Recently Bill Simon, the CEO of Wal-Mart had some grave economic news. In a nutshell, he said that due to an increase of the cost of raw materials used to make goods, the poor performance of the U.S. dollar, the high cost of oil which makes it more expensive to ship goods and a multitude of other factors, the cost of products sold in his stores, which by the way accounts for 10 percent of all retail sales in America, will rise, and rise seriously in the next few months.

The Federal Reserve's policy of buying $600 billion of U.S. Treasury Bonds to ease money concerns during this massive recession is further leading to inflationary pressures. The money spent works its way into the economy and further devalues the dollar.

Gold, the safe haven and hedge against inflation, is doing crazy things as well and is valued at just under $1,500 an ounce. Silver is just under $40 an ounce. Just 10 years ago, gold was valued at $300 an ounce. That's a wild ride and some are saying that it is headed toward $5,000 an ounce in the future.

So, on a personal level, we are already seeing gasoline prices rise. Down the line, expect to see an increase across the board - food, clothing, paper goods, etc. Let's not get crazy, though. This is a long, slow process and we have to have some confidence in our government that they will do what they can to stifle this process.

On a business level, let's prepare a little. No need to fill your basement with bibs and cotton rolls, but do alert your person in charge of ordering to keep you apprised of things they might notice like an increase in the cost of supplies. Watch your lab bill for increases and watch everyone you do business with for increases in shipping costs. Make sure you are aware of this in real time and tweak your prices accordingly.

As dentists we usually are running a few months behind on things. By the time we notice a slight increase in last month's supply bill and wait to see if it was just an anomaly, it's two months down the road. Now we are losing profit and digging a hole for ourselves. When the same thing happens with our lab bill and electric bill and water bill and so on, it's a problem.

Don't stress out too much about this; we can't control it. Just be vigilant. Alert the staff to watch for changes. Adjust what needs adjusting, and do it early. Don't get caught waiting things out for a few months; it's too late then. This is just a cycle and some say it's part of the recovery from poor economic times. Who really knows? Think like a business person and not like a dentist and all will be well.