Why We Dental Surgeons Should Raise Our Treatment Charges?

 

Why We Dental Surgeons Should Raise Our Treatment Charges?

If we want to raise charges, first we have to accept that we are cheaper. But have we tried to find anytime that why we are cheaper ? I would like to elaborate points:

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1. We are really cheaper.

If we want to raise charges, first of all, we have to accept that we are cheaper. But have we tried to find any time that why we are cheaper?

Here are some reasons.

a) Everyone amongst us had decided our treatment charges on the basis of charges taken by dentists of our area whenever we opened a clinic. We never calculate and to gain more patients we actually we're a little bit reasonable than senior dentists. If we are taking optimum charges then our next generation will never blame us.

 

b)  Any dental treatment charge should be according to our Investment on education (applicable to current decade of dentists), investment on dental clinic equipment, materials, technologies, maintenance, furniture, laboratory charge etc

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Most important is TIME (Your actual income per hour)

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SKILL Charge if you really wanted to add but none of us are counting treatment charges in this way.

What we are currently taking only fulfills our maintenance and depreciation. No profits.

 

c) We always count charge according to laboratory charge or material charge.

Friends, we are a skillful person, not a trader. Whatever is your lab or material charge but you should always charge for your expertise, skill, efficiency and your mastery for your predictable results.

Have calculations and then decide treatment charges.

 

2. The scenario of all 3 decades is different.

a) Before 10 years Dentistry was simple and was much cost effective than today.

b) Today you must have a wonderful clinic in a good complex, good interior, good equipment, latest technologies, latest materials and good payable staff and doctors. So your net income actually falls if you count all these.

c) After 10 years we all need more fancy gadgets and equipment or materials. Might be everyone have to buy OPG or CBCT in group or CAD-CAM scanner which will again add drastic cost in your liabilities.

Keep in Mind

 

3. Inflation.

Everything adds 6-7% per year in itself and till we actually realize it, one more wave of 6-7% have been added. Only we don't bother to add it. The moment you open your eyes in bed and again at the end of a day you close it everything becomes costlier. Milk, newspaper, breakfast, petrol, car, maintenance, clinic staff salary, materials, equipment, lab charge, restaurant bills, shopping,  school fees, groceries bla.. bla… Only we are humble and we don't raise per year.

 

4. Professional Hazards.

Those who don't have professional Hazards like Neck lesion or Back lesion after 10-15 years of practice, either they don't have practice or they are lying. Friends, once you will suffer from any professional Hazards in your body then you have to compromise your clinic by anyway. Till that time if you don't save enough money to expense for your future then you will be finished.

 

If you are thinking that after doing any management courses you will be able to manage your clinic in your absence, you are wrong. Others can never run your clinic more powerful than you. Save for future or emergency.

 

5. Be prepared for more number of dentists coming in next 10 years.

Today we are talking about competition but friends believe me competition is yet to come. 26000 dentists will share patients with us every year and so many of them will be consultants or experts in some field. Patients will choose their dentists wisely in next decades. Hold firmly your position otherwise, you will have to blame your luck.

 

6. Dentistry is the only branch in the medical field where we have daily maintenance.

Most of the other branches in the medical field have only one-time investment on hospitals and equipment and then they only earn, no major expenses.

We have daily bills and daily expenses added day by day and month by month. Till you buy one equipment or material, on next day something more beneficial will come and you need to struggle to buy that.

We need to attend repeatedly conferences, lectures; seminars and workshops or courses to learn new techniques or methods and believe me none of them are economical. Earn more to spend more and still, you are at same level unless you add more on earning side.

 

7. We have our inside enemies like Corporate Clinics, Trusts, Dental Chains.

Still, they are not that much but there will be lots and lots more to come and to make us cheaper and cheaper. Be unite and fight for survival.

 

8. To fulfill our family and our own expectations in life.

Everyone has some expectations in life like our parents, spouse, and kids and nothing is cheaper actually. If we don't earn we can't fulfill their expectations. Still, we have to fulfill our own expectations and don't forget we are living in the 21st Century where everything is becoming costlier day by day.

Start earning decent money and enjoy the life fully.

 

9. Dentistry has limited life span.

We have a life span of 25 years and only few survive till the end. Most of them achieve fantastic growth initially followed by sustain maintenance for few years and ups and downs in the last phase except only few branded clinic and I am sure this message is not for them.

So catch that decade wisely and save a lot for future.

 

10. Achieve your Dreams.

 I have some calculations: (Actually, I Love Calculations.)

Any dentist in any city of India has some dreams. We assume that we do practice for 25 years and in this 25 years we need following things.

A.   2 BHK flat: 60 lakhs

B.   Furniture in that flat: 40 lakhs (we need two times furniture in 25 years)

C.   One small clinic in city: 40 lakhs

D.   Furniture and basic equipped clinic: 40 lakhs (twice in 25 years)

E.   Car expense: 30 lakhs (we assume we change basic car of 6 lakhs 5 times in career)

F.    Child Education fees for one kid: 20 lakhs (we only count school and basic college fees, no donation in any major branch)

So total is 2.30 Crore.

