Standard

07/31/03

DEN 140 - Dental Practice Management

Course Description

 Emphasizes procedures for office management in dental practices.  Topics include:  oral and written communication, records management, appointment control, dental insurance form preparation, accounting procedures, supply and inventory control, and basic computer skills.  A computer lab provides basic skills in computer use and utilization of these skills to perform office procedures on a microcomputer.

 

Competency Areas

Hours

 

Oral and Written Communication

Class

4

Records Management

D. Lab

2

Appointment Control

P. Lab/O.B.I.

0

Dental Insurance Form Preparation

Credit

5

Accounting Procedures

 

 

Supply and Inventory Control

 

 

Basic Computer Skills

 

 

Prerequisite:  DEN 134

Corequisite:

 

Course Guide

 

Competency

After completing this section, the student will:

Hours

Class

D.Lab

P.Lab/

O.B.I.

ORAL AND WRITTEN  COMMUNICATION

4

0

0

Effective communication techniques

Communicate effectively and establish a good working relationship with patients and with other members of the dental health care team.

 

 

 

 

Utilize effective telephone techniques

 

 

 

 

Prepare business correspondence.

 

 

 

RECORDS MANAGEMENT

5

0

0

General office procedures

Establish and maintain an effective appointment control system.

 

 

 

 

Present case presentations to patients and set up payments systems.

 

 

 

 

Perform general office procedures.

 

 

 

 

Maintain an active recall system.

 

 

 

 

Maintain a filing system for patient and practice records.

 

 

 

APPOINTMENT CONTROL

10

0

0

Managing appointment books

Establish and maintain an effective appointment control system.

 

 

 

DENTAL INSURANCE FORM PREPARATION

10

0

0

Dental insurance

Prepare insurance forms.

 

 

 

ACCOUNTING PROCEDURES

6

0

0

Accounts receivable activities

Perform pegboard bookkeeping procedures.

 

 

 

 

Perform banking procedures.

 

 

 

 

Prepare payroll.

 

 

 

 

Balance and replenish petty cash.

 

 

 

 

Maintain a monthly summary of earnings and expenses.

 

 

 

 

Maintain a yearly summary of earnings and expenses.

 

 

 

SUPPLY AND INVENTORY  CONTROL

 

 

 

Supply and inventory control

Maintain and control supplies through an inventory control system.

2

0

0

 

Order and purchase supplies.

 

 

 

BASIC COMPUTER SKILLS

 

 

 

Introduction to using dental practice management software

Use basic computer skills for performing front office procedures utilizing dental practice management software

3

20

0

 

Suggested Resources

 

Books

 

American Dental Association.  (1986). Starting your dental practice.  Chicago: Author.

Ehrlich, A.  (1988). Business administration for the dental assistant.  Champaign, IL: Colwell.

Ehrlich, A.  (1988). Managing insurance claims in the dental office (2nd ed.).  Champaign, IL: Colwell.

Bird, D.L. & Robinson, D.S.  (2002). Modern dental assisting (7th ed.).  Pennsylvania: Saunders.

Finkbeiner, Betty L. & Finbeiner, Charles A.   (2001).  Practice Management for the Dental Team (5th  Ed.).  St. Louis.  Saunders.

 

Audiovisuals

 

The following title(s) are available from:

 

Colwell Systems, Inc.

201 Kenyon Road

P.O. Box 4025

Champaign, IL  61820-9925

 

Increasing productivity through effective scheduling [Slide].

Managing your practice the pegboard way [Videotape].

Pegboard bookkeeping in the dental office [Slide].

 

Dental Dynamics, Inc.

1000 First Colonial Rd. Suite 103

Virginia Beach, VA  23454

Dynamic communications - course I [Audiotape].

 

Semantodontics, Inc.

3714 E. Indian School Road

P.O. Box 15668

Phoenix, AZ

Effective personality interactions [Audiotape].