Is a zebra black with white stripes or white with black stripes?

Is a zebra black with white stripes or white with black stripes?

Is a new Scope practice a dental therapist the biggest catastrophe to dentistry within the last few years that will inevitably result in deskilling dentists and reducing quality of care and oral health for our patients, or is the new Scope of practice biggest opportunity to profession for long time, that will result in improved standards of quality of care and oral health for patients?

I suppose it is a matter of perspective and each coin has two sides. As in a recession economic climate can destroy businesses and also evidence shows that are millionaires created in an economic slump than any other time. So too for the change in the Scope of practice, for some practices it will be an opportunity to enhance their offering and for others it may destroy them.

As a travel the length and breadth of the country working with dentists and their teams, I come across many practices which have the following challenges,

·        Their diaries are clogged with examinations for patients and maintenance and there is little space for the new patients or existing patients who require active treatment.

·        Practices funded by capitation that can't easily increase their income and yet the costs are increasing.

·        Dentists are not discussing all treatment options that are available because they claim “they don't have time”

·        Practices are dependent on the NHS, the principals want to be able to offer private treatment, feel unable to offer it alongside the NHS and fearful about doing the conversion.

·        Practices where there is confusion about the difference between NHS and private care.

·        Dentists who are frustrated because they feel they cannot apply the advanced clinical skills they have learnt on postgraduate courses.

·        Patients who are receiving poor or mediocre dental care.

It seems to me that the conscious use other dental therapist can resolve most if not all of these problems. By looking at your practice with a holistic approach, I believe that embracing an up-skilled dental therapist can really be an asset to your practice provided it is introduced, implemented and monitored well.

The population as consumers who is now fully accustomed to having different ranges services at different price points, this happens in the food, clothing, transport and leisure industries and the public know that it happens within healthcare already. The new Scope practice gives you an opportunity to get very very clear about where lines of demarcation are.

I'm curious what difference would it make to your practice if by utilising your RAG evaluations, your low risk well maintained patients if so a dental therapist every other examination? How would you spend the extra time freed up in your appointment book? And what difference would it make to you personally, professionally, your team and your patients?

If you would like to become conscious and make the best use of this opportunity I would suggest that you need to take multifaceted holistic approach. Some of the areas that you would want to consider when evaluating how to best utilise, you and all your team members to their finest ability, would include,

·        creating a values based vision

·        planning the time to succeed

·        making the numbers count

·        creating a dream team

·        providing ACE customer service

·        effective communication and marketing

·        patient centred treatment planning and sales

·        outcome orientated systems and processes

·        inspirational leadership

·        make sure the way you are working isn't working

Let’s get conscious about the decisions we were making that affect our practices, someone once told me “not making a decision is just as much as a decision is making one, you just haven't considered the possible outcomes.”, and someone else asked me, “Your practice is like a plant, it is not growing is dying, what's happening in yours?”

 

We work with dentists and their teams who want more patients, more money, more time, a significantly better quality of life and want to see results within 3-6 months. enabling them to make their good practice great. to find out more call 07989 757 884.