As a requirement for those in dental care, continuing education is an area of focus that professionals in the industry can prioritize and commit to completing. However, devoting time to pursue the topics you are most interested in learning more about can feel like a never-ending task.
The new year is the perfect time to invest in your professional development. From brushing up on billing and coding best practices to building business acumen, there are many resources available for you to peruse at your own pace. Below is a curated quick-reference list of some valuable resources based on roles within a dental practice.
Dentists and office managers
There are some areas of business leadership that are unique to dentistry, but beyond the advanced training and education required to open and run a practice, practice leaders simply must exercise good business practices. Many of the business skills required to build a successful practice are the same skills required to run other small businesses.
If uncovering simple solutions to help build your business is your passion, these tried-and-true business books can help you develop marketing strategies or accelerate business through leadership styles, management, operational standards and even taxes or financial planning.
A few books you may want to consider include:
- Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
- The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
- The Art of Getting Money or Golden Rules of Making Money by PT. Barnum
- The Art of War by Sun Tzu
- The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
- The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
- The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
To dive deeper into dental and healthcare subjects, check out these popular dental books:
- Craig’s Restorative Dental Materials by John M. Powers
- Dental Secrets by Stephen T. Sonis
- Gray’s Anatomy by Henry Gray
- Oxford Handbook of Clinical Dentistry by David A. Mitchell
- Wheeler’s Dental Anatomy, Physiology and Occlusion by Major M. Ash
Practice managers and insurance coordinators
Well-known industry expert Dr. Charles Blair has written several books specific to dental coding and medical cross-coding for dental practices, likely the most popular topic among dental practice managers and insurance coordinators:
- Administration with Confidence – The “Go To” Guide for Insurance Administration
- Coding with Confidence – The “Go To” Dental Coding Guide (2020 edition)
- Medical Dental Cross Coding with Confidence
- Purchase these and other resources at practicebooster.com
Additional resources for dental office managers include:
- Moving Your Patients to YES! by Teresa Duncan. M.S.
- Online University: Dental Medical Billing University
- Visit ebooksdental.net for information on all things dental, including: prosthodontics, orthodontia, dental materials and dozens of other treatments
With the abundance of educational opportunities to improve and grow your understanding of business leadership or dive deeper into specific dental topics, some of the books and online resources listed here might be a great place to start.