Did I read that right?
So this deserves a little explanation. I think some of you know that I would have liked to be an orthodontist. But "B" students don't become orthodontists. I'm kinda glad I'm not because I like implants and C&B too much to not do them. Anyway, last August after my first 17 working days, my staff and I took the Invisalign certification course and started some cases. My assistant used to work in another GP practice where they did a little Invisalign, too so even though she took the course in August, she already knew a little about it.
Fast forward to last Thursday... Selena is out of town with Makenna at Selena's sister's graduation in Buffalo, NY. I'm at home with the kids. I get a call from the office. It's my assistant. She asks, "Hey, you know "so-and-so" patient from the car wreck? His insurance is going to pay for ortho in full. He's here. Can I take Invisalign records?" Well, DUH! Then a couple of hours later I get a txt msg from the above-mentioned assistant: "I'm taking Invisalign records on that dental student's friend. Hope you don't mind."
At $4500 -ish per case... that's $9000 of production in one day without stepping foot in the office! That may be no big deal in some places, but in Clackamas County, OR that's like 9 units of C&B (yikes!) or 6 molar endos (shoot me now!).
Now the caveat: Lab costs for Invisalign are pretty high and I did have to pay for materials and my assitant's wage. I'm not saying all of this to boast -- I'm just realizing that if you have the right people doing the right thing at the right time, even a "B" student like me can make a decent living and still have a life.
5 comments:
And just for the record: I think "dental nerd" is not an oxymoron... I think it's kind of redundant sometimes.
Yeah, Katie, you asked for that ;)
And other than an occasional IPR, you don't even have to do any follow up visits other than pass off trays at the front desk!
I would like to thank Jeremy for posting not only once but twice in a row on your blog! Now Carson can't say that he's the only male among all our friends who does it. And don't worry about not visiting us when you were here - we know where your priorities are... just kidding! We probably would have been too busy working on our darn swingset and told you to go away.
-Marisa
good for you, jeremy! i enjoyed that thoroughly. hopefully this will give chad the motivation to go to that invisalign class he promised to attend in july...
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