Dental Management Flashcards
7 cards from real CDC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Dental Management flashcards as text
Which type of dental practice ownership structure provides the greatest liability protection for individual dentist-owners?
Answer: Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC) or Professional Corporation (PC)
PLLCs and PCs limit personal liability exposure for business debts and non-clinical liabilities, unlike sole proprietorships or general partnerships.
A dental consultant performing a fee analysis discovers the practice's fees are 20% below the 80th percentile for the area. The most appropriate recommendation is to:
Answer: Implement a phased fee increase to approach market rates while monitoring patient attrition
A phased approach to fee increases minimizes patient shock while moving toward market-appropriate rates, balancing revenue improvement with retention risk.
Under which circumstance is a dental practice legally permitted to share patient PHI with a specialist without patient authorization?
Answer: For treatment purposes, including referrals to other treating providers
HIPAA's treatment exception permits sharing PHI with other healthcare providers involved in a patient's care without requiring prior written authorization.
A dental practice's hygiene department contributes approximately what percentage of total practice production in a well-managed general practice?
Answer: 25-35%
Industry benchmarks suggest hygiene should account for roughly 25-35% of total production, with higher ratios sometimes indicating underproduction in the restorative department.
When a dental employee is classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee, the primary legal risk to the practice owner is:
Answer: IRS reclassification resulting in back taxes, penalties, and interest
Misclassifying employees as independent contractors can result in IRS audits, back payroll taxes, penalties, and interest under federal and state employment tax laws.
Which scheduling metric best indicates whether a dental hygienist's appointment column is optimally productive?
Answer: Hygiene production per hour
Production per hour normalizes for varying appointment lengths and is the most reliable measure of a hygienist's column efficiency and revenue contribution.
A dental management consultant recommends a 'co-diagnosis' approach during hygiene appointments. This technique primarily improves:
Answer: Case acceptance by having the hygienist engage patients in understanding their own clinical findings before the dentist presents the treatment plan
Co-diagnosis engages patients emotionally and educationally during the hygiene appointment so they arrive at the dentist's exam already understanding and invested in their treatment needs.