A new patient walks into your practice. They’re in their early twenties, and generally healthy. After reporting their medical history, which reveals struggles with mental health, they tell you, “I’m not happy with my smile. I want white crowns on my teeth. My grandfather recently died and left me $40,000.”
The concept of mise en place (Everything in its place), a modus operandi conceived and perfected in gourmet restaurants, could significantly improve the quality and consistency of the treatment and patient experience provided in dental offices.
It was author Eric Dickey who coined the phrase, early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable. Despite our access to multiple devices with alarms and reminders, many of us still find ourselves dashing into work, uttering a breathless apology to our colleagues and patients – who notably arrived on time. Why does this continue to happen?
Dental offices are fast-paced, complex enterprises that adhere to rigorous infection prevention and control (IPAC) standards and other procedures designed to promote safety and prevent incidents. Despite the myriad regulations and controls in place, accidents inevitably happen. The question, then, is why?
Many of us want to incorporate healthier habits into our lifestyles, but the mere thought of a wellness routine is daunting. You floss, you brush, you exercise, and think to yourself, “there are only so many hours in the day!” I recently read a great article by Jamie Millar about this very topic, and I’ll summarize what I’ve learned from my research.
Prior to receiving dental care, patients in Canada have the right to be fully informed. This means that oral healthcare clinicians must advise their patients of all reasonable treatment options, the associated risks and benefits, and the rate of success or failure of each procedure (or test) that is recommended. Informed consent is a legal and ethical duty for dentists and dental hygienists. More importantly, it is an integral part of building trust within the patient-provider relationship a...
Imagine the following scenario: A temporary dental assistant loads a sterilizer before lunch, and despite pressing the start button, the sterilizer fails to begin the reprocessing cycle. Another assistant returns later to unload the pouches. In a rush because one of their appointments ran long, they fail to confirm the status of the indicators, incorrectly marking the instruments as passed (i.e. sterilized), and subsequently store and distribute the instruments.
It’s never too early to think about the future of your practice. Having a long-term plan ensures the hard work you put into building your business continues to pay off when you’re ready to transition and sell your practice. To make sure your team and patients are well cared for, keep these key considerations in mind as you plan for the future.
Throughout my career I have seen communication strategies of active inflammation evolve, and now more than ever this is the foundation of client centered care, and oral health education. We are detectives with a purpose to identify active infections in a client’s mouth along with ensuring our clients are well informed of their current condition and what must take place to work towards overall health.
Like many other professions, the dental world has wrestled with whether and how to implement vaccine policies. dentalcorp’s Dr. Gary Glassman, Chief Dental Officer, and Julian Perez, SVP, Risk Management & Compliance, offer guidance to help practices navigate vaccine policies.
