Within dentistry, maintaining a successful, productive, and profitable practice is no easy feat. Dentists and their team must work consistently against the clock to ensure appointments are kept on time and patients can be treated to the high standards they expect. Of course, these are entirely reasonable demands, but achieving them is not always straightforward and requires a number of things to be put in place prior. In turn, efficiency can be maximised and practice turnover elevated, reflecting the positive experiences of patients and a practice running at full capacity.
Maintain seamless schedules
Regardless of your years of experience, qualifications, or the types of dental treatments you provide, your patients will always remember their first impressions of your practice. When everything is running smoothly, patients spend minimal time in the waiting room. This supports a relaxed environment, allowing patients to feel comfortable and confident in your abilities. On the other hand, if patients are waiting a long time in the waiting room, they may start to feel nervous. This might put patients off returning to the practice, and accepting proposed treatment plans.
Dental practices are busy places, with full books meaning fast turnarounds are needed between patients to keep on schedule.[i] Putting measures in place to facilitate this will this ensure you’re able to continue to provide high standards of care to each patient, and that your business is able to thrive in what is a very competitive landscape.
Increase efficiency, improve business
There are a number of different ways practices can work to reduce patients’ time in the waiting room. First of all, reduce the number of paper forms that need to be filled in prior to appointments by transitioning to a digital model – allowing patients to fill out key information at home and reducing delays. Block scheduling can also help, by grouping similar types of treatments to reduce the transition time and equipment set up. Similarly, short buffer times around complex procedures can help to mitigate unexpected complications, leaving other patients’ scheduled appointments unaffected.[ii]
Equipment suited for the job
A big part of maximising productivity is to ensure that the equipment available in the practice facilitates this. For example, amongst all of the jobs that must be completed in between appointments to prepare the treatment room for the next patient, it’s important that you’re not held up by an essential aspect – like having key instruments sterilised in time.
In order to reduce this likelihood, it’s important to utilise the most appropriate infection control equipment for your practice type. For very busy practices, who require very tight turnaround times in between patient exams, it is useful to have a small, fast autoclave on hand to support other equipment. This will ensure that the key pieces of equipment are ready for use in time, without the need to keep lots of duplicate instruments in the practice.
The STATIM G4 Cassette Autoclave range from Eschmann offers the world’s fastest sterilisation from start to sterile. They are ideal for busy practices who wish to boost productivity by eliminating instrument turnaround bottlenecks. With cycle times from just 6.45 minutes*, their compact size are designed for practices of all sizes – with technology trusted by professionals for over 25 years. USB data download and optional external printer connectivity support compliant cycle record keeping.
Practical steps that benefit all
Often, factors that improve processes for the dental team are the ones that have big impacts on the patient experience. When the team can work effectively, and enjoy more productive workflows, their patients get the benefits of reduced waiting times and a better overall experience. When patients feel confident in their practice’s ability to provide them with timely care, they’ll be more likely to return, accept treatment recommendations, and even recommend your services to family and friends. For practices who wish to thrive in a competitive environment, it’s important to embrace solutions that work for all.
* cycle times without drying and dependent on load type
For more information on the highly effective range of infection control products from Eschmann, including the industry-leading autoclave range, please visit www.eschmann.co.uk or call 01903 753322
Author: Nicky Varney, Head of Marketing
[i] King’s College London. Contemporary dental practice in the UK: demographic details and practising arrangements in 2008. Accessed June 26. https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/contemporary-dental-practice-in-the-uk-demographic-details-and-pr/
[ii] Hello Pearl. 18 ways to improve your dental office efficiency. Accessed June 26. https://hellopearl.com/blog/ways-to-improve-dental-office-efficiency