If we count that everything is provided today on loan of average 10 percent for 25 years, means you don't need to buy anything in 25 years still your

Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) is 209000 and to earn a Net profit of 2.09 lakh you need to earn grossly 350000 INR month by month.

And still you have only basic property.

No fancy dream home.

No fancy dream clinic.

No higher education for kids.

No fancy shopping.

No fancy holidays or leisures.

No Jewellery.

No fancy Cars.

This is not to make anyone depressed but to realize that you have to earn more if you really wants to enjoy life.

So raise your charge to pay fancy EMI.

(Above Calculations are good cities of Gujarat only and you can count according to living standard and property expense of the respective city of India and EMI will be according to that.)

Friends lastly I would like to point out some outstanding benefits of dentistry.

1. Dentistry is highest paying profession across the world. Somehow it is lacking it's interest in India because we don't value it actually.

2. We are skillful people and we can earn a lot if we really understand the real value of dentistry.

3. India is booming in next 20 years in terms of living standard and per head income along with paying capacity of individuals. The way we are developing if we really think something creative we will be a millionaire in coming years.

4. Esthetics and smile designing is really a very well revenue generating branch and we can earn a lot out of it. All major cities have demanding clients for that.

5. Implantology has really made dentistry a bit revolutionary revenue generating branch and I am sure in next 10 years all of us will be implantologist.

 

Advice for seniors.

My sincere advice to seniors that please raise your charges first as after few years of experience we have a big client base and in fact, they will be happy to pay us more provided we charge more. We have to look for juniors also as we were also juniors at one time.

Till we don't raise our charges how they can take initiative?

 So let's take advantage of seniority for patients and also take initiative for wonderful future of dentistry.

 

Advise for juniors.

You have a wonderful span of 20+ years and if you learn from our mistakes you can easily make more money out of it. Learn new technologies, new systems and try to work in a more predictable and different way and earn more. We didn't guide by others. You have some wonderful seniors to guide you.

Be different and grab the opportunity.

Friends,

We just need to hold hands of each other and should grow together and need to think about why we didn't raise our charges.

Still, we have a wonderful time for future.

Please be unite, arrange some meetings in your area or city, discuss points and decide some minimum charges for all dental treatments with keeping everything in mind and earn together.

 

LET'S UNITE AND RAISE THE BAR OF DENTISTRY AND LET'S MAKE EVERY DENTAL SURGEON MILLIONARE..!

Tried to motivate you all and still in some points I may be right or less right.

Thanks,

Source : DentistFriend

How To Choose Your Air-Rotor Handpiece?

 

How To Choose Your Air-Rotor Handpiece?

Air rotors are honourably the extension of a dentists working hand and the clinician today is extremely dependent on the optimal performance of his/her rotors to ensure a smooth functional practice. The dental handpiece of today is a sophisticated amalgamation of precision parts moving in seamless synchronization at extremely high speeds. This arrangement delivers a smooth, powerful cut that allows the clinician to stroke through hardened tooth structure with ease, leaving a smooth, clean preparation margin, with reduced trauma to the patient and the clinician.

 

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Let us understand a little about how to choose an airrotor handpiece.

In order to be able to choose the correct high speed airrotor for the practice; it is imperative to understand:

a. The anatomy of the airrotor

b. How the airrotor functions

 

a. ANATOMY OF THE AIRROTOR

An airrotor consists of two main components: The outer shell, and The inner turbine

 

1. Outer Shell

The outer shell is the long tubular portion that makes up the body of the instrument. This outer shell is further divided into head and sheath. The head holds the turbine and sheath forms the handle that harbours the air and water supply.

Outer shell is made in one of three materials:

Material	Advantage	Drawback
Brass	Inexpensive material Easy to machine	Soft material Susceptible to easy denting
Stainless Steel  (SS)	Lighter than brass 2956 Stronger than brass	Higher manufacturing costs
Titanium	40 percent lighter than SS Stronger than SS Greater corrosion resistance than SS	Cost

 

2. The inner turbine cartridge

The inner turbine cartridge is the workhorse of the handpiece sitting encased within the head of the outer shell. The rotary system consists of an impeller / rotor mounted on a spindle/chuck assembly supported on either side by precision ball bearings and suspension O-rings.

 

b. HOW DOES THE AIRROTOR FUNCTIONS?

As air from the compressor is introduced into the handpiece via the foot pedal, it gushes through the airline attached to the back end of the handpiece (i.e. coupling); from where it goes up through the handpiece shell into the head and is forced over the impeller of the turbine. As the impeller catches this air, it begins to rotate clockwise at high speeds causing the spindle to rotate with it (like a wind mill). The bur is physically locked into this spindle/chuck assembly thus allowing drive air energy to be productively converted into rotary motion setting the bur running.

 

Turbines rotate at speeds of about 400,000 rpm, faster than anything else on the planet. It is important to understand that not all these rotations reach the tooth.

