PDF Version - Glidewell Dental Labs
PDF Version - Glidewell Dental Labs
PDF Version - Glidewell Dental Labs
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John” saves a lot of non-productive chairtime you<br />
would otherwise spend describing the dental work you<br />
will be doing. Practice discussing dental procedures<br />
or treatment options using the most direct, simplest<br />
way you can communicate. Long-winded lectures are<br />
boring to the patient and wasteful, and they should<br />
be eliminated. For example: “John, we can save your<br />
tooth with root canal treatment costing $700 or pull<br />
it out for $200. Your insurance will pay half. You will<br />
pay the other half.” If the patient dawdles, give him<br />
some speedy direction, “John, if it were my tooth and I<br />
had the $350, I would save it.” Save time by practicing<br />
your role in these situations so you will be prepared to<br />
quickly present yourself when the day comes.<br />
16. Make use of hand signals to your staff. For example,<br />
waving an index finger means to mix the cement. This<br />
saves time, especially when you are communicating<br />
with your patient and need to communicate with your<br />
dental assistant at the same moment.<br />
17. Control phone calls and other non-essential interruptions.<br />
You can call them back at convenient moments.<br />
Grabbing a phone in the middle of an operation is<br />
a time waster, foolish, and insulting to the patient<br />
and staff.<br />
18. Do as much as you can in one sitting. Try to avoid<br />
wasting time by getting up, walking out, coming back,<br />
re-gloving, re-washing and reappointing. Do it all at<br />
one time.<br />
19. Have spare instruments available for quick access. If<br />
you drop a mirror or bend a needle, you should have<br />
a replacement within easy reach. Do not lose time<br />
waiting for your dental assistant to run and get another<br />
instrument in the next room.<br />
20. Always be well stocked with an accurate and dependable<br />
supply of disposables, instruments and other dental<br />
materials. There is no value in running out of widgets<br />
when you need them. Being well stocked is common<br />
sense. Devise an automatic inventory system and<br />
implement it.<br />
21. Have redundant systems that can quickly be utilized in<br />
case of malfunction. If your compressor or vacuum goes<br />
out, you can simply turn on your spare. If you don’t<br />
have a spare, you will waste time and lose money. Be<br />
sure everything is hooked up and ready to go. Having<br />
a spare compressor in your garage doesn’t help you in<br />
the office. Quick plumbing disconnects and standard<br />
electric plugs/sockets can make it possible to switch<br />
equipment in a few minutes. This converts a timewasting<br />
disaster into a minor inconvenience. It’s going<br />
to happen to you some day, so be prepared.<br />
22. If it takes too much time to learn or use, you don’t need it.<br />
Our lives are filled with “labor-saving” gadgets, which<br />
we buy only to find out that they take too much time<br />
to use. “Modern” and “new” is not always the best.<br />
Software is a prime culprit. Beware of the time-wasting<br />
learning curve. Keyboard entry may be considerably<br />
slower than quickly scribbling on a record sheet. If you<br />
have to computerize, let your staff transfer the patient’s<br />
written records to the computer.<br />
23. Keep appointments to a minimum. If the patient has four<br />
restorations to do, do them all in one appointment, if<br />
practical. Don’t schedule another appointment if you<br />
don’t have to. Reappointing takes up considerable<br />
time: greeting the patient at the door, seating the<br />
patient in the dental chair, looking at the patient’s<br />
record, chatting with the patient, etc. With your speed<br />
dentistry technique, you can do more work in less<br />
time. Your patients will appreciate it.<br />
24. Inject anesthetics rapidly. Some dental instructors say it<br />
is better to inject slowly, but they are wrong. Why do<br />
it rapidly? Because it takes less time. Patients may feel<br />
a bit more pressure, but they will suffer less emotional<br />
trauma if you inject in 15 seconds instead of giving a<br />
slow, torturous 65-second injection. If you are going to<br />
inflict pain, the faster you do it, the less net discomfort<br />
there will be.<br />
25. Move with a sense of purpose. Avoid wasted movement.<br />
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