Bite-sized dental wisdom in under 2 minutes.

Sometimes the fastest way to find a problem is to shut up and watch.

Which sounds obvious, except most people don’t do it. They want the recap, the report, the explanation, the “here’s what happened” version from someone else.

Meanwhile, the answer is often happening right in front of them.

We’ve gone through three nannies in two months because they weren’t a good fit, to put it nicely. And my middle child, who is 4, has the energy of a movie character whose full-time job is sabotaging the mission from the inside. So there’s that.

Instead of rushing to nanny #4, we decided to cool it for a minute and just figure out how to manage our own kids while juggling work, a dental practice, and new businesses.

Rough? Yes.
But that’s not the point.

The point is that within 60 minutes of actually observing, we learned a ton.

And within about 20 minutes, one thing was painfully obvious: my kid was asking for a snack basically nonstop.

I’m not exaggerating. It was like six times in 20 minutes.

I’m used to saying no, so the asking itself wasn’t the issue.

The issue was that he had gotten used to grazing all day, which meant his blood sugar stayed up, and any break between snacks seemed to lead to a crash and a bigger reaction.

So instead of hearing, “He had another meltdown,” or “He didn’t listen,” or “He was difficult again,” I could actually see one of the patterns feeding the whole thing.

And no, I’m not blaming the nanny.
My kid is a highly skilled negotiator with the stamina of a trial lawyer.

But watching it with my own eyes gave me way more useful information than getting the recap later.

That’s the point.

Sometimes the problem is not hidden.
You just haven’t watched it long enough.

And yes, this happens in a dental office too. Not the all-day snacking - although honestly, maybe that too - but the part where something keeps happening, and instead of actually watching it in real time, you just keep reacting to the aftermath.

So if case acceptance is low, go watch treatment presentation.
If you’re always out of instruments, go watch sterilization.
If reviews are down, go follow the new patient flow.
If a team member or associate is struggling, stop collecting opinions and go see it for yourself.

I’ve written before about how when I first bought my office, I didn’t even have a real office. I had a desk in the hallway. Which…sucked. But it also meant I was constantly watching and listening, whether I wanted to or not.

And honestly, that ended up being one of the most useful things.

Yes, watching someone for 60 minutes feels awkward at first. Definitely a little boring. Maybe even slightly creepy. But after about five minutes, people forget you’re there. And you can learn a shocking amount just by watching what actually happens.

That’s how we figured out case acceptance was low because our treatment coordinator never paused long enough to see what the patient actually wanted to do. It’s how we figured out we were constantly out of instruments because one assistant never helped with sterilization. And it’s how you catch reviews being down because an assistant was constantly telling patients their personal boyfriend drama. Ok, that last one is fake, but it could be and you wouldn’t know unless you were there outside the room listening.

The point is those things matter.

And they don’t always show up in the numbers right away.

You have to watch.

And the actionable part here is pretty simple:

If something feels off, don’t start with a meeting. Don’t start with assumptions. Don’t start with a dramatic speech.

Start by observing it live for 30 to 60 minutes.

Say very little. Use your eyes. Use your ears.
Pay attention long enough for the pattern to show itself.

A shocking number of problems are not that hard to find.

You just have to be willing to stand there long enough to see them.

-Dr. Alex

P.S. This is exactly how I keep an eye on my team. 😂

P.P.S. If you haven’t subscribed to our podcast yet, check out Just a Couple of Dentists.