Dental Coach | Are Dental Professionals Aliens?

By: admin

July 26, 2018

Written by: Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS,

CEO, Dental Practice Solutions

Do your dental patients see you as an alien?

Do we alienate our patients by the words we use when we speak to them about treatment needs?

In this blog I will discuss a simplified way to evaluate patients for gum disease.

Are you probing your dental patients or are you probing aliens?

Doesn’t it really depend upon how we talk to our patients?

Do your dental patients consider the dental team like a bunch of aliens?

Here is an answer: We probe aliens not our patients.

Dental professionals use a ruler to measure between the gums and teeth.

All jokes, puns and play with words aside, we must break through the language barrier and bring the “dental talk,” our words down to a place where our patients really understand what we are talking about.

We need to bring them “into the loop,” so to speak. Let’s help our patients imagine what is happening in their mouth. Let’s help them engage in the decision-making process about what they need. This is one important step to case acceptance and getting patients to return indefinitely.

Case acceptance improves when you use words that help them understand what they need. Your descriptive words will make or break the opportunity for your patients to schedule, pay and return indefinitely to your office.

Patients may tell you they understand what the word periodontal means but if you were to do a case study, you will discover patients are more likely to schedule and pay for treatment when you speak their language.

What words do your patients understand?

Say measure not probe
Say see not found
Say bleeding not BOP
Say gum disease not periodontal disease
Say gum treatment not SRP or scaling and root planing
Say preventive care not recall
Say gum maintenance not periodontal maintenance
Say oral abnormality not oral cancer
Say hole in your tooth not decay
Say change of appointment not cancellation

Our goal is to have patients change (in a timely manner, 48 days prior) not forever cancel future appointments. Contracts are canceled, and appointments are changed.

How do you get patients to own their disease?

Once you have communicated with your patient what you will be completing at today’s appointment and you have explained that you will check for oral abnormalities, show the patients your periodontal “ruler” and explain that you will measure the space between their tooth and gums.

Explain what the numbers you read on the ruler mean. It will sound something like this:

“Jodie, today we will check for oral abnormalities. I will shine this light (if using fluorescent light) and check for any abnormalities on your tongue, cheek, floor of your mouth and throat, etc. After this, I will use this ruler (show your periodontal probe so they understand what your ruler is) and check for inflammation, infection or bleeding in your gums. You will hear me call our numbers one through three and this means you have healthy gums. If you hear me call out a four, this means there is inflammation and if you hear me say a five or higher this means you have infection in your gums. Not to worry if you hear me call out a four or higher because if there is inflammation or infection, you and I will create a plan, so you have healthy gums in the future. Once I am finished calling out these numbers, I will ask you, what is the highest and what is the lowest number I called out?”

Patient Takes Ownership of Their Disease

In most situations, when the hygienist is calling out these numbers and when the patient has been told they need to listen for these number because they need to say what was the lowest and what was the highest number they heard, it creates ownership if there is inflammation and/or infection.

Most hygienists who do use this communication technique when completing a comprehensive periodontal exam (CPE) have patients who are immediately engaged in conversation about what they just heard. It really does save a lot of time explaining what is going on in your patients mouth when you educate them about what you are doing and what you want them to listen for.

It also helps to have visual aids available. If your patients do have bleeding gums, do your best to take pictures (intra-oral) of the area where there is bleeding. Same thing when you see a lot of calculus, supra-gingival. Take pictures and your patients will more easily understand what is happening in their mouth.

When patients can see what is happening and when you can break the conversation down into words they are most likely to understand, it becomes much easier for patients to want what they need.

If you have never tried this technique for communication, I invited you to try this because I am certain you will notice more patients schedule and pay for treatment. They will continue returning to your office for routine preventive care, when they take ownership of their disease.

Do you want more training to boost your patient care? What is your case acceptance? The standard is 85% of your patients scheduling for treatment after you have presented a plan for them. If you are not aware of your case acceptance percentage and/or if you want to see this percentage increase schedule a no-cost Case Acceptance Profit Session with Debbie HERE. You can also schedule 30 minutes by emailing or calling our office: Email: admin@dentalpracticesolutions.com or call: 949-351-8741.

