A Practical Guide to Portable Dentistry

This handbook is intended to guide the recent graduate as well as the advanced dental professional in the practice of portable dentistry. Management of the portable dental patient is discussed from the initial phone call and examination to coordination and provision of treatment. Medical consultations and relevant laboratory tests are discussed in terms that are quickly understood and easily applied in the clinical setting. Treatment of the portable patient who is homebound, in a nursing home, or occupying a hospital bed or operating room is described factually and concisely. Lists and tables are included to help the beginning portable practitioner get started quickly. Record-keeping and dictations required for the portable visit are discussed. Patient records are simplified and presented in an easy-to-track format. Templates are included as suggestions for record-keeping and business-management needs. The business of portable dentistry - including the marketing, hourly overhead, and profitability - is related in a clear way, enabling the doctor to compare the profitability of private practice to portable practice.
The reader will understand that portable dental care is at least as profitable, and can be more profitable, than traditional private practice when overhead expense is controlled, and when the services of off-site facilities are used without charge. The experienced portable dentist will benefit from this handbook by learning new and effective methods of treating his patients, thereby saving time and money. The portable dentist will benefit from the concise presentation of oral pathology, oral diseases, and prescriptions that the dental-health professional should provide. This handbook is meant to help the portable dentist expand the scope of services he provides and to act as a reference when he encounters a complicated portable patient. The aging of the American population will touch every dental practice during the next decade. Dentists with an open mind and a vision for the future can capture a fee-for-service income stream through portable dentistry, and they can grow their practices in unique ways, carving out a niche to serve the most rapidly growing sector of the patient population.
 
This handbook is intended to guide the recent graduate as well as the advanced dental professional in the practice of portable dentistry. Management of the portable dental patient is discussed from the initial phone call and examination to coordination and provision of treatment. Medical consultations and relevant laboratory tests are discussed in terms that are quickly understood and easily applied in the clinical setting. Treatment of the portable patient who is homebound, in a nursing home, or occupying a hospital bed or operating room is described factually and concisely. Lists and tables are included to help the beginning portable practitioner get started quickly. Record-keeping and dictations required for the portable visit are discussed. Patient records are simplified and presented in an easy-to-track format. Templates are included as suggestions for record-keeping and business-management needs. The business of portable dentistry - including the marketing, hourly overhead, and profitability - is related in a clear way, enabling the doctor to compare the profitability of private practice to portable practice.
The reader will understand that portable dental care is at least as profitable, and can be more profitable, than traditional private practice when overhead expense is controlled, and when the services of off-site facilities are used without charge. The experienced portable dentist will benefit from this handbook by learning new and effective methods of treating his patients, thereby saving time and money. The portable dentist will benefit from the concise presentation of oral pathology, oral diseases, and prescriptions that the dental-health professional should provide. This handbook is meant to help the portable dentist expand the scope of services he provides and to act as a reference when he encounters a complicated portable patient. The aging of the American population will touch every dental practice during the next decade. Dentists with an open mind and a vision for the future can capture a fee-for-service income stream through portable dentistry, and they can grow their practices in unique ways, carving out a niche to serve the most rapidly growing sector of the patient population.