Back on Your Feet: Optimize Review Management Software for Effortless Feedback
Getting Back on Your Feet: Optimize Review Management Software for Effortless Feedback

In March 2020, popular review websites, including Google and Yelp, temporarily disabled business reviews to avoid misconceptions and bad reviews due to COVID-19 spreading in North America. While this measure did not last long, it reinforced the impact that public reviews have on small businesses such as dental practices.

How to Effectively Insert Insurance Bulk Payments
How to Effectively Insert Insurance Bulk Payments

Tracking finances can be tedious sometimes, but having the right practice management system in place may alleviate some of the stress. In our new video, we address some common issues that can impact the entry of bulk insurance payments.

Why You Should Keep Track of Your Practice’s Performance
Why You Should Keep Track of Your Practice’s Performance

Business decisions are a part of daily life for dental professionals. Whether you are a provider and owner, or you have a different role in a practice, you have an impact on and are impacted by the practice’s business decisions.

The Quickest And Easiest Way to Update Multiple Patient Records With ABELDent
The Quickest And Easiest Way to Update Multiple Patient Records With ABELDent

It is critical to keep your patient’s contact information up-to-date, especially since we are heavily reliant on virtual forms of communication that allow coordination from a distance. It can certainly be difficult to keep certain patients or families’ contacts updated, but it is important for your team to always make an effort to make sure contact records are accurate.

3 Ways to Increase Positivity in Your Practice
3 Ways to Increase Positivity in Your Practice

In past blog posts, we pointed out the power in maintaining a positive work environment in your dental practice. This week, we want to revisit this conversation from a different angle to discuss the impact that fostering a positive attitude in your practice has on your team and your patients.

How Your Dental Practice Management Software Helps You Reopen
How Your Dental Practice Management Software Helps You Reopen

Things are rapidly changing in the world of dentistry. There have been multiple changes over the last few months in terms of how care can be provided to patients. With various provinces across Canada in different states of ‘reopening’, we think it is important to discuss dental providers’ options.

How to use Microsoft Teams in Your Dental Practice
How to use Microsoft Teams in Your Dental Practice

Dental professionals have remained flexible, adaptable, and innovative in recent months in the wake of a global health crisis. Many offices have opted for virtual conferencing to maintain communications with their patients, while others have utilized social media and their website to facilitate conversations via the web.

Communicate With Your Patient Base Effectively as Ontario Reopens
Communicate With Your Patient Base Effectively as Ontario Reopens

Last week, we spoke about the challenges associated with reopening your practice, including limited PPE, spacing apart appointments which result in delays, and new changes that are necessary, such as removing toys or magazines from your waiting room. There is a lot to do when it comes to reopening, and communicating your details with your -

Reopening Your Practice’s Doors: Obstacles and Solutions
Reopening Your Practice’s Doors: Obstacles and Solutions

Resuming regular dental appointments is a big step for everyone involved in your dental practice. All of Canada is in the process of reopening important services. While the processes and timelines differ between provinces and territories, the whole country is moving in the same direction. There are various challenges dental offices have to confront in order to -

Video Tutorials Part II: Quick Scheduling Tool
Video Tutorials Part II: Quick Scheduling Tool

A month ago, our team posted our first video to our new video tutorial series. If you missed the video, you can see it here. The first tutorial covered ABELDent’s clinical sidebar, which is a feature included in the new updated version of the software. Our video tutorials show you how you can use these new features everyday in your office -

3 Reasons an Oral Health Blog Boosts Your Practice
3 Reasons an Oral Health Blog Boosts Your Practice

Health professionals are preparing to reopen to the public, presenting an excellent opportunity for creating informational materials. As you reopen your practice, educating patients on the measures you and your team are taking to ensure everyone’s safety will encourage your patients to come in, as well as dismiss any misinformation that they may have regarding -

Virtual Tools to Keep Up Patient Relations
Virtual Tools to Keep Up Patient Relations

