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Stanley Institute is pleased to announce that Dr. Robert Stanley has earned Fellow status with the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD).  Obtaining this accolade places Dr. Stanley in an elite group of dentists that have earned AGD Fellowship. The honor recognizes dentists committed to oral healthcare that goes above and beyond.

AGD was founded in 1952 and is the only professional association that exclusively represents the unique concerns and interests of general dentists. AGD supports its more than 40,000 members with resources to promote better oral health for the American population.

To earn Fellowship, you must complete the following requirements:

• Maintain current AGD membership for three continuous years
• Have a dental license that has not been suspended or revoked within the past five years and is not currently under probation, suspension or revocation
• Pass the AGD Fellowship Exam
• Complete 500 hours of approved CE
• Attend the AGD Convocation Ceremony, held during the AGD Scientific Session to receive award

Dr. Stanley began his professional career as a mechanical engineer and later completed dental school. He and his wife Dr. Bobbi Stanley own Stanley Dentistry in Cary NC, a comprehensive dental practice. This encompassing approach to family dentistry allows him to focus on dental implants and oral surgery while she practices cosmetic dentistry and orthodontics.

The AGD Fellowship is one of many accolades Dr. Stanley has earned during his tenure and places him in a group of fewer than 6% of dentists. In addition to the most recent Fellowship, Dr. Stanley has been recognized as a Fellow with the American Association of Implant Dentistry (AAID), Diplomate with both the American Board of Oral Implantologists (ABOI) and the International Congress of Oral Implantologists (ICOI).

In accord with the mission of the AGD, To advance general dentistry and oral health through quality continuing education and advocacy Drs. Stanley founded Stanley Institute to provide straightforward continuing education that can be used immediately upon return to the office. Both he and Dr. Bobbi have structured their course offerings to include didactic and hands-on learning, as well as a live surgical component to really underscore and implement the classroom instruction.

Dr. Stanley commented, “This is certainly an honor. I am absolutely committed to being the best dentist, businessman and speaker possible. I will diligently continue working and look forward to completing the next milestone, Master of General Dentistry.”

For press inquiries, contact Catherine Shireman at 919-415-0061.

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In recent years, it may seem as if every one of your dental colleagues is buying a fancy Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) machine and it can leave you with a bit of tech envy. And, for good reason—it is a serious investment. If you are wondering whether or not a purchase of this magnitude is necessary for you, here are some of the top reasons to consider.

First, let’s explore the machine itself. What is CBCT?

It is essentially another x-ray machine. However, unlike traditional scanners, CBCT provides three-dimensional images of teeth, soft tissues, bone and nerves in one image. Why is this important for dentists and their patients?

Liability

In a hyper-litigious society, liability may not be the driving force for your practice of dentistry, but it certainly is top of mind. While striving to see every possible oral issue in patients, doctors are limited not by dental acumen, but the tools available. Two-dimensional panoramic x-rays do not show the level of detail and accuracy of their 3D counterparts. On top of the possible negatives of misdiagnosis, there is myriad of unrealized production opportunity.  A clinician needs all the information to ensure accuracy of diagnosis, and that includes seeing patient anatomy in 3D.

Accuracy

Regardless of the potential lawsuits, what about accuracy? Two-dimensional panoramic x-rays are shown to be erroneous 30% of the time. That is to say nearly one-third of your patients not receiving the highest level of care. What is an acceptable percentage of clinical error? Does that number remain satisfactory if you are treating a loved one?

Everyday dentists struggle to impart the systemic importance of proper oral care. Yet, dentistry is the last medical art to still do procedures relying on 2D technology. We live and treat in 3D, therefore we need to analyze in 3D.

Dose

In this age of vaccination opposition and homeopathic medicine, some patients may be concerned about the ill effects of radiation as a result of x-ray exposure.  In reality, a 2D panoramic x-ray delivers twice the exposure dose of a CBCT and the 3D image has thousands more data points. In fact, a banana in your cereal, everyday for a year, can impart nearly three times the radiation of a CBCT machine. This is pertinent information to relay to your patients to soothe fears of overdose.

There are countless advantages of CT images vs. traditional two-dimensional x-rays. Take the time to research the different features, support and reliability of available machines and manufacturers. Consider this as you would any other large investment—with time and due diligence—your patient’s lives and your livelihood, depend on it.

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Stanley Institute is pleased to announce that Dr. Robert Stanley has earned Fellow status with the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID). This prestigious honor places Dr. Stanley in an elite group of dentists who have earned AAID Fellowship. The honor recognizes dentists displaying excellence in implant dentistry, both surgical and restorative, as well as ongoing implant maintenance.

