Compliance
State dental boards are tightening supervision rules — check yours before you staff up
A wave of state-level rule changes to hygienist supervision and expanded-function duties is reshaping who can do what in your practice.
Insurance
Malpractice insurance renewal: what to confirm before you sign
Occurrence vs. claims-made, tail coverage, and the limits that need to match your actual procedure mix — not last year's policy.
Supply costs
Lab fees are rising faster than your crown reimbursement — what to do about it
Outside lab costs for crowns, dentures, and appliances have climbed steadily, squeezing the margin on cases that once reliably covered overhead.
Markets
Equipment
CAD-CAM mill or outside lab? The buy-vs-lease math for same-day crowns
A chairside milling system pays for itself at the right case volume — but the breakeven point is further out than most sales reps quote.
Tech & tools
Choosing practice management software: what actually matters beyond the demo
Every platform looks good in a sales demo. Here's what separates the ones that hold up after migration from the ones that don't.
Hiring
The hygienist shortage isn't easing — here's what's actually working to staff a chair
Practices waiting for the labor market to loosen up are losing patients to wait times. The ones adjusting comp and scheduling are filling chairs faster.
Regulation
Financing
Sizing a working-capital line against your actual insurance reimbursement lag
The right credit line isn't a round number — it's sized to the real gap between when you treat a patient and when the insurer pays.
Compliance
Your practice management software vendor is now your biggest HIPAA exposure
Most data-breach risk in a modern dental practice doesn't come from a break-in — it comes from a cloud vendor, a texting habit, or an unsecured device.
Supply costs
Composite and PPE costs are still climbing — here's where the margin is actually leaking
Per-procedure supply cost has crept up steadily since the pandemic-era PPE spike, and most practices haven't repriced procedures to match.
Financing
Cash flow tight between equipment buys and patient billing?
Working-capital lines and equipment financing smooth the gap between a CAD-CAM mill purchase and the insurance reimbursement cycle. Compare rates from vetted partners and see who fits your practice.
Featured this week Browse archive
Equipment
CAD-CAM mill or outside lab? The buy-vs-lease math for same-day crowns
A chairside milling system pays for itself at the right case volume — but the breakeven point is further out than most sales reps quote.
Financing
Sizing a working-capital line against your actual insurance reimbursement lag
The right credit line isn't a round number — it's sized to the real gap between when you treat a patient and when the insurer pays.
Newsletter
Get the weekly briefing
The week's most important stories. Tuesdays. Free.
No spam
34,000+ readers
You're in.
Next briefing arrives Tuesday at 6am ET.
Advertising disclosure. MainLine partners with select financial providers. We earn a commission when readers apply through some offers on this page. This does not influence editorial coverage.
How we make money