Dental Practice Heroes The Cash Flow Fix Your Front Desk Hates (But Your Practice Needs)
Feb 18, 2026
A practical shift: collecting payment before scheduling to cut AR and cancelations. How to use scripts so teams handle money talks with confidence. A strict no-exceptions rule that prevents policy collapse. Daily audits and team check-ins that turn a policy into lasting practice change.
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Implement Pre-Collections To Stop AR Headaches
- Do implement pre-collections to stabilize AR, reduce cancellations, and eliminate surprise balances.
- Paul Etchison explains pre-collecting keeps patients committed, reduces follow-ups, and prevents front desk billing chaos by collecting before the day of service.
Paying First Makes The Experience Better
- Recognize paying in advance improves the patient experience by removing purchase anxiety.
- Paul links his advertising background: consumers enjoy services more when paid for beforehand because the decision is already made.
Audit Revealed Collection By Emotion Disaster
- Paul recounts auditing an acquired practice with terrible AR and chaotic billing.
- The office used 'collection by emotion' and often never billed, leaving the owner unpaid despite work completed.