AAID was founded in 1951 and was the first professional group dedicated to excellence in the field of implant dentistry. Current membership boasts nearly 6,000 dentists, specialists and dental team members throughout the United States and beyond.

Dr. Stanley began his professional career as a mechanical engineer and later completed dental school. He and his wife Dr. Bobbi Stanley own Stanley Dentistry in Cary NC, a comprehensive dental practice. The practice’s encompassing approach to family dentistry allows him to focus on dental implants and oral surgery while she practices cosmetic dentistry and orthodontics. His unique perspective on dentistry combines his training in engineering with his knowledge of dentistry and dental implants.

The AAID Fellowship is one of many accolades Dr. Stanley has earned during his dental career. In addition to the most recent Fellowship, Dr. Stanley has been recognized as a Diplomate with both the American Board of Oral Implantologists and the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. He is also a Fellow with the Academy of General Dentistry.

Dr. Bobbi Stanley commented on the honor, “Dr. Rob has challenged himself as long as I’ve known him. His commitment to excellence is limitless. Obviously, we are thrilled with his achievements.”

In keeping with the mission of the AAID, “To advance the science and practice of implant dentistry through education,” Drs. Stanley founded Stanley Institute to provide straightforward continuing education that dentists can use immediately upon returning to the office. Both Dr. Rob and Dr. Bobbi have structured their course offerings to include didactic and hands-on learning as well as a live surgical component to really underscore and implement the classroom instruction.

Dr. Rob Stanley commented, saying “What an honor to be recognized by a group as distinguished as AAID. We are living in the greatest time in dental history. The technology and advances in implant dentistry are incredible and I am excited to be on the forefront of implantology in my practice and at the institute.”

For press inquiries, contact Catherine Shireman at 919-415-0061.

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Stanley Institute is pleased to announce that Drs. Robert and Bobbi Stanley have successfully performed live surgery at the 154^th Chicago Dental Society’s Midwinter Meeting.

On Thursday, February 21, 2019 the 154^th Annual event opened with an auditorium full of dentists, industry leaders and spectators present for the immediate extraction of #3 and subsequent placement of dental implants for teeth #3, #4 and #5.

Prior to the surgery, Dr. Robert Stanley used video and visual aids to illustrate prosthetically driven digital workflows for fully guided implant placement. Relying on his background in mechanical engineering, he further addressed implant design and other factors that can be used as predictors of successful outcomes. Dr. Bobbi Stanley completed the three-hour presentation with a lecture on temporization options for patient satisfaction, including the use of Snap-On Smiles for short-term solutions.

Today’s presentation was the culmination of months of preparation and input from Drs. Stanley, their clinical and administrative teams, many corporate partners and their dedicated employees.  “We appreciate the opportunity to present for attendees at Chicago Midwinter and absolutely could not have provided this caliber of presentation without the collaboration from so many. We are looking forward to our next lecture”, said Dr. Robert Stanley

In addition to Thursday’s dental implant continuing education, the Stanley Institute team will be at Booth 5119 with a variety of tabletop clinics and available to speak with dentists that have further questions about the material presented and implant courses through Stanley Institute.

Stanley Institute would like to thank our presenting partners, Henry Schein, BioHorizons, i-Cat 3D Dental Imaging and NDX/nSequence, as well as the representatives from all the major dental associations in the United States.

For more information or partnership inquiries, contact our Continuing Education Director.

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Q: Where is best place to bury a dead body?

A: Page 2 of Google.

That’s right, it is literally page 1 or bust when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). But, what is that secret sauce that makes you stand out from the other dozen dentists in your town—at least online? In the interest of full disclosure, only 3 people know the real answer to that. All 3 of them work at Google and they have more security clearance than the FBI director.  But, all is not lost.  Many really talented people make their best guesses as we all jockey for the coveted #1 slot. Here are some tactics to move on up the rankings and get those new patients calling your office.

Keywords

Think of internet searches as a conversation. Searchers are asking questions and you want to be the answer. For instance, someone looking for dental implants will search “dental implants”. In the past, the SEO trend was to stuff as many keywords in your site as possible. If you could include the name of the town where you are located right next to the key word, over and over again, you hit the SEO jackpot (example: dental implants in Cary NC X 100). As Google does, they changed the rules of the game. To be clear, no one knows exactly what those rules are but experts agree that the current algorithm may penalize sites for “keyword stuffing”.  However, there is an appropriate balance with relative content.  You can use your subject matter/keywords in the service category page, in the clinicians’ bios and on blogs. These are all legitimate places to use your keywords and will accomplish the desired amount of redundancy.

PRO TIP: When using keywords, be certain to use both your clinical terms (i.e. periodontal disease) and the colloquial term (gum disease).