The last few months have marked a period of adjustment worldwide. Some industries are adapting to the circumstances by finding ways to work remotely and limiting social contact. Many professions, like dentistry, share a very different story, wherein most work cannot be done as it requires physical contact. While attending to dental emergencies are essential, -

Why Invest Your Extra Time in Treatment Planning (Teledentistry Part 2)
Why Invest Your Extra Time in Treatment Planning (Teledentistry Part 2)

Case management accounts for a substantial portion of a dental professional’s career. Prescribing treatment to your patients takes time and care, as well as planning ahead for complex procedures. As discussed in previous blog posts, you can use your extra time to keep up with a number of essential business functions such as training your -

Why Dentists Are Turning to Teledentistry During COVID-19 (Teledentistry Part 1)
Why Dentists Are Turning to Teledentistry During COVID-19 (Teledentistry Part 1)

Dentists worldwide are utilizing various technologies which help facilitate teledentistry during this health crisis. Resources cite that although providers can only do limited exams and treatment planning or virtual consultations, teledentistry maintains patient relations, which is a vital aspect of owning a practice. Teledentistry also provides a way for dentists to work during the worldwide -

Protect Your Practice as Cyberattacks Increase
Protect Your Practice as Cyberattacks Increase

Multiple threats are challenging dentists worldwide, including cybersecurity at this time. Cyberattacks have risen by 37% in one month, cited by Phil Muncaster at the Infosecurity Group. Hospitals have been experiencing international ransomware attacks from hackers taking advantage of the current situation. When hospitals are unable to access their data and applications, the treatment process -

ABELDent’s Exciting New Features: Video Tutorials
ABELDent’s Exciting New Features: Video Tutorials

Last week’s blog post addressed the downtime caused by the COVID-19 crisis and the ways that dentists can keep themselves preoccupied, even though all routine services are postponed. In the blog post, we encourage dental professionals to utilize online classes now that they have some more time to benefit from additional learning.   In line with this theme, -

Prepare for a Prosperous Practice, Even When You Can’t Work From Home
Prepare for a Prosperous Practice, Even When You Can’t Work From Home

In light of recent events, with Ontario ordering the shutdown of nonessential workplaces, ABELDent employees are now working from home. Telecommuting is highly encouraged and measures to prevent the spread of the virus are being enforced for at least 14 days.  A substantial number of Canadians are unable to work due to the COVID-19 crisis, including dental professionals. Dentists are still -

Practice Precautions and Additional Resources for Dentists: COVID-19
Practice Precautions and Additional Resources for Dentists: COVID-19

Outlining RCDSO and ODA's recommendations regarding COVID-19 and dental care, and supplying a compiled list of resources for dentists.

Establishing and Monitoring Key Objectives for Dental Practice Success (Part 3 of 3)
Establishing and Monitoring Key Objectives for Dental Practice Success (Part 3 of 3)

In Part 1 of this series, the concept of Practice Management by Objectives (PMBO) was introduced. The first two objectives of the methodology were outlined; achieving financial targets and increasing hygiene and treatment plan acceptance. Objectives 3 and 4, growing/retaining your patient base and advancing your scheduling were covered in Part 2 of this series. -

A Reliable Tool for Objectively Evaluating Your Practice
A Reliable Tool for Objectively Evaluating Your Practice

This blog post outlines the ways that SWOT Analysis can be applied to dental offices. See our example for using this business analysis tool for dental practices, and try it for your own office.

Establishing and Monitoring Key Objectives for Dental Practice Success (Part 2 of 3)
Establishing and Monitoring Key Objectives for Dental Practice Success (Part 2 of 3)

In Part 1 of this series, the concept of Practice Management by Objectives (PMBO) was introduced and the first two objectives of the methodology were outlined.  Part 2 of this series follows with Objectives 3 and 4.    OBJECTIVE 3: GROW AND RETAIN A LOYAL PATIENT BASE  For sustained practice growth, it is important to both attract new patients to -

Establishing and Monitoring Key Objectives for Dental Practice Success (Part 1 of 3)
Establishing and Monitoring Key Objectives for Dental Practice Success (Part 1 of 3)

