12.  Attitude.  I would hire attitude over any other characteristic.  Give me a person that has a willing spirit and a positive attitude and we can provide instruction for the skills required.  (in most cases)  A person with a great attitude brings harmony and joy into the day to day activities of the workplace while a person with a negative at

11.  Team. There is no question that no other critical factor, system, or protocol in your practice can work effectively if you don't have a great team working together to accomplish the goals that have been established for your practice. 

10.  New Patients. As a business, generating new business is a critical factor. New patients bring not only themselves to your practice but in many cases, the entire family.

The number of new patients you need to generate per month depends on many factors.  For example:

9.   Hygiene. The hygiene department is the lifeblood of your practice.

8.    Case Acceptance. I encourage you to do comprehensive treatment planning on all patients.

7.  Broken Appointments and No Shows. Along with scheduling comes this challenging "critical factor": broken appointments and no shows.  Are you tracking these difficult challenges?  If not, I encourage you to do so.  Track how many appointments are being broken or cancelled--and, if they are being rescheduled and if the voids are being filled.  Do the

6.    Scheduling.  Scheduling is a complex and multi-faceted "critical factor" and system within your practice.  I don't really think that any system is (or can be) more challenging.

5.  Overhead. Overhead control is an ongoing “critical factor” for any business.  Obviously, when

4.   Patient Financing Programs.  I am an enthusiastic advocate of patient financing programs.  My dentist husband, Dr. John Jameson, has been involved with patient financing programs since early in their existence. I strongly encourage you to get involved with patient financing and use the program extensively in your practice.

The 2nd Day of Critical Factors:  Collections