Internet currency

Forget about bitcoin—links are the currency of the internet. The more you have, the richer (in position) you are.  As with keywords, there is a balance. You want to focus on high quality sites with good domain authority. What this means is that you do not want to link to any site that will have you—focus on well established sites with a good reputation. One way to do this in a shorter amount of time is to be a dental authority. Everyday, hundreds of reporters are searching for quotes for their articles. HARO.com (short for Help A Reporter Out) offers a free service that compiles dozens of requests and emails those queries to their mailing list. It’s a quick scan for you, your office manager or marketing director a few times a day. You can send your response to the email of the requester. Many times you can see what outlet the reporter is writing for and can decide if you want to respond (i.e. nbcnews.com vs a largely unknown group).

PRO TIP: If you are easy to work with, you can make a solid contact at the publication and they will just contact you directly for future commentary which means longer turn around times and easier communications.

Fresh Content

Finally, a great way to be found in internet searches is to have new, relevant content. Blogging is an excellent conduit for relatable information focused on your business (dentistry). When writing a blog for your dental website there are a couple of points to ponder:

Who do you want to read it?

This is an easy answer—or is it? You are a dentist and you think like a clinician. Your patients are not clinicians; they are lay people looking for a solution.  Be that solution with relatable content.

Example search term: replace missing tooth

This person needs an implant but may not know or search the clinical term. As mentioned before, you want to speak in language and terms your potential patients will understand, not your colleagues.

How are they searching?

In addition to the common names for dental treatment, you want to write with the thought of how information is searched. In this era of voice to text queries, many times the “search” is in the form of a question, “Siri, how do I replace a missing tooth?” Again, you want to be the answer—very specifically. Perhaps the title of your blog post reads ‘How to replace a missing tooth’—known as a long tail key word. The article will give a high level overview of the implant process and your practice’s ability to take great care of their dental need and thus solve the searcher’s issue.

Are you interested in learning more about how to attract new patients to your dental practice? Discover this valuable information and more in Dr. Bobbi Stanley’s Small Business for Dentists courses

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In this modern age of dentistry, you are a business owner that offers the service of dentistry. Statistics show that as many as 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Therefore, you are subject to the same applause and objections as the hamburger joint down the street.

Here are some time-tested tactics for managing your online reputation-the good, the bad and the ugly.  

Step 1: Claim your business

Whether you love it or hate it, Google is captain of the search game—so you better know the rules and play by them. When your patient searches for you and finds an unclaimed Google listing, it really doesn’t matter that you graduated top of your dental class or how high tech your office is—you will look outdated. It’s a simple matter to claim your business. If you need help, here’s a quick guide.  While Google is the main player, be sure to claim your business on sites like Yelp and LinkedIn too.

Step 2: Start asking for reviews

Even if you just opened your dental chair for business, it is easy to build your online standing—and most patients are eager to help.  Every day you receive some type of compliment. Simply wait for the kind remark and ask the patient to please leave a review to help you grow your online reputation.  You can have the patients leave a review from their smart phone while they are in the chair.  Additionally, there are myriad software companies marketing to dentists. At our dental practice, we use YAPI for patient management and they have recently added a review feature for a nominal fee. In addition to on demand reviews, it will automatically interface with your dental software and contact the patient after an appointment to solicit feedback.

Be sure to make it part of your office standard operating procedure. It isn’t only the dentist that should focus on reviews. In the same way that your hygiene department offers oral cancer screenings, your team should be actively soliciting reviews—their job may depend on it. As mentioned in Step 2, it’s easy to ask for a review in the chair or at the front desk when given a compliment. And, it should be second nature.

Step 3: Don’t be afraid of your negative review(s)

If you’ve recently received a less than flattering review, take heart, it isn’t the end of the world. Remember, you must act and not “react”.  This is definitely the time to take a “less is more” approach. While you must respond to the review, you are still under legal obligation to protect your patient’s privacy. Respond with compassion and offer an invitation to discuss the matter in person. It is ok to site HIPAA and leave your office number as a reminder of the best way to reach you.  This signals a level head to anyone that comes across the online analysis.

If you do receive a negative review, kill it with kindness. Generally people are more apt to leave a negative review versus a positive one. After all, people are busy and expect everything to go well. When you receive a bad review (and you eventually will), remind your team to double down on asking happy patients to leave their feedback.  In your morning huddle, ask each team member to identify three patients they will ask to leave a review. Although well meaning, your employees will get busy as the day goes–help them be intentional.

Without fail,  we all want to take great care of our patients but remember there are cell phones recording and keyboard warriors everywhere waiting to document even the smallest perceived slight. As we navigate dentistry in the 21^st century, don’t fear the World Wide Web, have a strategy to mold your online reputation to correspond with your real world character.

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