Dental practice owners must handle many different aspects of running a business while providing their patients with excellent dental care. An important part of managing a dental practice is to ensure your dental license and those of your employees are valid in the state in which you're practicing. You'll also need to...
Navigating State-Specific Dental Practice Licensing Laws
Getting and maintaining the necessary credentials and licenses is crucial to owning a successful dental practice. However, managing dentist licenses across multiple states can be a daunting task, given the time-consuming and complex nature of state-specific dental practice licensing laws. This is where a dental attorney can be your advocate, helping you...
Dental Record Keeping and Documentation Best Practices for Malpractice Defense
One of the most important steps dental practice owners can take to limit their risk of malpractice lawsuits is to be proactive about record-keeping and documentation. Keeping and organizing thorough records can help you defend yourself against dental malpractice lawsuits and investigations by your state oversight agency for alleged misconduct. In addition...
How to Legally Terminate an Underperforming Dental Hygienist
As the administrator of a dental practice, managing employees can be one of the most challenging aspects of your day-to-day job. A dental hygienist may be underperforming, showing up late, or engaging in other activities that are harming your dental practice. Understanding how to legally terminate underperforming dental hygienists can help you...
Managing Debt in Dentistry: Legal Approaches to Financial Freedom
Managing debt in dentistry is a crucial aspect of financial success. Whether you recently graduated from dental school with student loan debt or purchased a dental practice, creating a plan to manage debt is a crucial aspect of success.
Debt can cause financial stress and lead to poor practice...
Ask the Attorney: What Are the Pros and Cons of Joining a Dental PPO Network from a Legal Perspective
“Should I join a dental PPO?” is a question many dentists ask. Deciding whether joining a preferred provider organization (PPO) makes business sense for your dental practice can be difficult. Understanding the pros and cons of joining a dental PPO can help you make an informed, strategic decision.
Once...
HIPAA Breach Prevention for Dental Practices
Securing your patients’ dental records can be difficult, especially with cyber attacks on the rise. Maintaining your dental practice HIPAA-compliant can help lower the risk of lawsuits against your practice. It may also help you avoid significant fines and other penalties while giving your patients a sense that you are keeping...
What You Need to Know About Your First Dental Associate Contract
Once you’ve completed dental school and obtained your license to practice, it’s time to explore your options for employment. Some new dentists decide to transition right into operating their own practice. Many instead opt to join existing practices as dental associates as a means of gaining experience and perhaps establishing an...
Staying Ahead of the Compliance Curve for California Dentists
Dental practices account for a specific niche within the healthcare industry, but they are still required to comply with a range of laws at both federal and state levels. California, in particular, tends to have strict laws related to healthcare providers and businesses in general.
As a provider of...
Understanding Dental Practice Appraisals
Dental practice appraisals help the buyer and seller agree to a fair price for the sale of a practice, making them similar to home or property appraisals. Of course, there are only two instances in which you will ever need to acquire a dental practice appraisal, those being when you purchase a...