Management by Objectives (MBO), is a well-established method for setting business goals, monitoring performance and achieving desired results.  Developed by Peter Drucker decades ago, even today it is still very much in use by businesses.  As your dental practice is a business, there is no reason why you cannot benefit from MBO’s guiding principles as well.  This blog presents a modified version of MBO specifically for dentistry, which we will correspondingly refer to -

What to Look for When Building Your Clinic’s Dream Team
What to Look for When Building Your Clinic’s Dream Team

Get in touch with ABELDent to learn more about how you can build an effective, successful patient-centered dental practice that can thrive for years to come.

The Many Benefits of Expanding Your Patient Demographics
The Many Benefits of Expanding Your Patient Demographics

Should Your Clinic Be Offering Family Services? At one point or another during your career, you will need to decide what type of practice you want to focus on. You may have started out serving a specific demographic group, but in today’s competitive market, if you want to grow, you need to expand your patient -

Enhance Your Practice Management Software with Integrated Third-party Applications and Services
Enhance Your Practice Management Software with Integrated Third-party Applications and Services

“Are there other things that dental software should do beyond practice and clinical management?” When asked that question my general response is; “there are other functions available that, with varying degrees of integration, work synergistically with dental practice management software to increase your return on investment – it’s just a matter of deciding what your -

The Art of Acquiring New Patients
The Art of Acquiring New Patients

No matter where I travel in Canada, the one thing most dental clinics I visit have in common is the desire to expand their service by reaching new patients. According to Statistics Canada, only 75% of Canadians visited a dentist at some point in 2018 – which means that at least 25% of Canadians either -

Can Human-Focused Technology Change How Your Clinic Operates?
Can Human-Focused Technology Change How Your Clinic Operates?

People are at the centre of any healthcare business – both as patients, and as a team of providers delivering care. While technical concerns are common at a time when the dental industry is undergoing massive changes due to improvements in software and technology, one question I’m frequently asked is about the human side of -

3 New Year’s Resolutions Every Dental Clinic Should Make
3 New Year’s Resolutions Every Dental Clinic Should Make

With 2019 almost over, many of us are looking back on the past year and thinking about what we are proud of – and what we wish we had done differently.  I always find the end of year holidays a perfect time for reflection. With everything slowing down, and with time away from work giving -

Why Good Design is Essential When Opening a New Dental Practice
Why Good Design is Essential When Opening a New Dental Practice

When opening a new dental practice, it can feel like there are a million things to plan for and then actually get done. Not only do you have to make sure that your equipment and staffing needs are met, you also need to secure financing, develop your marketing campaign and business plan, implement dental software -

4 Ways Dental Clinics Can Improve Security Awareness
4 Ways Dental Clinics Can Improve Security Awareness

Most dentists I know have dozens of things to keep track of even on the slowest day, and it’s not surprising that cyber security is often far down the list of concerns of the clinics that I talk to.    Unfortunately, cyber criminals seem to be taking advantage of this situation: cyber attacks now impact hundreds of dental offices in the United -

5 Ways to Make Your Clinic More Child-Friendly
5 Ways to Make Your Clinic More Child-Friendly

Of all the different kinds of patients that a dental clinic serves, perhaps none are as precious as children. This is true in terms of the opportunity for early intervention and the value these patients can bring to a clinic.  Because appealing to children is also a great way to appeal to their parents, there -

How to Foster a Culture of Lifelong Learning at Your Dental Clinic
How to Foster a Culture of Lifelong Learning at Your Dental Clinic

One of the things that makes dentistry such an exciting industry to work in is the fact that, just like the software industry, the field is constantly changing. As new research turns up new information, and new software creates new service possibilities, dentistry continues to evolve to provide patients with better care. This means that -

Why Dental Clinics Need to Invest in SEO
Why Dental Clinics Need to Invest in SEO

Why Dental Clinics Need to Invest in SEO As someone who works in the world of dental software, I regularly talk to dentists about the importance of having a robust web presence and using the best web-based tools to help bring in patients and build patient loyalty. One term that frequently comes up in these -

