CATEGORY AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST 115 BEST PRACTICES Q&A Dr Toni Surace the Managing Director of Momentum Management. Momentum is the premier dental practice management consultancy and training firm in Australia. Momentum has been empowering dentists in Australia and New Zealand to reach their professional, personal and financial goals for over 20 years. On average, Momentum clients increase production by 30-40% and achieve a 579% return on investment from the Momentum Practice Management Program. If you would like to learn more about Momentum Management programs, call 1300 519 000, and request a free 1-hour consultation with an experienced coach. bit hard of hearing, they like a pillow, etc.) u Lab work: is it in? u Leadership statement: the dentist should close the huddle with a motivational statement or something that sets the tone for the day. 2. Have one huddle per dentist, and make sure that everyone is on time. I prefer to have the huddle in the dentists’ surgeries with everyone standing up. It keeps people more focused. 3. Make sure that everyone is prepared for the huddle. I usually recommend the DAs and FOCs are given admin time each day to prepare for the next day’s huddle. Note also that you can have a mini clinical huddle afterwards, where each dentist goes through with their DA the appointments for the day and makes notes about any clinical elements of that appointment (e.g. you’ll need rubber dam for the set-up for the patient at 10.00). Some of the usual problems that lead to huddles not working are: u People aren’t prepared and/or on time; they’re not taking it seriously or haven’t seen the benefit of a good huddle. This is why you need to make sure there’s admin time and that huddles are templated in your books. It’s important that you lead the way by being on time and focused. u The team ends up reading the day sheet to one another, which is boring and pointless. This is why an agenda is important. If any of the team members or the clinicians start to feel as though they’re pointless, don’t give up on huddles. Discuss the issue in a staff meeting and get some concrete actions that the team think could make a difference. I promise you: if you get this right, it’s a “win” for everyone! Dear Dr Toni, How important is it that we do exams in the hygiene room if our OHT has adult scope? I’ve heard mixed views about this and I’m keen for your thoughts. Dr BB, Qld As you probably know, I’m a big believer in a strong preventative care department and on making use of OHTs. I also believe that it’s important for you to keep doing hygiene checks even if legally the OHT can. The main reason for this is consistency. It’s really important to me that all clinicians in my practice are performing to the same standard, so I use the preventative care check to monitor OHTs’ standards, even if my OHT has scope to do it. There might be occasions that I’m comfortable deciding to allow the OHT to do a case that’s within their scope and skill set, but I make that decision on a case-by-case basis. I make sure that I mentor OHTs closely and I hand over work gradually once I’m satisfied that the OHT’s standards are consistent with mine. For example, I will hand over scaling, cleaning and root planing quite soon, but I might not hand over adult fillings until I’m sure that standards are consistent with mine. I might hand over therapy for children quite quickly but only once I’m sure of the quality of the work (both clinically and from the viewpoint of communication). To help with this, something I recommend to everyone with multiple clinicians is to document the treatment guidelines and standards in the practice. My own guidelines are very comprehensive, and the document includes everything from articulating the circumstances for when we’d refer out to a specialist, to criteria for when we do root planing, to having photos of what we’d describe as minimal versus moderate versus major calculus deposits. It can take a long time to compile the guidelines, but once it’s done it’s very easy to keep everyone consistent with the practice’s standards. Even with strong guidelines, I still prefer to have a dentist do the hygiene check for all the reasons I’ve mentioned. I do believe it creates a better experience for the patients, and it aligns more closely with my own vision for the practice. You get to decide on your own standards. What does your vision tell you about what to do?! u For further information on Momentum Management, visit www. momentummanagement.com.au or call 1300 510 000 for details on short courses, Momentum’s Management Program, coaching packages, short courses, inpractice visits, or other ways in which Momentum can assist you. “
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