Student Syllabus
Practice Management 1
A 20-hour continuing education course covering the business fundamentals of running a modern dental practice: ownership economics, team leadership, operational systems, and patient flow. Built for clinicians who want the business education dental school did not provide.
- Delivery:
- Online, self-paced
- Credit hours:
- 20
- Modules:
- 10
Welcome
Welcome. If you are here, you have figured out that clinical skill alone does not add up to a career. The material ahead is the stuff we wished we had been handed on day one of ownership: the contracts we signed without understanding, the hires we regretted, the numbers we learned the hard way to read. Work through it in any order that serves you. The modules stand alone and build on each other at the same time.
Course Description
Practice Management 1 is the business course your dental school skipped. Over twenty self-paced hours, you will learn how to evaluate a practice, build a team that stays, set up the systems that keep the chair full, and read the numbers that tell you whether any of it is working. Everything is taught by practicing dentists who have lived every mistake in the curriculum.
Instructors
Bill Brachvogel
DDS, FAGDDr. Bill Brachvogel is a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry and cofounder of Cusp Media. He has spent decades building teams, mentoring associates, and refining the leadership habits that separate a practice that survives from one that endures.
Nick Wall
DDSDr. Nick Wall is a practicing general dentist and cofounder of Cusp Media. His clinical focus is practice acquisition, transition planning, and the financial mechanics of owning and scaling a dental practice. He teaches the business side of dentistry the way he wishes it had been taught to him in school.
Thom Caspers
DDSDr. Thom Caspers is a practicing general dentist and cofounder of Cusp Media. His work centers on clinical operations, team workflow, and building the systems that let a practice run without the owner in the chair every day.
Prerequisites
None. If you can see patients, you are ready for this course. We assume no prior business or management background and introduce every financial and operational concept from first principles.
Modules
Module 1: TBD
Learning Objectives
- Understand practice ownership models
- Describe PPO vs fee-for-service economics
- Calculate operatory capacity
Key Concepts
- informed consent documentation· I
See Also
- Module 2 — TBD: Builds on informed consent principles
Module 2: TBD
Learning Objectives
Learning objectives not yet drafted.
Module 3: TBD
Learning Objectives
Learning objectives not yet drafted.
Module 4: TBD
Learning Objectives
Learning objectives not yet drafted.
Module 5: TBD
Learning Objectives
Learning objectives not yet drafted.
Module 6: TBD
Learning Objectives
Learning objectives not yet drafted.
Module 7: TBD
Learning Objectives
Learning objectives not yet drafted.
Module 8: TBD
Learning Objectives
Learning objectives not yet drafted.
Module 9: TBD
Learning Objectives
Learning objectives not yet drafted.
Module 10: TBD
Learning Objectives
Learning objectives not yet drafted.
CODA Competency Coverage
2 of 22 competencies currently addressed across the curriculum. 20 open for mapping.
| Code | Domain | Description | Modules |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | Biomedical Sciences | Apply foundational biomedical science knowledge (anatomy, physiology, microbiology, pharmacology) to clinical decision-making. | — gap — |
| 1-2 | Biomedical Sciences | Evaluate the impact of systemic disease on oral health and treatment planning. | — gap — |
| 1-3 | Biomedical Sciences | Interpret laboratory findings relevant to dental diagnosis and patient management. | — gap — |
| 3-1 | Clinical Sciences | Perform comprehensive oral evaluations including medical, dental, and psychosocial history. | — gap — |
| 3-2 | Clinical Sciences | Diagnose and manage caries, periodontal disease, and common oral pathologies. | — gap — |
| 3-3 | Clinical Sciences | Plan and execute restorative, endodontic, and prosthodontic treatment appropriate to patient needs. | — gap — |
| 3-4 | Clinical Sciences | Recognize indications and contraindications for surgical and implant procedures. | — gap — |
| 6-1 | Community and Population Health | Assess social determinants of oral health and access-to-care barriers in diverse populations. | — gap — |
| 6-2 | Community and Population Health | Apply epidemiologic principles to interpret oral health trends and public health interventions. | — gap — |
| 2-1 | Dental Materials | Select appropriate dental materials based on clinical indication, biocompatibility, and mechanical properties. | — gap — |
| 2-2 | Dental Materials | Apply knowledge of bonding, cements, and impression materials in restorative procedures. | — gap — |
| 5-1 | Ethics and Professionalism | Apply core ethical principles (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice) to clinical practice. | — gap — |
| 5-2 | Ethics and Professionalism | Obtain and document informed consent appropriate to procedure and patient capacity. | M1 |
| 5-3 | Ethics and Professionalism | Recognize and respond to professional boundary, confidentiality, and conflict-of-interest issues. | — gap — |
| 7-1 | Patient Management | Communicate effectively with patients across cultural, linguistic, and cognitive differences. | — gap — |
| 7-2 | Patient Management | Manage dental anxiety, pain, and behavioral considerations in pediatric and adult patients. | — gap — |
| 7-3 | Patient Management | Coordinate interprofessional care for medically complex patients. | — gap — |
| 4-1 | Practice Management | Understand practice ownership structures, partnerships, and associate agreements. | — gap — |
| 4-2 | Practice Management | Analyze practice financial statements, overhead, and key performance indicators. | — gap — |
| 4-3 | Practice Management | Apply principles of staff recruitment, retention, and team leadership in a dental practice. | — gap — |
| 4-4 | Practice Management | Navigate student loan repayment programs (PSLF, IDR) and financial planning for early-career dentists. | M1 |
| 4-5 | Practice Management | Understand insurance participation, fee schedules, and third-party payer dynamics. | — gap — |
Assessment
Each module ends with a short knowledge check. Questions are a mix of multiple choice and short written response. You can retake any assessment as many times as you need; the goal is mastery, not ranking. A module is complete when you have answered every question correctly at least once. Full CE credit is awarded on completion of all ten module assessments.
Total Questions
1
Multiple Choice
1
Free Text
0
Bibliography
References are managed in Zotero. Live integration into the syllabus is scheduled for a future phase.
Revision History
This section will be auto-generated from dashboard version history in a future phase.