Australasian Dentist Issue 89

Category 120 AustrAlAsiAn Dentist About the author Robyn Russell is a Co-Founder of Dental Health Network, an independent provider of CPD events for dentists & Oral Health Therapists, focused on teaching our unique approach to the multi-disciplinary private practice, where all team members work to the ceiling of their scope. t here’s a lot of controversy amongst dentists when it comes to employing OHts. there are many who argue that a practice will be more productive by hiring a graduate dentist with more scope. As an OHt with over 15 years of experience, i wanted to share a different perspective on this issue. i work at today’s Dentistry, one of the first practices in Brisbane to employ a Dental Hygienist over 20 years ago. today, we’re “OHt heavy”, with 3 dentists and 5 OHts. When it comes to improving productivity, we focus on marketing to attract new patients who need productive treatments. Our Principal Dentists don’t fret about the $/hour when comparing hiring a dentist to an OHt. You completely miss the intangible benefits of a multi-disciplinary practice if you only compare $/hour on a spreadsheet. However, a multi-disciplinary practice can only succeed when every team member is fully utilised and working to the ceiling of their scope. As a dentist, you shouldn’t be doing things your OHt is capable of doing. Allowing each team member to work at the ceiling of their scope helps everyone on the team feel valued and professionally engaged. it creates a work environment where you and your team are (appropriately) challenged by the work you’re doing. Most importantly, it creates great outcomes for your patients. so, if you employ an OHt, i encourage you to consider ways in which you can support them to maximise their scope. We have an upcoming CPD training specifically designed to help OHts get hands-on experience with adult restorations. the OHts will perform composite resin restorations on live patients, without you having to worry about the work being done in your own clinic, on your own patients. the live event is being held on March 3rd-5th, 2022 in Chermside, Queensland. there will be online pre-event training sessions to prepare OHts for the live event. this CPD event is all about building confidence and demonstrating abilities to perform high quality adult restorations. it’s a mentoring and industry relationship- building experience like OHt’s have never had before. u If you’re interested in sending your OHT to refine their adult restorative skills, you can download a copy of our Registration Information Pack for more details. Head on over to the Dental Health Network website for more information about the event: www.dentalhealthnetwork.com.au/ Adult-Restorative-Live For more information, go to www.dentalhealthnetwork.com.au The OHT VS Graduate Dentist Controversy Which hiring model is more productive? By Robyn Russell Robyn Russell IntentIonal Pr CtItIoner