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According to "Dr. Wo" Wm. Randol Womack, DDS Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine

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Sign of the Times


Wm. Randol Womack, DDS
Editorial Director,
Orthotown Magazine		 As I was reviewing the poll on Economics in this issue (see p. 47), I thought some of the responses were very interesting. I also wondered what you might gather from it. Here are my impressions of the survey results:

Two-thirds of the respondents reported that production was down from "slightly" to "more than 20 percent." These respondents are making definitive changes in purchasing including inventory, appliances and equipment.

The responses to the first question in the survey showed that all of the changes mentioned in the questions directly affected the office staff. Some condensed work responsibilities, others eliminated outside duties and included them in the staff duties, some changed staff from full time to part time and a few changed their hours and/or days of operation. All of these changes directly affected the staff in terms of work and/or compensation.

Relative to being proactive during these tough times, 75 percent of the respondents are investing. Investing in what? Nineteen percent are investing in consulting services, but 54 percent are investing in a Web site or Web site improvements. And more than half of the respondents are using their open schedule time to increase their marketing efforts.

What is my take on this? I think that today’s economic reality is shocking many, if not most of the respondents to alert them that the traditional practice management guidelines of the 80s and 90s have been, shall we say, "relaxed" during the last decade of prosperity in orthodontics. Perhaps the changes being implemented in practices around the country today need to become a more permanent standard of practice management going forward.

It could not be more appropriate than to have Dr. Ron Roncone give us his view of the profession and his "take" on what he recommends for coping with the current economic conditions (you can read my interview with Dr. Roncone on p. 30). Dr. Roncone’s travels for speaking and teaching engagements give him a unique perspective of where we are and where we should be going as a profession. Please read this interview, take inventory of your practice management policies and see if you need to make some permanent changes for the future.
Orthotown Magazine
November 2025
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