Easily Produce New Reports and Dental Practice Metrics with these Productivity Tools
Easily Produce New Reports and Dental Practice Metrics with these Productivity Tools

You’ve probably viewed hundreds of reports by now from your dental practice management software – production totals, collections, receivables, and maybe even a missed appointment list if possible. (In a recent blog, I provided samples of these types of standard reports as well as specific transaction tracking features that are essential for running a well-informed, -

Dental Clinical Charting Features To Look For
Dental Clinical Charting Features To Look For

Have you decided to bite the bullet and replace your paper patient charts with electronic ones? Or, have you already done this and are disappointed with the results? First let’s quickly review why it’s still a good decision and then look at what software features are essential to make electronic charting work as smoothly as -

The Smile Diet: How Eating Impacts Dental Health
The Smile Diet: How Eating Impacts Dental Health

It’s no secret that if you care about dental health, you need to watch what you eat. How many of us remember being told by our parents that candy will rot our teeth or that too much soda leads to cavities? While it is definitely true that eating too much sugar wreaks havoc on teeth, -

Appointment Scheduling: The Key to Dental Office Productivity
Appointment Scheduling: The Key to Dental Office Productivity

I recently wrote two blogs that highlight specific practice management software features and how to evaluate them for your practice. First, I talked about the importance of having a robust financial ledger system for efficiently managing transactions. Second, I reviewed the need to efficiently identify and manage outstanding treatment that leads to increased productivity and -

How Your Dental Clinic Can Benefit from Reputation Management
How Your Dental Clinic Can Benefit from Reputation Management

If you’ve never heard of “reputation management” before it probably sounds like something from the entertainment industry – the kind of job done by someone working for a major film studio or record label. But while the entertainment industry certainly has its fair share of people whose jobs consist of burnishing and protecting the reputations -

Gen Z At The Dentist: Challenges and Opportunities
Gen Z At The Dentist: Challenges and Opportunities

How do I engage young people? It’s a question I hear often and it can be a difficult one to answer. Usually the person asking works for a clinic that is seeing declining numbers and wants to find ways to draw in Gen Z patients who are starting new careers and trying to find healthcare -

Why They Stay and Why They Go: A Guide to Keeping Patients
Why They Stay and Why They Go: A Guide to Keeping Patients

It’s a situation most dentists can unfortunately relate to: a patient who has been coming to you for years calls to cancel their upcoming appointment or doesn’t show up for it at all. At first you think it’s just a scheduling issue, but then you find out they’ve transferred to another dentist a few blocks -

Automated Patient Communication Systems Are All The Rage: How To Find The Right One
Automated Patient Communication Systems Are All The Rage: How To Find The Right One

For good reason, there’s been a recent explosion in the number of dental practices that are using automated patient communication solutions. In short, they save administration time and help boost revenue by sending customized patient messages in a batch via email, text or voicemail. Common messages include appointment notifications, appointment confirmation requests and outstanding treatment -

4 Back to School Tips to Help Dental Students Succeed This Semester
4 Back to School Tips to Help Dental Students Succeed This Semester

The following guest post is from Tyler Willis, founder of Tyler Willis Content Consulting. An accomplished writer and editor, Tyler engages with clients from many industries including higher education, technology and healthcare to produce professional quality content that appears in magazines, online news and blogs. For students preparing for a career in the dental industry, -

Looking To Improve Your Quality of Service? Review Management Software Can Help
Looking To Improve Your Quality of Service? Review Management Software Can Help

What price would you put on attaining a great reputation? If you operate a dental clinic, your reputation in the industry is one of the most important aspects of your business. A good reputation will attract new patients and help you keep the patients you have – but it will also do a lot more -

Purchasing new Dental Software? What you should know before signing on the dotted line!
Purchasing new Dental Software? What you should know before signing on the dotted line!