Do you want more training for your office? Plan to join us in Portland Oregon on September 21^st for a live CE Event called: Dentistry: Get a Grip on Your Practice and Grow Your Business

Click here for more information about this all- day live event.

ABOUT DEBBIE SEIDEL-BITTKE, RDH, BS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS is a dental consultant, coach, speaker and author. She is also CEO of Dental Practice Solutions. Debbie is a world-class leader in creating profitable hygiene departments. She is well-known as a former clinical assistant professor at USC in Los Angeles and a former hygiene department program director. Dentistry Today recognizes Debbie as a Leader in Dental Consulting. She can be reached at (888) 816-1511. Send an e-mail to info@dentalpracticesolutions.com or go to her website: https://dentalpracticesolutions.com.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT!

Do you feel like your dental practice runs your life? Do you wish that you did not have to concern yourself with running the business of dentistry? Do you want to not worry about the marketing, deal with payroll, worry about open holes in your schedule and a bank account that does not grow?

I feel your pain and I have created an all-day live CE Event in Portland, Oregon. Plan to join Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS, CEO of Dental Practice Solutions, along with Doug Fettig of Aldrich Advisors.

We have planned a life-changing event so you don’t need to worry about your dental business but you can focus on your clinical dentistry.

Plan to bring your team so they can learn and begin implementing what they learn. This will leave you feeling like you have a new lease on life!

You get 6 AGD Credits, breakfast, lunch, snacks, coffee, tea, soft-drinks plus we will give away prizes all throughout the day: valued at $50-$1,500. You will walk away with your customized blueprint.

More information and Register Now. Early-bird Pricing Expires August 21, 2018.

Dental Consultant | Building a Better Team

By: admin

June 28, 2018

Oregon Dental Consultant

Recruiting employees can be a time-consuming, stressful, and sometimes costly endeavor. When you’re looking to build an optimal team, it can be tempting to hold onto old employees for too long and hesitate to hire new ones until you’re confident you’ve found the “perfect” fit. However, both of these common mistakes can be damaging to the efficiency and culture of your business in the long term. Building an ideal team can take time, but keeping the following tips in mind can help ensure your business is able to thrive.

Out with the old…

It can be hard to let go of any employee. Ideally, everyone you bring to your business will become a valuable member of the team. Unfortunately, that’s not always going to be the case. If an employee is displaying any of the following signs, it might be time to consider letting them go:

Bad Attitude: This includes eye-rolling, snide comments, complaints, confrontational tone, and passive-aggressive speech or actions. An employee that disrespects their co-workers won’t have the best interests of the team or the business at heart.
Lack of Engagement: Whether unfocused at work or unresponsive during meetings, an employee that’s not mentally present can’t give their best to their work.
Dishonesty: Whether this involves refusal to accept accountability, blaming others for mistakes, or outright lies, dishonesty is harmful to your business and your team.
Poor Performance: While it’s expected that an employee in a new role may need an adjustment period, if that employee shows an ongoing inability to grow professionally or meet the expectations of their position, it might be a harbinger of even bigger problems down the road.

In with the new…

Whether you’re looking to replace current employees or meet the demands of a growing business, you want to do everything you can to make sure you’re hiring the right people for your team. Here are some tips that can help streamline the hiring process:

There’s No Such Thing as Perfect: When looking to bring in new employees, it can be tempting to wait until you’ve found the “perfect” fit. However, that can unnecessarily slow down the process and cause you to skip over individuals who might become great assets for your team in time. Keep in mind that a good employee is one that grows and performs well, and look for individuals that possess the qualities needed to thrive long-term.
Follow Your Gut: Instincts exist for a reason. If something about a prospective employee isn’t sitting right with you, it could be a sign that there’s a deeper problem you’ll have to address in the future. While you shouldn’t necessarily make quick decisions on feelings alone, it’s worthwhile to take them into account.
Listen to Your Team: The members of your staff will often be able to offer good insights into how the company can grow. Whether a trusted employee is revealing the poor performance of a co-worker or a team is asking for another member to help manage their growing responsibilities, it’s worth seeking their input when making decisions.

Though there’s no exact science to building a successful team, there are proven strategies you can use to help the process be as painless as possible. By holding current employees to a clearer standard and exercising discernment with new and prospective employees, you can make the hiring process operate more smoothly and increase the overall productivity and happiness of your team.

For more advice on building a better team and managing your practice growth, contact our office.

Dental Practice Solutions
(888) 816-1511

How Do You Deliver Your Practice Culture to Your Patients?

By: admin

June 21, 2018

Written by: Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

A CRUCIAL ELEMENT of every successful dental practice is your culture.

What type of patients do you want to serve?
How do you want your patients to feel when they are in your office?

One of the first tasks we have our clients complete is to write down the type of culture they want for their dental office. We have a short template the doctors fill in the blanks, so we can “nail” their delivery of culture. We want to help our clients attract and retain their best patients. It also helps enjoy your day when your schedule is filled with patients who enjoy you and you enjoy having them in your chair.

The next step we take with our clients is to support the doctor; our client, to attract their ideal patient. What the office culture represents must be a part of everything the patients see, feel, hear, etc., etc. This must appeal to all of your patients’ senses. This feeling is the real reason why your patients will choose to return to your office.

Patients don’t truly know how great your clinical skills are. All they know is if you made them feel good or bad. And yes, they will remember if you hurt them.

If you want to be a family friendly office, how does your practice reflect this message?

If you want your office to feel like the Ritz Carlton, how do you deliver this message to your patients?

Make Your Culture Delivery A Priority for Your Practice

Many of our clients want to have a family friendly office and if this sounds like an example of what you want in your dental office here are a few suggestions to make your office feel family friendly.

You can also take these suggestions and tweak them to match your office culture:

1. Show off your family by inviting your employees to have pictures of their family around the office.

One of the doctors I worked for many years ago wanted to have a family friendly office. He also enjoyed photography. You can probably imagine what I am going to tell you about this doctor’s office. Yes, you guessed it! This doctor had a lot of beautiful pictures of his family throughout the walls of his office.

2. Make sure you invite the employees to have pictures of their family around the office. For example, in their operatory invite your employees to have pictures of their family, their pets, etc.

3. What type of reading materials do you have in your reception area?

Make sure you have family friendly reading materials for family members of every age.

4. What is playing on your tv if you have one in your reception area and in the operatories?

Make the viewing on your electronics: tv and music, family friendly. No obscenities or inappropriate language in the lyrics or messages/pictures on your TVs.

5. What are you giving patients as a “thank you for choosing our office?”

If this is a child or teenager, what do you hand out to them as a thank you? It is not only the parent you want to provide a “wow” experience for but the child or adolescent as well.

6. Be sure your schedule is blocked for those smaller children who need an early morning appointment and for school-aged children who need afterschool appointments.

We’re Here for You and Your Team!
We’re committed to providing you with almost everything you need to achieve your practice goals, whether you’re working to create a family-friendly environment for your patients or maybe you want to upgrade your hygiene department. If you have any questions about what more you could do in your practice, let us know in the comments below!

If we don’t provide something you need for success, we can direct you to the best expert.

We are here to serve you. Our team is growing so we can cover more of what your practice needs to be successful. Just ask us how we can support you and your dental practice. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Thank you for placing your trust in hiring us!

About the Author: Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

CEO: Dental Practice Solutions
DENTISTRY TODAY considers Debbie a top dental consultant for the past 18 yrs.
The focus of Dental Practice Solutions is to create healthier, longer lives for your patients while supporting the practice to optimize their hygiene department. The team at Dental Practice Solutions, takes an integrative approach with your team to create an increase in your production and collections without working harder.

When you continue to use the systems implemented, your dental practice will sustain growth for years to come.

Schedule a no-cost profit boosting call today and discover how you can be your best in 2018: Email to schedule a call with Debbie: admin@dentalpracticesolutions.com or Call our office to schedule this today: 949-351-8741.

How Dentists can Improve Loyalty

By: admin

June 14, 2018

How dentists can improve patient loyalty.

Our Guest Blog Written By: Dr. Nabil Mockbil

There have been many cases when patients who need certain expensive cosmetic or restorative dental procedures, cringe at the exorbitant cost and often forgo the expensive treatment completely.

It would seem that dentists are quick to recommend costly dental treatments with little or no regard to how their patients are going to pay for the costs.

The dentist is in a unique position to advise their patient on the best and most affordable dental care ensuring their patient is happy and financially comfortable.

How can your dental practice achieve this and keep or even grow your patient base?

Once a dental diagnosis has been made, use this time to educate the patient on the proposed procedure. The end goal should always be helping patients achieve and maintain their best oral health.

The patient should understand the benefits of the treatment plan and be able to make an informed decision, as opposed to opting out of the treatment because of what they believe is a high cost of dentistry.

The benefits you outline should focus on how the treatment will improve their overall health, comfort and appearance. This will help the patient make an educated choice based on your professional advice.

The patient may fully understand the benefits but still think the treatment is too pricey and not justified, but at least the patient sees you as being upfront and honest. This contributes to building your good reputation.

Be honest about the cost of the proposed treatment plan. This should also include all the dental appointments required and the length of time it takes to complete the treatment.

Being candid from the beginning is important in building a strong relationship, great rapport, between the dentist and patient, based on trust and honesty.

If you are able to offer an alternative treatment plan that takes less time or is less costly, be sure to offer it to your patient. This will leave the patient feeling like you have their best interests at heart rather than just making a quick buck!

It is a good idea to give your patient a written estimate of the treatment plan.

This shows that you are transparent about the costs and are willing to stick to the plan and the fees you’ve discussed; provided there are no “surprises” (aka: changes), during the treatment in the form of unexpected additional costs. Ensure the patient understands that “changes” to a treatment plan are possible.

The patient will also have a record for future reference during or after their treatment.

Some points to include in your written price estimate:

The treatment proposed with the time it will take to complete from start to finish. Ensure that you include a provision that complications may arise due to unforeseen circumstances- this may impact the length of time of the treatment and even the costs.

A breakdown of the fees as discussed with the patient at the initial consultation. This should clearly show what portion is covered by the patient’s dental/medical insurance and a fee the patient will have to cover “out-of-pocket.”

Outline any payment options your dental practice offers. Does your office offer a special patient discount plan? Be clear on the amount that needs to be paid upfront before treatment begins, if there is any.

Explain your dental practice’s billing options- whether you have convenient online payment options or how often invoices are sent out- either via email or postage. This will improve patient payment compliance. Who needs an inconvenience when trying to pay a bill?!

Clarify how any amounts that are in arrears are dealt with. It is expected that some patients will not be able to pay their bills on time. This gives the patient options without impacting the reputation of your dental practice.

When you make an effort to connect with the patient you are able to explore all the available alternatives for his dental treatment but within his budgetary constraints. This builds a strong relationship between the dentist and patient.

A happy patient is one who returns to your practice for all future dental care, brings the whole family and recommends you to friends thus, growing your patient base.

Author bio:

Dr. Nabil Mockbil received his DDS in 2001 from Umea University in Sweden, regarded as having the best dentist programme in Sweden for undergraduates. He’s now the founder of Swedish Dental Clinic in Dubai

Contact your highly trained and experienced dentist

https://www.swedishdentaldubai.com

Emotional Freedom Technique (Tapping): How to use it to Alleviate Anxiety in the Dental Patient

By: admin

June 7, 2018

Written by: Cindy Rogers, RDH, BS, OMT

How many times have you heard a patient say: “I hate the dentist.”? Well, they don’t actually mean they hate the dentist. More than likely they have dental anxiety. It has been estimated that 9% to 15% of Americans avoid seeing the dentist because of anxiety and fear.

Fear of the drill, fear of the needle, fear of the cost, fear of the white coat, fear of small spaces, fear of being lectured, fear of bad past experiences, and fear of being embarrassed. These are all fears that can bring on anxiety about going to see a dentist.

There are many options we can offer our patients to help them conquer their anxiety. Some options are: listening to headphones, taking anti-anxiety medication, breathing exercises, etc. One option you may not have heard about is Emotional Freedom Technique, commonly referred to as tapping.

What is Emotional Freedom Technique (Tapping)?

Emotional Freedom Technique, often referred to as tapping, is a form of psychological acupressure that is meant to help your body focus on healing its self. It has been shown to help relieve a wide range of emotional and physical issues such as anxiety, stress, depression, pain and trauma. It can be done anywhere and anytime without any tools, needles or side effects, which makes it very convenient.

Think of it as a form of acupuncture where you use your fingers instead of needles. Using your fingertips to tap on your energy meridians using a sequence which helps release blockages within your energy system.

The Three Parts to Tapping

Part One: The Setup Statement- Have the patient focus on their feelings of anxiety. They should come up with a statement that addresses that anxiety. The more specific they are with the statement, the better. An example is: “Even though I have dental anxiety, I love and accept myself.”

Part Two: The Reminder phase – The reminder phrase should be a very short version of your setup statement that states the issue. An example is: “This dental anxiety” The reminder phrase will be used as they continue through the tapping sequence.

Part Three: The Sequence- Start by having your patient rate their anxiety on a scale of 1-10. Then have them start the sequence by repeating the setup statement three times aloud, while tapping on their first meridian point, the karate chop. Next, have them tap 7-9 times on the reminding eight points in order listed below. As they are tapping on the eight remaining points, have them repeat the reminder phase.

The Nine Meridian Points Used for Tapping

www.TheTappingSolution.Com

Karate Chop – Located on the fleshy, outside part of the hand between the top of the wrist and the bottom of the pinkie finger
Eyebrow – Located just above the nose where the eyebrow starts, slightly to the side.
Corner of the Eye– Located on the bone alongside the corner of the eye.
Under the Eye – Located an inch under the pupil.
Below the Nose– Located in the area between your nose and upper lip.
Under the Mouth – Located below your bottom lip and above your chin.
Collar Bone – Located where your collarbone and first rib meet.To find it, locate the U-shaped indentation at the top at the bottom of your throat (then move down 1 inch and to the side 1 inch.
Under the Arm – Located about 4 inches below the armpit.
Top of the Head- Located on the top of your skull in the middle of your head.

After they have completed the tapping sequence, have them take a deep breath and concentrate on how they are feeling. Now have them rate their anxiety again on a scale of 1-10. They should feel a sense of relief, but they may want to repeat the sequence for even better results.

Once your patient has perfected this sequence, they can perform this any time during their dental appointment to help ease their anxiety.

We now have several resources to offer our patients when it comes to dental anxiety. Tapping might be the best option as it is proven to be highly effective and does not require any equipment or medication. The patient is totally in control of the tapping and this helps ease their fear and anxiety even more.

Cindy Rogers, RDH, is a dental consultant, coach, speaker, and author for Dental Practice Solutions. Cindy coaches in the areas of front office systems and processes as well as the hygiene department. People love the calm ZEN vibe that comes with Cindy but don’t be surprised at her “Inspiring and Motivating” ability when working with your team! Please contact Cindy for a complimentary Profit Boosting Session:
cindy@dentalpracticesoultions.com or call 949-351-8741 the website for valuable resources and schedule your complimentary Profit Boosting Session today. Check out more information on our website: https://dentalpracticesolutions.com/

Oregon Dental Consultant | Do You Find It Difficult to Talk About Increasing Fees?

By: admin

May 31, 2018

Written by: Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS, CEO of Dental Practice Solutions

INCREASING FEES IN YOUR DENTAL PRACTICE can be a tricky subject. Patients don’t like to pay more, especially if they’ve been around for a long time and they’re used to the old rates, but it can’t always be avoided. So, what’s the best way to go about raising your fees so that it won’t cause any problems?
Increasing Fees, The Right Way

Each year we recommend that our clients take a look at their fee schedule and their PPO insurance fees. We include this for all of our clients, so they know if they are within the range of fees for their community. We also work with clients who are looking to eliminate PPO’s in their dental practice, so we are looking over their current PPO’s.

For our clients, each month we provide a PPO Wizard and review fees of treatment completed. We are constantly inspecting your progress and any inefficiencies that may occur.

We recommend a slight increase in your fees annually, depending upon what your range of fees are for your community.

Managing Patient Responses

When you make a slight annual change to your fees your patients are not likely to notice a change.

When you look at this dessert plate, what words come to mind?

It is the same thing with your patients. How you talk about fees, treatment plans, payment options and anything you say to your patients, it is all in the words you choose and how you say those words that really matters.

Bring Us Your Questions

If there’s more you’d like to know about handling fee increases, give us a call. We’re here to help ensure that your practice gets the success it deserves, and part of that is navigating the tricky waters around patient fees.

We are happy to take a quick look at your fees and PPO’s. Just ask us about the PPO wizard we use.

Keep working hard! You’re doing great!

ABOUT Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

DENTISTRY TODAY considers Debbie a top dental consultant for the past 18yrs.

The focus of Dental Practice Solutions is to create healthier, longer lives for your patients while supporting the practice to optimize their hygiene department. The team at Dental Practice Solutions, takes an integrative approach with your team to create an increase in your production and collections without working harder. When you continue to use the systems implemented, you will benefit from production that creates dividends year after year, for the life of your dental practice.

Debbie is also a former Hygiene Program Director and clinical assistant professor for the dental hygiene program at USC in Los Angeles.

Debbie is passionate about supporting dental teams to provide a profitable, patient-centered dental practice through improving systems and efficiencies in the dental hygiene department.

Grab You No-Cost Hygiene Department Training:

Free Gingivitis Webinar and Schedule a Strategic Planning Session: Enroll in the webinar and view at your leisure by clicking this link.

Call to Schedule: 949-351-8741 or send an email to: admin@dentalpracticesolutions.com

Dental Consultant in Newport Beach | Big Picture

By: admin

May 24, 2018

You and your team are personally involved in your business daily. This can make it difficult to evaluate the areas of opportunity that are available to you. Even the most well-trained team can have instances of inefficiency or miscommunication, leading to breakdowns in patient care and impacting your workplace environment.

Just as you recommend your patients receive a full examination annually, we recommend the same for your business. Whether we have an ongoing relationship with you or it’s been years since we’ve evaluated your team, we recommend scheduling a checkup of your practice. During this evaluation, we may recommend the following:
· Evaluate current practice goals and benchmarks
· Evaluate team morale and motivation
· Evaluate your systems and protocols
· Evaluate overall patient satisfaction
· Create a success plan for moving forward

All too often, business owners attempt to motivate their team with no outside guidance. In some cases, this approach can have some success. However, as a business owner, it can be difficult to see the patient perspective or to evaluate a team member without being influenced by your personal connection. Having a person outside of your organization reinforce the importance of your systems can be difference between stagnation and the progress you desire.

If you’re looking to make this year even better than the last, schedule your consultation today.

Clackamas Dental Consultant | Steps to Keep Your Dental Patients Returning

By: admin

May 17, 2018

Patient Loyalty: Keep Your Dental Patients Returning

ONE OF THE MOST important things a dental practice can do is earn and keep patients returning. When patients return to your practice again and again, it’s better for their dental health, but it’s also better for your practice!

In today’s environment of consumerism, most dental patients in your dental practice are probably satisfied to be your patient but how many of them are truly loyal?

People in general, have high expectations. Not only are your patient’s insurance driven but they are more price-conscious than ever before.

People have more access to oral health information and comparison shopping in today’s world. Dental patients who are only satisfied will leave your office if or when a “better” offer comes along; especially if their insurance tells them which dental office will pay for their dental care.

Returning Patients

Patients judge your dentistry by how you make them feel. The patient loyalty process begins from the first “hello,” and it includes everything that happens even after you leave your office.

What are you doing in your dental practice that sets you apart from the other businesses, other dentists in your community?

Do you know how your patients feel after leaving your office?
Do you know what your patients are saying about your dental office and your team?

Ask your patients to complete a survey and ask them to add this to your online reviews.

The Benefits of Loyal Patients

Why do your patients continue returning to your office?

Having a schedule full of your favorite patients means your dental team doesn’t spend a lot of time calling, texting or emailing patients to fill the schedule. This most likely makes you feel more fulfilled in your career when you see patients you really LOVE!

When you love your patients, you most likely love your job. The day goes by quickly when you enjoy what you do, with the people you enjoy spending time with.

We Can Help You Increase Patient Retention

We are always here to help you find success in your practice. Improving your patient relationships is big part of your success!

Keeping patients returning to your office is the most cost-effective way to build your dental practice.

We have discovered that patients return to their dental office more frequently when the dental office has a WIIFM system. At Dental Practice Solutions, we created a Lifetime Whitening program that promotes your office and keeps your patients returning to your office. This has proven to reduce cancellations and no-shows.

If you have any questions about how you can earn patient loyalty, don’t hesitate to ask!

Check out our customized patient loyalty program. We offer premium whitening gel, customized with your name. your logo and at wholesale.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

ABOUT DEBBIE SEIDEL-BITTKE, RDH, BS

Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

Debbie Seidel-Bittke, is CEO of Dental Practice Solutions. Dental Practice Solutions focuses on helping dentists around the world to achieve their personal and professional goals by optimizing their hygiene department. Debbie has a team of consultants who optimize your front office processes, insurance reimbursement, credentialing and so much more.

Debbie has amazing insight that will tap into the true profit potential of each practice. When using the systems and strategies created by Dental Practice Solutions, dental practices will dramatically grow their current hygiene productivity.

The experienced team at Dental Practice Solutions can help dentists create their dream practice and enjoy a more fulfilling life.

Give us a call to have Debbie speak at your next national, state or local event, or call for a no-cost practice boosting session: Email: admin@dentalpracticesolutions.com. Call us at: 949-351-8741.

To learn more about the services of Dental Practice Solutions, visit their website: https://dentalpracticesolutions.com/

Dental Consultant in Oregon | How To Deal With The Stress of Being A Dentist

By: admin

May 10, 2018

How To Deal With The Stress of Being A Dentist

Written by Dr. Rachel Hall

It is true – being a dentist is stressful. Most patients dislike coming and are themselves stressed or anxious and this often comes across as rudeness, aggression and irrational behaviour. No one seems to appreciate or understand how hard it is to fix a tooth when you are leaning over, ruining your posture and straining your eyes.

Dentist Various Types of Stress

Many patients do not want to take your advice and simply think they know best despite the level of knowledge, experience and expertise you have.

Many complain about the bill, blow things out of proportion, ask the same question over and over even though you spent forever explaining it and even drew them a picture. And why do the challenging patients all seem to be booked in on the busiest and most demanding of days?

Then there is constantly being pushed for time, dealing with the bickering and team dynamics and their inability to think or organise anything for themselves – which come on doctor you know you’ve had a hand in as you are so controlling and need to micro-manage everything!

Add to that the bills are overdue, stock needs ordering, cash flow is a drip feed and the most vital piece of equipment has just blown up and yes…. It’s not surprising you’re stressed!

What Dentists Were Never Prepared For

Dental school fails to prepare the fresh-faced young and eager dentist to cope with the pressures they will face once graduated and working in dental practice. Instead it puts you under enormous amounts of pressure to learn, to achieve, and to come up to standard, pass exams and see patients on clinic at the same time.

You learn not to complain, to suck it up because you have to be the one to make it work, pay the bills, make the patients happy. You hold it all inside and put your brave face on as you dare not show you are overwhelmed and not handling the workload.

We come to rely on coping mechanisms like sugar, caffeine, alcohol and even drug abuse to handle the demands of daily practice; demands that we vent at our staff, patients, families and friends and then beat ourselves up over. Is a downward spiral!

Eventually we get sick, develop musculoskeletal problems, anxiety and depression, become de-motivated, resent our job, our staff and our patients and suffer from professional burnout and a higher than average rate of divorce, drug and alcohol addiction and suicide.

The statistics speak for themselves; in a study from the British Dental Journal July 2004, 90% of dentists said they drank alcohol regularly (with 1 in 7 dentists having an alcohol problem), 10% smoked and 35% were overweight. 62% suffered from heartburn, wind or indigestion, 60% reported being nervy, tense or depressed, 58% reported headache, 48% reported difficulty in sleeping and 48% reported feeling tired for no apparent reason.

