Scott Evans discusses why you should always seek the people and services who provide your business with the best.
Thanks to the pandemic, many businesses have adapted their way of working. From restaurants offering a takeaway service to personal trainers delivering workouts via Zoom, and everything in between; we’re all finding ways to earn a living under the current restrictions.
As healthcare providers, we know that dental practices are safe places for patients to visit but that still doesn’t mean the profession escaped the perils of lockdown. Three months (or more) of closures followed by new guidelines and protocols to implement means that in some ways, you too will have adapted your ways of working in order to continue to offer your patients the service they expect and deserve.
Things like fallow time have meant the numbers of patients coming through your door on any one day is now very restricted, but we are seeing lots of clever dental practices getting around this by offering virtual appointments via video calls for things like cosmetic consultations. This allows you to have the conversations that patients want, without having to use your surgery time.
Giving your patients more
There has also been a trend towards the implementation of advanced technologies within dental practices. This is not a knee-jerk reaction to the pandemic but is a result of it, partly due to having the time last year to consider the future of the business while it was closed, and partly in order to offer a better service during covid.
One big example of this is the uptake of digital dentistry both in terms of scanners and software, and also digital printers. The digital dental practice can provide patients with enhanced communication, allowing them to see and understand their own conditions and become fully immersed in their treatment options and decisions. In addition, it boosts communication between the dental team and their lab, which results in better outcomes for the patient.
Dental labs themselves have looked towards implementing digital techniques in order to provide their customers with a better, more bespoke service. This allows lab technicians to fully design restorations digitally and communicate with the dentist before manufacture, to ensure the result is exactly what is required both aesthetically and functionally. There is also more scope for mixing materials, such as e.max and zirconia, for example, where the case requires this bespoke level of detail. Digital printing is now becoming more and more popular in many dental labs too, allowing faster turnaround times for services like splints and surgical implant guides.
As you can imagine, this level of investment requires the knowledge that support will be on hand as and when required. As a business that has adapted to its users’ needs, are you surrounded by suppliers who are there when you need them? Have they altered their working practices in order to provide you with a seamless service so that you can do the same? Now, more than ever, we are seeing the true value in building a fantastic support network.
Your support network
It is important to work with companies who can adapt well to different situations and still provide you with a service that you can rely on. From your dental lab to your accountant, you should always seek the people and services who provide your business with the best so that you can focus on your patients and your dentistry.
John Stoodley at Wessex Dental Laboratory explained how important support is to his dental lab, “Support to our dental laboratory means having someone who is just a phone call away who can provide essential help with an issue or supply us with materials and equipment at short notice. This type of support is crucial to our business, which operates a ‘just in time’ (JIT) manufacturing approach.
“As a result, we can reduce inventory stock, reduce space, and it allows us to apply an adaptable approach to our production processes when needed to meet all job requirements, while improving production speed without having to sacrifice on quality. Without this kind of support from our suppliers, our lab would struggle to meet the demands of our clients and patients in a timely manner and would prevent us from being a competitor in this market.
“In the recent months, the support from DMG since the purchase of our new 3Demax printer cannot be overstated. With the introduction of all new equipment there are bound to be issues that occur within the first few months, and DMG clearly understands this, as it provided us with 24/7 support.
“The provision of such support allowed us to swiftly overcome any issues and lessen the impact to our production schedule, to quickly implement our new 3D printer into our day-to-day operations.”
From decision making to sales support, installation and training, troubleshooting and problem solving to maintenance and repair, DMG will be with you at every step of the journey, and we can even do that remotely making your support network completely covid-safe!