Why side cabinets in a dental treatment room are a bad idea – even if they're free.
One of the more interesting things we've observed over the years is the situation where a doctor owns a practice or buys one and then decides to expand it and elects to repeat the circumstances of the original practice. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all about repeating. Repeating the best is a great idea. But what about repeating a setup because you simply already have it?
I have three brothers. One is a car guy who is always in pursuit of the highest performance. While I don't live for that, I do understand it—making a change to improve something.
My other brother, whom I love dearly, trades in one Camry for another. I don't know if he ever actually opens the hood during its entire tenure in his family. I doubt it! With respect to cars, I don't think that this difference of opinions matters much regarding the quality of life. But this is a video about your business. And I have to be honest, we frequently have doctors with quite an average production and hourly productivity (which is more important than total production). When we inquire what they hope to achieve in their expanded practice, they haven't thought this through. Their default answer is basically "the same only with more rooms for extra hygiene and an associate." That's borderline crazy!
So how could this possibly be? I think that it's due to underlying beliefs that are quite frankly, erroneous. I've come to the conclusion that the reason the doctors continue to repeat their existing system is based on a central set of assumptions:
- I'm doing good dentistry.
- The dentistry I'm doing wears me out.
- The main reason I want to expand is so that I don't have to do all of the dentistry.
Let's review that thought process for a moment. Let's assume that number one is correct. Number two is self-reported and also assumed true… But there is a missing assumption here! It's that the dentistry is wearing you out, rather than it is the way you are doing it - which results in you becoming worn out! There is a huge difference between those two conclusions! Perhaps you golf, surf, or ski – any sport that involves outstanding technique combined with some significant form of equipment. If you golf, you probably even have a pro that coaches you. And suggest better equipment. Yet in practice, you spend week after week doing dentistry the same exact way you've done it for years. You may add a procedure here and there, and maybe some gadget– but the delivery method– if you will, stays the same! Doesn't that sound a little crazy?
So, what does that have to do with side cabinets? Everything! How you Equip has a great deal to do with how you perform. Side cabinets were created as a solution to the ever-growing demand for a broader range of procedures and techniques back in the 60’s. But once a practice grows beyond 2 doctor treatment rooms, the room stocking method that we refer to as “room centric” Begins to break down. Adopting an office-centric restocking plan is faster, less expensive, and more productive. If you have the opportunity to expand or build a new office, you have the chance to improve your system and, by doing so, improve your performance A LOT! If you do it right, you can also save a bunch of money at the same time.
For more information about deciding on technique changes, subscribe to our YouTube channel. The best years for Dental practices are coming. Don't miss this opportunity!
You may also be interested in:
