Dr. Killeen tackles a common question from practice owners: when is it time to hire an associate? He explains why the answer has less to do with increasing production and more to do with capacity. An associate makes sense when your hygiene schedule is booked, your own schedule is consistently full, new patients are being pushed out, and you are regularly running out of time. Before hiring, you also need a plan for the capacity you are creating. If the extra time will allow you to do more dentistry or spend more time leading the business, great. If the schedule is not actually full yet, the better move may be to focus on filling the practice you already have.

In today's episode, Dr. Killeen explores the four most expensive words in dentistry: “Let’s get you scheduled.” Once a patient leaves the operatory, motivation can fade quickly, along with the treatment. He explains why same-day treatment can be one of the biggest opportunities for a practice to improve case acceptance and make better use of existing chair time. Making it work takes more than simply asking. The schedule needs some flexibility, the team needs to be prepared, and the doctor needs to make a clear offer: “I can do this today if you’ve got the time.” Dr. Killeen challenges you to track how often diagnosed single-tooth procedures are completed the same day, then make one small change to start moving the number.

Dr. Killeen walks through one of the most common questions practice owners face: whether to drop an insurance plan. Instead of making the decision out of frustration, he explains why it is important to look at the actual numbers, including the plan’s share of collections, fee differences, active patients, and how much patient attrition to expect. He also emphasizes the importance of what happens to the chair time you free up. Dropping a plan can make financial sense if you can replace that production with better-paying dentistry, but an empty schedule can quickly turn a seemingly smart decision into a costly one. The takeaway is simple: take the emotion out of the decision and let the numbers guide you.