Month: September 2013

How many times in your professional career have you heard a patient say, “Why have never told me about this before?” or, “My gums never bleed at home; they only do when I come in here?” We know that for years we have been telling Mrs. Jones she needs to floss more due to “some bleeding” or we have informed Mr. Smith that “we need to watch this tooth with the large amalgam”.

This brings to mind something Dr. Phil says all the time … “You can’t change what you don’t own”. So maybe that is the problem: we haven’t involved the patient enough in the information gathering process of their appointment, allowing them ownership of their disease. It is time we make this a real priority and truly allow our patients to own their disease. Watch my short video with tips on how to involve the patient during the probing piece of our exam.

Stay Inspired,
Jamie

This brief video E-zine is the second in a four part series called “The Four Pronged Approach”.

In keeping with the theme of our Mastermind™ call for this month, “Are Your Instruments Working for You or Are You Working for Them”, which focuses on saving and managing time by using instruments from the BOTTOM UP … that you never need to sharpen.

“The Four Pronged Approach” will help you develop a personalized, customized treatment plan for each patient. You can access the entire article and a visual aid for chair-side use in our MM Library and on our Facebook page.

Time management in the dental office is challenging even on the best day. We need all the advantages we can get. Watch your email box for details on our upcoming Video Series “A Team Approach to Hygiene Time Management” and be sure to join our Mastermind Call on Thursday, September 19 at 1pm EST to learn more about instruments that can save you time.

Stay Insprired,
Kim

You all know that we coaches do a lot of traveling. We often get the question ‘How do you do it?’ when we share about our families and travel schedules. But I think I can speak for all of us here at IH…we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t LOVE it.

We love being with teams big and small and facilitating breakthroughs in care and profitability.  It gives us so much joy to see walls come down between team members and to see our clients excited about victories with patients that were previously resistant to care.

So it’s been a nice treat that I’ve had the opportunity to work with some local clients lately.

It is my pleasure to celebrate the entire team of Drs. Chris and Jim Meletiou!

In an area just outside Charlotte that was farmland when the practice was built is now in the center of a bustling suburb of one of the fastest growing cities in the US.

Dr. Jim is an instructor for Cerec and he and Dr. Chris knew it was time to give attention to hygiene and really tap into their powerful potential to care for patients at a very high level.

One of the first steps was upgrading the hygiene equipment, bringing hygiene into the not-so-new millennium.

In the past 2 months they’ve achieved:

• Very established hygienists eagerly making some significant mindset shifts that have taken care to the next level
• Increased their daily average by $200
• Tripled the amount of perio treatment per month
• Entire team on the ‘same page’ and a consistent perio diagnosis and treatment protocol
• Renewed enthusiasm in patient care!

I know I’m inspired by what they’ve achieved. How about you??

Stay Inspired,
Rachel

Lord Chesterfield once said, “Take care of the minutes, and the hours will take care of themselves”.  Every minute during our patient visit is worth its weight in gold. So using every one of them to be as productive and useful as possible is invaluable. Here are some tips to help you become the master of your minutes.

Be prepared: Research ahead of time what your patient will need before you ever seat them. Having sensors for x-rays, the proper tray and instruments, know if they needed to premed etc. Awareness of your schedule and what your day holds will set the tone for your day.

Morning Huddle: This is valuable time spent with the team addressing the schedule and any special patient or time management needs BEFORE hand.

Equipment: Are my instruments, tips and inserts sharp and in top-notch working order? Make sure you have a measuring guide and checking your ultrasonic instruments for wear regularly. It’s amazing how much time is saved by using the same instrument, tip or insert throughout the whole mouth until it is no longer needed before picking up a different one – and NO SHARPENING!

Alert doctor early: After gathering and updating your information, alert the doctor that he/she may come and do the exam. Keep working and educating your patient with everything possible until they arrive. Don’t wait until the end of the appointment.

Software savvy: Make sure you know all of the ins-and-outs of your software. Short cuts like note templates, bundling of codes and voice activated probing saves keyboarding time, staffing and frustration. If your software is not user-friendly for you – then get help! Utilize and embrace the world of technology in dentistry.

If you often find yourself running behind throughout the day you might try timing yourself. Look at each procedure and analyze if there are any shortcuts you can take, while continuing to deliver quality service and care.

If this topic hits a nerve with you, then you won’t want to miss what Rachel has coming up for you in our new Video Series beginning in September. Stay tuned!

If you are interested in coaching services or products from Inspired Hygiene, please visit our website atwww.InspiredHygiene.com or call us at 877-237-7230.

Stay Inspired,
Jamie