A few months ago I wrote a blog article about what to look for in dental software to get the best fit for your practice. However, once you identify the software you prefer for your office, it is critical to ensure you have considered all factors before making a commitment to the vendor. In this -

Dental Software Development: Tips to Help You Communicate Better with Your Vendor
Dental Software Development: Tips to Help You Communicate Better with Your Vendor

When you start up your dental practice management system at the beginning of the day, do you ever wonder how what you see on the screen ended up getting there? In short, what you are viewing is the collaborative effort of multiple team members and departments of your dental software vendor. First there are individuals -

Service and Support: The Key to Dental Software Satisfaction
Service and Support: The Key to Dental Software Satisfaction

Recently I wrote a blog about four main factors to consider when evaluating and purchasing dental software. One of the factors cited was the importance of a vendor’s quality and level of service and support. While writing, this had me thinking back to a time when we were doing a lot of conversions from other -

Discover Your Hidden Profit: Uncover Unscheduled Treatment
Discover Your Hidden Profit: Uncover Unscheduled Treatment

In working with hundreds of dental practices over the years, I’ve discovered a common theme – each practice seems to have a group of patients that prove to be elusive when it comes to scheduling their outstanding treatment or overdue recall. The simple solution is to get each patient to book their next appointment upon -

4 Ways to Increase Patient Satisfaction and Grow Your Dental Practice
4 Ways to Increase Patient Satisfaction and Grow Your Dental Practice

Are your patients happy? In our line of work, this question can’t be asked often enough. Patients are at the very heart of healthcare service provision, and if the patients are unhappy, we clearly aren’t doing our job. Oddly, while dental practice owners and administrators frequently ask me how they can expand their services and -

Financial Tracking, Ledgers and Reports: Getting What You Need from Dental Practice Management Software
Financial Tracking, Ledgers and Reports: Getting What You Need from Dental Practice Management Software

It’s easy to get caught up looking at the “bells and whistles” when deciding on what dental practice management software to choose for your practice. However, in my experience, the importance of the software’s ability to track, display and report on financial entries is often not recognized until well after the software has been implemented. -

4 Ways to Build a Better Website for Your Dental Practice
4 Ways to Build a Better Website for Your Dental Practice

The importance of a strong web presence to the success of any dental practice cannot be overstated. This is why I’ve decided to write a follow-up article to one we published earlier this year on how to maximize your web presence with a strong site. This time, I’m putting a deeper focus on the technical -

Treating Dental Patients with Special Needs
Treating Dental Patients with Special Needs

Everyone deserves the best possible quality of dental care. If you want your dental clinic to be a place that welcomes all people, it is important to be proactive in your approach to care for one particular segment of the population: people with special needs. As was recently noted in a paper from the National -

What to Look For in a Dental Office Manager
What to Look For in a Dental Office Manager

A dental office manager plays a central role in the smooth functioning of the dental practice. If you want your clinic to succeed, ensure that the position is filled by someone who is passionate about patient care and has the hard skills to make sure that every aspect of clinic business is addressed.   But -

Top 5 Ways to Improve the Culture of Your Practice
Top 5 Ways to Improve the Culture of Your Practice

Workplace culture: it’s one of those terms that seems vague, but actually plays an incredibly important role in the job satisfaction and work experiences of dental practice employees. Where a workplace culture is healthy and vibrant employees enjoy coming to work, are friendly with their colleagues and rally around each other in trying times to -

How a Well-Designed Website Can Help Your Dental Practice Thrive
How a Well-Designed Website Can Help Your Dental Practice Thrive

Someone has just moved to a new city and is suddenly experiencing tooth pain that won’t go away. They need to find a new dental clinic, but how do they go about finding one and what criteria do they use? If they’re like me, the first thing they’ll do is a quick Google search to -

The Importance of Cross-Training
The Importance of Cross-Training

A lot of different skill sets are needed to make a dental clinic run smoothly, and successful clinics are usually ones where all of these skill sets work together to provide the best possible patient experience. Administrative staff book appointments, handle patient intake and receive payments. Dental Assistants sterilize instruments, prepare treatment rooms and assist -