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February 18th, 2020
2 min. read
February means red, romance, love and my birthday! It’s a month long reminder to focus on the ones we love, especially our patients. In case you didn’t know, February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. It is a month dedicated to raise awareness of how important it is for children to develop good oral habits. As for adults, February is also Heart Month. The CDC suggests February is the perfect time to learn about your risk for heart disease. Coincidence? I have worked with a great number of dentists over the years. While dentists are more than happy to discuss Oral Health, they don’t always (or often) explain just how huge an impact oral health has on their patients overall health and well-being. The result? Most Americans still think dentistry is an option. Why is this? Maybe a better network with medical providers would help, but what would drive them to be on your team? Maybe, as healthcare providers, we become better educators to our patients and our community.
There is a big obstacle that stands in the way of educating our patients:
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When I talk about clinical systems with a practice, I really want to get to know their vision. What is it that keeps the heart of your practice beating? No matter how it’s boiled down, it is your patients.
According to the NADP, Americans without dental benefits report higher incidences of chronic health problems because oral health is so close to overall health. Americans without dental coverage are:
Save the tooth or extract it? Do you present an ideal treatment plan or one with options? You are the healthcare provider. Ideal is ideal because it is the best treatment for long-term, overall health. Options cannot guarantee the best result, right? Your patients don’t know what they don’t know. Imagine if you had the time to add education as a standard component to every patient visit. Would your patient be as eager to just pull the tooth?
What can you do now to open up time? Start by improving how your practice functions outside the operatory - inventory, sterilization, room turnover and mobilizing technology. Discover areas in our practice that hold you up; prevent you from staying on time; or keep staff on the clock after hours. When you do this, you open up opportunities to grow your practice - by educating your patients. I can remember when I worked in a busy dental practice. I counted on those few minutes it took to numb up the patient in order to get caught up on sterilization, restocking operatories and ordering. I didn’t put the patient first. If I only knew then what I know now……
If you read my blog regularly, you know that, weekly, I work with dental practices across North America improving ergonomics. By improving ergonomics, you can count on an increase in your production. Don’t find the time, create the time by improving the systems behind the scenes. I’d love to help!
So let me introduce my February as Dental Practice Ergonomics Awareness Month. A month to bring consciousness to the way you work. Working smart allows you to spread the love to those who secure your livelihood. Hallmark’s got nothing on this!
With over three decades of expertise in cosmetic and restorative dentistry, Dr. David Ahearn is a nationally recognized leader, educator, and innovator. His passion for cutting-edge technology and exceptional patient care is the driving force behind everything we do. As the founder of Design Ergonomics and Ergonomic Products, Dr. Ahearn has dedicated his career to designing, equipping, and training North America's most efficient and productive dental offices. His proven strategies help hundreds of practices reduce stress, boost productivity, and build sustainable, scalable growth each year. A speaker and educator, Dr. Ahearn continues to shape the future of dentistry, empowering thousands of dentists to transform their practices, improve the quality of life for their teams and families, and deliver outstanding care to their communities.