The larger the skills mix, the better the service – Ashleigh Richard Dental Nurse and Treatment Coordinator (TCO) at MyDentist a member of the Association of Dental Groups (ADG)

  Posted by: Dental Design      3rd January 2018

I started with MyDentist in November 2011 as a volunteer at the St Ives practice when I was at sixth form, working in reception to assist the orthodontist who used to work quite long hours. At the time I was studying to go into medicine so I wanted to gain some experience working across various fields – including dentistry. After just one month I quit sixth form and began training as a dental nurse; and I haven’t looked back.

Since qualifying in 2014, I’ve completed many additional qualifications across a number of areas, including specialist orthodontic nursing, advanced impression taking, intraoral photography, radiography, fluoride application, PAR scoring, IOTN assessment, basic sedation and implant nursing. I’ve always taken a very keen interest in all aspects of dental treatment and learning new skills, so whenever there’s been the opportunity to take a course I’ve always jumped at the chance. Granted, it’s not an option that every dental nurse is fortunate enough to experience, but if you work for a company where it is possible to master a broad range of skills, it is good to make the most of it.

The speed at which I completed each course was merely down to my competitive nature and the fact I enjoy a challenge – even against myself.
Naturally, it has helped the practice too, as these skills allow me to take on some of the dentists’ work freeing them up to see more patients and make more money in a shorter period of time. It’s effectively what made me an attractive candidate when MyDentist set up their referral implant clinic at the Warboys site, along with my experience working as a TCO.

Now, with all these additional skills and extended scope of practice, I am able to help my practice deliver a much more efficient service to patients. They can be seen quickly by me for consultations and record appointments or by the dentist for more complex treatments. For example, if a dentist saw 20 patients a day, due to sheer demand, the waiting list would be a year a half. However, as I am qualified to take on some of the tasks the dentist would normally do, I can also see 20 patients a day, reducing the waiting list to just six months. It’s here that an effective implementation of skills mix reaps the rewards.

The other notable benefit for patients is choice. When practitioners are under extreme pressure there’s not always a chance to explore as many treatment options as they’d like. Yet, if the dental nurse is able to share the workload they then have more time to spend with patients, meaning better choice and greater patient satisfaction. Even the NHS can profit from use of skills mix, as less waiting time and a smaller waiting list means less cost.
As for my role as a TCO, having worked in both private and NHS practices, I can safely say that treatment coordinating is much more useful to visiting NHS patients, as it gives them the option of choosing private treatment, which may not otherwise have been available to them. Again, this helps to ease the strain for National Health England. Unlike nursing, however, I don’t think the role is fully appreciated or maximised within dentistry – especially in independent practices – though hopefully in time we’ll begin to see TCOs used more and more. An increasing amount of nurses are gaining the qualifications needed to carry out this role it’s just a matter of the skills actually being used; and it’s in that area that more work needs to be done.

Companies like MyDentist are definitely ahead of the curve with this, with professional development and additional qualifications all part and parcel of working as a dental nurse. This just needs to be implemented on a bigger scale and filtered down on a practical level so that skills are being maximised to the fullest potential.

There’s no denying there is a lot of promise, it’s up to the profession to ensure that time and skill management is a priority moving forward. Only then can we ensure that the highest standard of care is being delivered to patients.

For more information about the ADG visit www.dentalgroups.co.uk