Volume 8 • 2021 • Issue 3

Inevitably, the conversation turned to the pandemic. How much work was everyone doing? How were they dealing with PPE prices and shortages? A dentist talked about how she was working normal hours, but production was lower than pre-pandemic levels Later in the class, Sinclair and Dr. Armstrong discussed internal control programs to prevent fraud. Guest lecturer Rosa Flinton-Brown also made a presentation about how dental practices are appraised. Toward the end of 2020, a year that had been full of change and instability, it felt invigorating to be among a group of dentists who were learning to better navigate the sometimes turbulent business environment. Day Two T im Silk, who teaches brand management and consumer behaviour at Sauder, started the second day of classes with two questions, “How do you stay relevant now? How do you give assurance to your patients in a time of uncertainty?” He talked about the power of building a brand on values rather than a product. “What is your raison d’être ? Patient care, of course. But what else?” he asked. “Howcan you express to your patients, or potential patients, what you care about?” One of the students brought up regulatory limits to marketing and advertising in dentistry. Another talked about how giving back to the community was a way to connect with others on shared values. Silk suggested an exercise for defining values. “What do you want people to say about you at your funeral?” he said. “What do you want them to say about your practice?” “Some practices have overheads of 75%. For a practice like that, a 20% drop in revenue means an 80% drop in income for that practice owner.” “How can you express to your patients, or potential patients, what you care about?” S upporting Y our P ractice