It’s not your CBCT scanner or your new dental chairs that ultimately make the dental practice successful. It’s the professional team. From the clinicians to the dental nurses, dental hygienists/therapists, front of house staff, management personnel and more, each role contributes to the patient experience and the smooth running of the business. For principals, it is important to establish and maintain a positive culture among the team, earning their commitment to the practice and your patients.
What is culture?
Work culture is defined as “a management concept that encompasses the attitudes, beliefs and perceptions of the employer’s principles and practices”.[i] It embodies how staff interact with each other, how they conduct themselves in the workplace, and how they prioritise their work. The culture is also the means by which the company values and ethos are actively translated into the day-to-day running of the practice.
Why is culture important?
For a start, a positive workplace culture makes it a more pleasant environment in which to work. Research shows that organisational culture has a direct impact on work-related stress among nurses, with a stronger positive culture linked to enhanced happiness and joy among individuals.[ii]
There is also evidence that work culture significantly impacts the quality of healthcare delivered to patients. A culture that centres around patient safety and staff wellbeing has been shown to improve outcomes in both areas.[iii] A culture that promotes communication and collaboration among the team may also elevate situation awareness and teamwork for a higher overall performance.[iv]
Getting started
To build a positive culture, it’s necessary to lead by example. This means the practice principal and manager working together to demonstrate their values in a practical and productive way. Key to the process is:
- Use your values and ethos to determine how these can be translated into a practical setting
- Be transparent and communicative with the team about what you hope to achieve and what type of workplace you would like to create
- Be inclusive of all team members, encouraging everyone to share their thoughts and get involved
- Recognise and reward team members when they go above and beyond to embody your company ethos and culture
While I wouldn’t claim to be an expert in these things, I am very proud of the culture we have developed and maintain at EndoCare. It helps to drive our standards of patient care ever higher, and it is an absolute pleasure to work with such a dedicated team.
Author Dr Michael Sultan – Endocare
[i] Bayot ML, Tadi P, Vaqar S. Work Culture. [Updated 2024 Aug 11]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542168/
[ii] Kiptulon, E.K., Elmadani, M., Limungi, G.M. et al. Transforming nursing work environments: the impact of organizational culture on work-related stress among nurses: a systematic review. BMC Health Serv Res 24, 1526 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-12003-x
[iii] Lu L, Ko YM, Chen HY, Chueh JW, Chen PY, Cooper CL. Patient Safety and Staff Well-Being: Organizational Culture as a Resource. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 21;19(6):3722. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063722. PMID: 35329410; PMCID: PMC8953540.
[iv] Weller JM, Mahajan R, Fahey-Williams K, Webster CS. Teamwork matters: team situation awareness to build high-performing healthcare teams, a narrative review. Br J Anaesth. 2024 Apr;132(4):771-778. doi: 10.1016/j.bja.2023.12.035. Epub 2024 Feb 2. PMID: 38310070.
