When I visit with recent dental graduates making the transition from school to practice, it is unusual not to hear something along these lines: "I know how to do dentistry, but I never realized that running the business would be a second job. Help!"

In our independent practices, we soon find that we are not just the D.D.S., but also the CEO, CFO and HR department. It’s our responsibility to balance the books, develop the staff, maintain the facilities, negotiate with insurers and work out payment schedules for individual patients—all, presumably, in spare moments reclaimed from our "real" work of delivering care. Sure, there’s professional help available, but the decisions, responsibilities and rewards are ultimately ours alone.

To keep our readers informed of developments in this area, I am pleased this month to introduce to JADA a new column called "A Better Practice." Written by Dr. Roger Levin, a respected author and lecturer, the column will cover the principles of accounting, collections, personnel and general management, specifically as they relate to dentistry. Over the next few months, you will read about such topics as

– formulating a business model;

– using statistics to track the practice; and

– setting and monitoring key performance indicators.

Like all JADA articles, each column must satisfy the scrutiny of qualified peer reviewers, who may request revisions for the sake of clarity or accuracy. By presenting the material in a consistent format and on a regular schedule, we expect to convey, over time, a coherent picture of this important subject area.

The business of dentistry is not, of course, anything new or alien to JADA. While our primary focus is on clinical practice and research, we have always welcomed manuscripts on practice management issues, especially from "wet-fingered" (sorry, make that "wet-gloved") dentists. Let me just review what we’re looking for.

Your colleagues are keen to learn from your experience, and they will value your opinions to the extent that they’re based on data. What data, you ask? As a matter of fact, you probably have a wealth of practice data just waiting to be published.

For example, how often are specific procedures rejected by insurance plans, and how have you been able to obtain coverage for your patients? Of the techniques you have used to recruit and retain staff, which have been most successful? Have you found unconventional ways to finance your equipment? By the way, don’t think that "data" necessarily means "statistics"—some of the most important insights can’t be reduced to numbers. But you do need to back up your ideas with evidence; JADA is not in the business of publishing unsupported opinions.

Join me in welcoming Dr. Levin to the JADA family of authors. I am confident that his column will prove valuable to practitioners at every stage of their careers, and will stimulate the letters and articles that are the lifeblood of The Journal.