Ericka Aguilar, The Dental Billing Coach, joins Clinton Timmerman and Russell Schaffer to share the secrets of getting claims paid when they are initially denied.  It turns out there's not much to it; it just takes knowing how to Google search for the state dental insurance commissioner and send a message to the right resource (and don't give up if it you're reffered to a federal agency!). 

Ericka also tells us her tricks to the trade for billing procesures we are most likely already doing but not including in our claims and ways she can negotiate insurance fees. 

You can find Ericka on Instagram or, better yet, go to HiddenDentalProfit.com and find out how she can help your office. 

Also, give her a listen at The Dental Billing Podcast.

A Lab Day 2024 Clint and Russ were invited to the Evolve party in Chicago where they met Jonny Jackson.  Jonny is one of the CDTs at Evolve Dentistry which is a dental supply company and lab out of Buffalo, NY that offers a full range of products and services for dentists.  Russ and Jonny talk about where Exocad is going as well as the importance of good training.  Finally we discuss the camaraderie that is found in dentistry and how honestly refreshing that is.  If you want to follow Jonny Jackson on IG, he can be found at @jonnyexocad for all of his latest and coolest stuffs or go to Evolution Dental Lab to learn more about everything that they offer.

Clinton and Russell talk with Rand Luka, a dentist originally from Iraq who immigrated to Canada in 1999.  Listen to his origin story of going through the steps to becoming a dentist in Iraq to the training he received in Canada in order to practice in Ontario.  He also has some key advice for administering patient care. 

This week Russell talk to Dr. Nelson Mar who practices in Phoenix.  Nelson went to University of Nebraska for dental school and then did a GPR in Oklahoma.  We talk about his journey from San Francisco through the Midwest to the Southwest as well as about running a practice and dealing with crazy patients.

Russell and Clint speak with Erik Zundo of West Lafayette, Indiana, a Fee For Service dentist who has found success in the Hoosier State. 

They discuss insurance fees and reimbursement, the Overton Window and ADA meetings and associated fees. 

The beginning of the conversation got cut off, but it was mainly Clinton discussing vexillology in the Southern Hemisphere, so no loss, really. 

Russell Schafer and Clinton Timmerman are joined by Mandy Arena, a Denturist in the Midwest leading the charge to make denturists legal in every state.  Surprisingly, only a handful of states have legalized denturists.  

Their next step is to put legalizing denturist on the ballot in Illinois.  Citizens of Illinois, get out and vote for a worthy cause and help legalized denturists.  Except for Russell, no dentist really wants to do dentures, so let denturists take them off of their hands. 

So Clint and Russ didn't do as much podcasting as expected in Chicago but they had a lot of fun.  We talk about our experiences at both meetings and how we would fix Midwinter.  We talk about the technology that we saw at both meetings and our impressions.  The episode had to be editted down from 50 mintues to 44 minutes because Russell went on a 7 minute rant on how angry he was that resin was wasted.  

So we went to Chicago with the intention of doing a lot of interviews but we didn't really do much.  However, we did sit down for a late night/early morning interview with Matthew Standridge.  We discussed many topics from the American Equilibration Society  to patient expectations to running an office in this day in age.  Finally if you want to take a course from Matt (which I highly recommend), go to his website, go to 3d dentists, or go to The American Orthodontic Society.   

This week Russ goes solo with a friend Dr. Brian Schweer.  Brian talks about how he has implemented technology in his office as well as how he has managed to determine what CE makes the most sense.  Finally we talk about his part time job and cash flow of a new dental office. If you want to hear his latest podcast with Alan Mead, listen to Dr. Brian Schweers Contains Multitudes over at The Very Dental Podcast.   It is another great listen.

Frank Clayton joined Russ and Clint and was able to tell us the definitive answers to the big questoins we have had our entire lives.  Answers to questions like:

-What is the meaning of life? (42)

-How to make enough money in the stock market to retire in just one week

-Who really shot JFK?

-Who really shot JR?

-Where did Amelia Earhart land? (Hint: Not where she intended to)

And so much more.  However, we had some technical difficulty and the episode will be lost forever.  If you want to know what Frank said, call his office directly during business hours and ask to speak to him, even if he is in a procedure. 

We did, however, manage to have a chat about the latest top ten rankings of dental schools and what makes a good dental school. 

Clint and Russ bring back Sandy Pardue to talk about her upcoming classes and pick her brain about managing dental offices.  Sandy talks about her two seminars Front Desk Pro where she covers scheduling and her new course called Office Management Pro where she covers how to run an office.  We talk about a variety of business topics from scheduling to collecting money to training employees.  

If you want to learn more about Sandy's upcoming courses and her consulting company, it is called Classic Practice Resources.  She also does a regular podcast called Dental Drill Bits as well.  Finally her Facebook group is Dental Gumbo.