Now is the time for students returning to school.

Many college calendars have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the end of summer may feel far away August is just around the corner. My recommendation is to

run a report based on your patients' birthdays to make sure you are getting appointments made for all your college-age patients right away. Another benefit of proactively reaching out to your patients who are home from college is building a better relationship with each family.

Additionally, during the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown many issues that can occur with poor oral habits as well as additional stress. Many students now clenching and grinding their teeth due to stress that was not apparent even a year ago. This is more reason that college students need to be seen before returning to their campuses.

After you have focused on your college-age students, turn your attention to students still living at home. The start date for primary and secondary schools varies greatly across the country, but most are starting back in August. Please keep the school schedule in mind when working on your office schedule.

I know the pandemic-related shutdown has likely affected your schedules, so I am going to recommend one additional item to start reviewing in your practice this summer. Even in July, it is not too soon to pull your reports to discover those patients with unused insurance benefits.

All About Teeth team check insurance benefits as an additional method to ensure your patients can use to pay for their needed treatment. By proactively touching base with those patients who have unused benefits, you are building more value in your relationships with your patients as well as making sure their oral health is a priority.