16 products and procedures to increase your efficiency, productivity

More products, procedures and best practices to help you maximize your time and your dental team’s productivity.

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25 Consider how different digital imaging options can help patients embrace co-diagnosis with you and get to their “yes” more quickly.

Consider how much time is spent trying to convince patients that a certain course of action is necessary and that your proposed treatment plan is the proper solution. Through digital imaging tools such as digital radiography or intraoral cameras, you can help patients to see what you see and better grasp the need for specific treatment. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, a picture is also worth a lot of time.

26 Integrate CAD/CAM and let patients and your practice benefit from same-day dentistry.

The E4D Dentist system represents the future of dentistry. Take a digital impression, design and fabricate a custom fitted restoration all in the same day. Say good bye to mixing impressions, temporary crowns that don’t fit and multiple visit appointments. Most patients can be completed in one day.

27 Streamline sterilization.

For this tip, consider both the size and speed of the sterilizing unit itself, as well as how you load. For example, use a cassette system with a large-capacity ultrasonic and sterilizer. Think about the stress and time lost when team members are dealing with loose instruments, or tiny autoclaves that need to be run over and over.

28 Look into vendors who help deploy ready-to-send marketing campaigns.

In addition to streamlining everyday tasks for your dental team, practice management software like Patterson Dental’s Eaglesoft 16 can integrate seamlessly with an online practice marketing and patient communications suite such as RevenueWell to help grow revenue, reduce costs, and wow patients. Simple to use, RevenueWell automates more than 20 types of voice, text, email and print patient communications. It also includes configurable pre-built marketing campaigns, treatment plan follow-ups, online appointment requests and bill pay, patient reviews and more. Choose RevenueWell to experience the most comprehensive and effective practice marketing software system available.

29 Know what you can and can’t manage.

Delegation is key for certain tasks: online reputation management, marketing, etc. Not only does it free up time for you to focus on overall practice vision and excellent clinical care, but it can serve as a motivation and opportunity for team members looking to create more value for the practice and enhance their skill sets.

30 Take the variability out of anesthetic delivery.

“In my practice, the speed and reliability I get from buffering allows me to deliver the anesthetic, place the rubber dam, and go to work immediately without leaving the chair. I no longer get up, de-glove, exit the operatory and then return in 10 minutes to re-engage. My practice day has been shortened and my work flow is totally different. My patients feel like they are getting more of my attention because I don’t leave the operatory. For me, my staff, and my patients, buffering has been a game changer.” - Dr. Mic Falkel, Founder and Chief Medical Officer for Onpharma Inc.

The improved nickel-plated Onset Mixing Pen features a sleek look and feel and delivers increased durability. Precision buffering of local anesthetics reportedly provides rapid onset of analgesia with less injection pain for patients. The precision compounding and dispensing device is used to mix two solutions together to transfer fluid from a standard 3 mL cartridge into a second container, such as a 1.8 mL cartridge, where the two solutions are mixed.

31 Access patient information where and when you want.

Mobile technology now makes it possible for dentists to maximize efficiency in and outside the office. Several companies now provide “apps” that allow dentists to view patient details – such as prescriptions – as well as appointment schedules.

32 Hands-free isolation and suction create opportunities for chairside efficiency.

In addition to Color Code Products, Zirc offers an affordable hands-free solution to suction and isolation with its new product, “Mr. Thirsty®.” It allows the assistant to leave chairside to prepare the next operatory while the dentist continues to perform the procedure alone, which increases patient flow. The patient also experiences greater comfort.

33 When necessary, get the extra unit!

One great example of this: Curing lights. Every operatory should have one. Based on demand and frequent use, it doesn’t make sense to wait around. Look at your daily workflow and evaluate what other products might be worthwhile to stock in multiple operatories.

34 Avoid excess supplies and the time spent on inventory management by automating reordering.

You may have a sense of which materials you go through quickly and have established an almost telepathic communication with your sales rep to ensure you’re always in stock. But for those who haven’t mastered that art, or who are looking for a truly automated solution, consider companies such as Cubex. The Cubex System maximizes efficiency and cost savings using automated inventory management made possibly by sophisticated cabinet and scanning technologies. It is able to reduce inventory holding costs through the elimination of excess dental supplies, automate manual supply reorder processes, increase workflow efficiency by having dental supplies stocked and available, and allows staff more time to focus on patient care.

35 Smarter software saves time.

Patterson Dental’s Eaglesoft 16 Practice Management Software has been proven to streamline everyday tasks for every member of the dental team, helping the entire office run like clockwork. Using Eaglesoft, practices can increase everyday efficiency with features such as: line-item accounting, date-based reporting, family walkout processing, customizability for the way any office prefers to work, and much more. Practices can also save time with Eaglesoft as it offers electronic capabilities to help capture and store original patient signatures and documents, transmit claims and statements, and verify patient benefit information.

36 Cross-train your team.

As much as possible, encourage the entire team to train one another in what they do. Even if they don’t necessarily take on one another’s tasks (in some cases, they can’t), but it helps them to be a resource to patients and can make your life easier and save time if an employee leaves the practice suddenly or is out sick.

37 Evaluate how specific companies can help customize your set-up for chairside efficiency and smarter reordering.

One example of this is Axis Dental, a company that offers custom cabinet organizers, custom logic sets and custom wall charts so you and the dental team can keep burs and rotary instruments ordered and accessible. The company can help you custom design your own Logic Set with your name or logo etched on the bur block. Axis Dental product codes are etched on the base for maximum organization and efficiency.

Custom Wall Charts are designed to make reorders easy while saving valuable time for the dentist and dental assistant. All wall charts feature the images and reorder codes of the products your office uses. The charts are printed on a durable, easy-to-read, dry erase laminate.

38 Incorporate technology that can take you from placement to polished in less than 3 minutes.

The SonicFill system endeavors to set a new standard for placing bulk fill posterior composite restorations. With the harmony afforded through the material itself and specialized handpiece, dentists are able to make bulk fill procedures a single-step process. In addition to optimal adaptability and handling, the results for patients include low shrinkage, outstanding strength, and no additional composite layer.

39 Don’t dismiss the difference dispensation makes!

One feature of Sofreliner (soft denture reline) that makes the clinician’s workflow and practice more efficient is the easy dispensing system. The way the material is dispensed in the cartridge versus mixing the powder and liquid, with no need to measure, reduces chair time and waste of material.

40 If you’re going to use traditional retraction cord, be smart.

We had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Phillip Kroll earlier in the year. We’ll let him tell you how DUX Dental’s ShortCut GingiBRAID saves his practice time ...

“We began using it and we liked it very much. The thingwe really like is how well the dispenser works. Absolutely it is very efficient. To pull it out and cut it and not need a pair of scissors is very efficient. I would say the efficiency of the dispensing and cutting mechanism saves a lot of time, and the actual braided retraction cord always has been really a workhorse in retraction for me. We would prefer a braided over the other (types of retraction cords).”