How well the dental team works together can have a significant effect on the success of the dental practice, whether NHS, private or mixed. Many principals put a lot of effort into ensuring that their teams are encouraged to work to the best of their ability. Such efforts, however, in my experience often tend to focus on the clinical aspects of care. With many practices considering whether private dentistry may offer an alternative way forward, dentists are starting to look towards how their team may be able to improve or develop their skills to offer a more exclusive and valuable service. It is always a good idea to look at individual team members and assess if they are in the correct role within your business to ensure they are providing the best service to patients, but should you be considering a move to private practice, what they have to offer has never been more important.
Best practice
From my experience visiting practices, the contribution of a practice manager, who is an effective team member, should not be underestimated when it comes to enhancing the business of the practice. From overseeing the delivery of NHS contracts and ensuring effective clinical governance, to the marketing of any private treatments, I’ve witnessed good managers enhancing the viability of the practice as a business, allowing the clinical team to focus on patient care and clinical outcomes.
A practice manager who spends most of their time working on the front desk is usually a very expensive receptionist. Yes, the role of the reception is really important, but it would be better fulfilled by a member of the team fully trained to deal with all the duties of a receptionist. When practices I have visited make such a change, it has freed up the practice manager to make best use of the human and financial resources available to the practice.
Responsibilities of a practice manager vary greatly from practice to practice, but there are areas that are best managed by this member of the team, irrespective of the nature and size of the practice. For example, in some practices, practice managers track the numbers of new and returning patients and monitor trends in the provision of care. This allows them to identify possible strengths and weaknesses in the services offered by the practice, and areas that are being well served as well as those that are lacking. When such a system is well set up, it can be used to recognise potential problems before they get out of hand and help to plan the future of the practice. I have met managers who have undergone training to market new and existing private treatments effectively, bringing more patients through the door and increasing case acceptance.
What is important with a practice manager, is ensuring that their many different skills are used to best possible advantage. A practice manager, whose time is used effectively to work on growing and maintaining the business, can make a much more important contribution to the success of the practice – including assessing how viable a transition into private dentistry may be.
Co-ordinated care
A practice delivering routine dental care only may not feel they need a treatment co-ordinator. If however, your patients are offered more advanced, possibly complex forms of treatments, including, for example, different forms of elective and aesthetic care, a treatment coordinator can offer considerable benefits.
Patients have many different expectations over and above treatment needs, but there isn’t always time in the typical clinical setting to identify what these may be, or to explain the differences between what is available on the NHS versus privately.
In contrast, I’ve observed, that an appointment with a treatment co-ordinator provides the perfect opportunity to identify and discuss the wishes of the patient. Such appointments, in my experience, have been greatly appreciated by both new and existing patients.
The best co-ordinators I’ve met can explain the nature and benefits of alternative forms of treatment, answer questions and discuss the financial aspects of the options of care available to the patient. Such an opportunity to build rapport and trust, as well as offering transparency in terms of treatment options and finances, is invaluable in helping to deliver a higher standard of care.
Many of the co-ordinators I’ve met have, amongst other functions, increased the uptake of best possible treatment, assisted in obtaining informed consent, and encouraged repeat custom.
Empowering dental nurses
The General Dental Council (GDC) sets out very clear guidance on the role of the dental nurse, and over the years the role of the dental nurse has expanded considerably. So, it’s definitely worth taking a look at the GDC’s Scope of Practice document to ensure that your dental nurses are working to the best possible advantage. Then, subject to being suitably trained, competent and indemnified, there are a range of additional skills you may wish to encourage your dental nurses to develop. These include:
- Further skills in oral health education and oral health promotion
- Assisting in the treatment of patients who are under conscious sedation
- Further skills in assisting in the treatment of patients with special needs
- Further skills in assisting in the treatment of orthodontic patients
- Intra- and extra-oral photography
- Pouring, casting and trimming study models
- Shade taking
- Tracing cephalographs.
Are you thinking of a private offering in your practice? If so, imagine for a moment the difference it might make to the running and success of the business if your dental nurses had at least one or two of these additional skills. You also need to take into consideration the roles and responsibilities an appropriately trained dental nurse can undertake on prescription from, or under the direction of, a registered dentist.
This approach has been of particular interest to a number of principals looking to expand what they can offer – perhaps including private treatments – but who are concerned, under their existing arrangements, that there isn’t the time, manpower or skill sets within their dental team to achieve what they’d like to.
Hygiene in the workplace
Like the dental nurse, the role of the dental therapist/hygienist is laid out by the GDC, but, again, there is considerable scope for expansion, and I’ve noticed this works especially well if conversion to a mixed or private practice may be on the cards.
Historically, the hygienist has been ‘queen’ (or ’king’) of oral healthcare, but, in truth, there is so much more that these talented members of the dental team can do for patients and the practice.
Aside from being able to perform tasks such as prescribing radiographs, planning the delivery of care and screening for oral cancer – subject to suitable training, competences and indemnity arrangements – consider for a moment the possible impact of your hygienists being capable of, for example, performing tooth whitening to your prescription, which, as you know, is a private treatment.
With market analyst Laing Buisson reporting that private dentistry is set to grow over the next four or five years, picture the difference to your bottom line if your team were able to market and provide such treatments much more efficiently.
Team working
I have had the privilege of visiting many great practices over the years and I’ve found that, irrespective of the type of practice you’re running, with good leadership and team-building, team members can often contribute more, helping to enhance both clinical and business outcomes.
As with most things in life, the starting point is good communication. I have seen for myself the benefits born of a team meeting arranged to discuss the exciting opportunities that could be realised, both within the NHS and, potentially, private dentistry, so I would recommend that as your first step to greater success.