PDF Version - Glidewell Dental Labs

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