Turbine speeds are categorized as free speed and active speed. Free speed is the maximum rpm with no load (bur is running free in air). Active speed is the actual speed the turbine is reduced to when the bur contacts the tooth structure (bur is actively engaged against the tooth). Most air rotors have an active speed in the range of 180,000 to 200,000 rpm (about half of the free speed) depending on the contact pressure. This is where the torque of the handpiece comes into picture.

 

“Torque” is the measure of the hand piece’s ability to remove tooth structure. The greater the torque available to operate the cutting instrument, the less physical demand is placed on the operator’s hand and wrist.

 

HOW TO SELECT AN AIRROTOR FOR YOUR PRACTICE?

When selecting an airrotor always keep patient and personal wellbeing at the forefront. Investing in an initial cost effective handpiece system may compromise patient health and invite occupational hazards. Cheap air rotors may quickly add up to become a significant capital expense in the form of repair costs.

 

Few factors one must consider when selecting an airrotor are enlisted below:

1. Head Size:

There are several head sizes of high speed handpieces available ranging from 9.8 x 8.5 mm to 14.5 x 13 mm. Most manufacturers offer different models featuring a large and a small (miniature) head design.

 

Small head size: improves visibility and access, especially in the posterior region and with children. However when a long bur is used in a small head airrotor; it can exert significant lateral stresses on the turbine reducing the life expectancy of the cartridge.

 

Larger head size: incorporate a larger turbine impeller with higher torque and power output. More cutting power equals less time involved in tooth preparation.

It is best to keep one of each head sizes; using the large head more routinely and switching onto a miniature head as and when access or visibility becomes a concern.

 

2. Head angulations:

The typical handpiece head is angled back at 22.5 degrees. This ensures that the bur remains in line with the clinician’s sight. However, this can sometimes restrict access to posterior teeth (especially distal of maxillary second molars) by causing the back end of the handpiece head to come in premature contact with teeth in the opposing arch.

Newer designs feature a unique head angle to increase posterior access and patient comfort.

 

3. Types of tubing connection:

The base of the handpiece has holes; each of which serves a specific function

2 hole handpiece: Usually the standard in India where the large hole is for air and the smaller hole is for water. As there is no port for used air to escape such airrotors are loud.

4 hole handpiece: Usually the standard in the U.S. and Europe. It has two large holes for air intake and air escape which ensures less noise and allows the bur to halt faster upon releasing the foot pedal. The other holes serve the function of water intake and chip air which ensures the water jet escape as fine mist and not water droplets.

A simple coupler can be used to help convert a 2 hole handpiece into a 4 hole one.

 

4. Bur retention mechanism:

Standard Screw-Type: The spindle and chuck are separate and a chuck device is used to insert and remove the bur

Push Button-Type: The spindle and chuck are a single assembly and a push button cap on the handpiece head is used to open or close the chucking mechanism. This is easy to use and time saving.

 

5. Ball bearing material:

The heart of the turbine is the delicate ball bearings. Usually fabricated in either stainless steel or ceramic. Ceramic is usually the preferred choice as it is harder, weighs less with greater abrasion resistance and thus longer life expectancy.

6. Ergonomic Design:

The handpiece holding time (number of minutes the clinician spends holding a handpiece) constitute a significant portion of a functional day, and over the course of a career, long-term occupational hazards may manifest from holding an imbalanced airrotor.

When held in the functional position the balance of the handpiece should be neutral or slightly towards the handpiece head. A heavy handpiece may lead to early fatigue during procedure. Manufacturers are trying to work with lighter weight materials especially for the shell to help decrease the overall load on the clinicians hand when working for long hours at a stretch.

Handpiece shell can be either knurled or smooth. Most clinicians prefer the knurled finish as it improves grip with gloves. It is important that the knurling not be too deep or too close so as to compromise handpiece cleaning and sterilization

 

7. Water Delivery:

A water jet helps keep the prepared tooth cool and the helps evacuate debris from the work field. A multiport (usually three to four) spray emanating from the face of the handpiece is far superior then a single water port as they have a significantly higher cutting rate.

The multiport provides even distribution of coolant water over the entire surface of the tooth and prevents the water spray from being blocked when preparing the distal surface of a tooth or while removing temporary restorative material from an endodontic access cavity (a common problem with a single water vent).

The direction of water spray is very important. An ill directed port shoots water off the bur and air becomes the coolant which is ineffective in dissipating heat.

 

8. Light source:

Improved visibility of the treatment site is always desirable. Instruments with an integrated light source, which illuminate the treatment site directly, have massive impact on the quality of treatment rendered to the patient.

Handpieces are one of the most important workhorse systems in the dental practice. They have received immense attention in the recent past and never materials and techniques for fabrication show promise towards increasing functional harmony and longevity of these instruments.

Regardless of quality and price; logical reasoning behind choice of a high speed handpiece and a diligent maintenance protocol can go a long way in ensuring seamless functioning and quality driven dentistry. This article describes a few important aspects to be considered when choosing an airrotor handpiece.

Source : DentistFriend