Holly has worked with Mary Ellen for many years and has always been impressed by her friendliness and efficiency. When discussing the manager whom we would like to spotlight, Holly said she would love to learn more about Mary Ellen and, happily, she obliged.
Mary Ellen manages Boynton Family Dentistry, located in historic downtown Plymouth. At the helm is Dr. Matthew Boynton, a graduate of The University of Maine and Tufts University Dental School. He comes from a family of dentists. His father is a retired dentist, and his brother, Brian, practices in the Portland, Maine area. Dr. Boynton has been in practice for 29 years and bought his current practice in 2004.
Mary Ellen brings a wealth of knowledge to our group, having had a long history in the dental profession: 43 years to be exact. She attended Quincy Vocational Technical for dental assisting and Quincy Junior College. She stated she has always been passionate about dentistry and enjoyed being a dental assistant for many years. She worked part-time while raising two children. When the opportunity arose as a practice manager, she was up for the challenge.
We all know that as a practice manager, you wear many hats. Mary Ellen loves that every day is a new challenge. At times, she is a psychologist/psychiatrist, financial adviser, accountant, and life coach. “You never know day to day,” she observed. “This position is so unique that I have been fortunate enough to meet fascinating people and continue relationships outside the practice, as well. We have patients whom I’ve known since they were babies, and now know the second and third generations of families. Life is good!”
Like many of us, her least favorite part of this job is dealing with dental benefits. Patients think that their dental benefits, which they understand as “insurance”, will cover a lot of their dental needs. Unfortunately, many patients simply do not understand their dental plans. While Mary Ellen empathizes with them, she often opens discussion of a patient’s plan with, “dental ‘insurance’ isn’t always what it appears to be.” She added, “Imagine that over 40 years have elapsed since dental ‘insurance’ was first introduced, mainly to corporations. The allowable benefit was approximately $1,000.00 at that time. Interesting how some things never change.” We can all sympathize with the observation that dental benefits are “a huge bone of contention” with her, and that she would like to see the industry changed.
Mary Ellen identified her biggest challenge as building trusting relationships with their patients and educating them about their dental needs and financial responsibility. She concluded that once that trust level has been established, the patient’s dental experience is more comfortable and satisfying.
Sharing advice for success as a practice manager, Mary Ellen offered, “Communication with staff members is key. Our office has a staff meeting every morning to review and discuss patient treatment care for the day and any follow-up treatment from the previous day or week. We also share any personal events from the weekend, fun facts, or pearls of wisdom anyone wants to share. We find this interaction very useful and informative.”
On a personal note, outside of the office environment, Mary Ellen loves spending time with her family, especially her four beautiful grandchildren. She has a few hobbies, such as gardening and travel. She recently traveled to Greece, to Phoenix, and spent time on Martha’s Vineyard. Her passion is golf, where you will find her on any given weekend. Mary Ellen has played many beautiful courses along the South Shore, and Plymouth Country Club, Crosswinds Golf Club, and South Shore Country Club are by far her three favorite courses. Her bucket list is to play golf in every state across the country. She’s taken care of the East and West coasts already, but those mid-west states will be more of a challenge.
Mary Ellen shared that the Dental Managers Society has been of great value to her, because it offers great seminars for dental challenges but, more importantly, the dental managers from other practices are there to share their ideas and challenges, network, and share knowledge for the ever-changing dental field. She is so impressed with this program, and wishes to thank Pam and David Snell and their staff for the countless hours and effort put forth to create such a great atmosphere and source of knowledge for all the dental practice administrators around the New England area.
Interviewed by Holly Cipriani of Branca Oral Surgery