Results also indicated that levels of minor psychiatric symptoms were high at 32%, similar to doctors at 27% and higher than the general population, which has been reported at 18%.

It is obvious from the studies that dentists do encounter numerous sources of professional stress, which can impact negatively on their personal and professional lives. Because of this dentists are prone to professional burnout, anxiety disorders and clinical depression and must be made aware of the importance of maintaining good physical and mental health to enjoy satisfying professional and personal lives.

Anecdotally, health professionals do not seek help for their own stress and personal frailty readily and instead are likely to put on a brave face and pretend they have the situation under control. Many often refuse to seek help for fear they will be stigmatised or lose their job whilst many others remain in denial.

Would it not then be sensible and beneficial to teach dental students and dentists a different way of managing stress and caring for themselves so they would be better equipped to deal with life? What if we could show dentists how to live in a way that supports them to deal with their issues and stresses and thus be able maintain their own health and remain fit and healthy both physically and mentally?

Solving the Dentist Stress Challenge

On a business level it’s important that you have systems and processes and are able to delegate to your team and have a team that is engaged and aligned to your practice values and mission. Sounds like a lot right there. Plus, as well as taking care of the business side of things you must learn to take care of your number one asset – YOU.

Here is a simple common sense approach to health and vitality that encourages you to care for and respect your body. This has worked well for me and many of my clients.

Eat to Support the Body

By assessing how the body reacts to foods (and situations) we can see what is beneficial and what to avoid such as gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine and alcohol as these can cause stress to the body or may make you feel unwell. It is also a well-known fact that what we eat can affect our mood and wellbeing.

Sleep Quality

Go to bed early after unwinding from your day to support you to get plenty of good quality sleep. Wake when your body feels to, not when the clock or society says you should, which may be earlier than you are used to. Once you establish a healthy sleep pattern you awake less exhausted and full of energy.

Be in Control of Your Choices

Every choice we make affects and contributes to what happens in our life. These choices can either be self-caring and nurturing or not. The body constantly communicates with us about how those choices impact on it. If we override or ignore those messages instead of addressing them then eventually the body will suffer aches and pains, digestive problems, emotional fluctuations, stress, tension etc and illness can result.

Gentle Exercise

Exercise gently to keep the body fit, strong and supple. This assists us to be physically healthy without over-stressing the body, causing muscle tears or injury and producing excess lactic acid build up which can cause pain and stiffness.

Focusing the Mind

The constant chatter of our mind and thinking about other things and situations instead of the task at hand is draining and stressful. It is like a computer trying to run several programs at once, it uses up a lot of energy and drains the batteries. By remaining more present and focusing the mind to what is occurring in each moment we save energy and reduce stress levels. By switching off the incessant brain chatter it is easier to connect to the body and how we feel and thus remain calm.

The Gentle Breath Meditation can help to calm and de-stress the body and provide a moment to stop and reflect on how we are. Being aware of our breath allows us to feel when we are stressed or holding tension. By breathing gently we can slow the heart rate, reduce our blood pressure and let go of tension. By tuning in with our body we can feel where we are tight and holding tension; e.g. if our jaw is clenched, shoulders are up around our ears, our breath is laboured or whether our movements are rigid, tense and rushed or not; and then choose to let that tension go and allow the body to relax.

Seek Support

Sometimes our issues and the pressures that we face are too much for us to handle alone. It is important that we realise that everyone at some point in their life finds it hard to cope and that it is perfectly acceptable to seek support and ask for help.

Self-care is an integral and essential part of having a long and healthy dental career and should be incorporated into the undergraduate curriculum and be offered as part of our continuing professional development education. By equipping people with the tools of self-care that they can carry throughout their career; ill health and the need to use sugar, caffeine and alcohol or drugs as coping mechanisms could be reduced and avoided. In this way our health care providers including us dentists would be a living example to those that we are caring for, treating and educating on wellbeing.

About the Author

Dr Rachel Hall, business coach and founder of Ascendancy Business Coaching for Dentists, dentist and practice owner. Rachel’s coaching helps you develop tools and skills for a dental office that is less dependent on you, so you can do what you love and focus on being productive and happy through planning, strategy and systems – “without them you don’t own your business it owns you”.