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Volume 6, Issue 3

Increasing Productivity
in Slow Periods

Most practices experience times when productivity drops. Some practices experience a decrease in patient flow during the months of February or September, while others experience a decline during the summer months. Due to the economic downturn, there are dentists that struggle month after month. The best way to deal with these slow periods is to have systems in place that support you regardless of external conditions.

The Practice within Your Practice

The hygiene department is the backbone of your practice. Many dentists feel fortunate to have a full-time hygienist. However, you may want at least 2 full-time hygienists if you want a booming practice where there’s an abundance of work to do.

A great rule of thumb is to have one hygienist for every 800 patients of record. For example, let’s assume that the hygienist in a practice sees 8 patients per day and works 4 days per week.  This equals 32 patients per week. If the hygienist works 48 weeks in the year, there would be 1536 available appointments.  On average, patients are seen 2 times per year, which would have the hygienist seeing approximately 768 patients each year.

If this practice has a strong periodontal focus, the hygiene department will see far fewer patients, as many patients will be coming for more than the standard 2 visits per year. This number will also vary depending on how many hours per day and days per week the practice operates.

The fact is, many practices have far more than 800 patients of record, but few solo practitioners have more than one full time hygienist. The more hygiene days you have, the more readily you’ll be able to keep your treatment schedule full. Let’s look at another scenario. If you have one hygienist that works 1 day and another hygienist that works 3 days, you have a total of 4 hygiene days per week. If you have 2 full-time hygienists that each work 4 days and 1 part-time hygienist that works 2 days, you have a total of 10 hygiene days per week.

Clearly, if you have 10 hygiene days per week, more patients will be entering your practice, providing you with more opportunities to increase productivity. A great hygienist can build an extremely strong hygiene department. But when the dentist strongly encourages patients to be sure they come in for regular hygiene care, they are more likely to make that commitment.

Increasing Productivity in the Hygiene Department

• Have the Dentist encourage all patients to commit to regular hygiene care.
  
  
• For patients that have had a significant amount of dentistry in the past, perform a comprehensive exam every 5 to 7 years.
  
  
• Encourage hygienists to discuss potential treatment with patients, and then have the dentist validate the hygienist’s findings in front of patients.
  
  
• Following the exam, hygienists should discuss the potential treatment in detail with the patient, and answer any questions they might have.
  

Strategies for the Dentist to Boost Productivity

• Engage new patients in lifelong oral health care. If they are in pain, take care of the pain, but do not proceed with other restorative treatment until their hygiene therapy has been completed.
  
  
• Walk patients to the administrative area when their treatment has been completed. Building a relationship with them will enhance treatment acceptance.
  
  
• Visit with patients whenever you have downtime. Take time to sit and talk with people that are waiting in the reception area. The more your patients know you the more they will trust you.
  
  
• When a patient says how great the treatment has been and/or how gorgeous their smile looks, tell them that yes, it’s a textbook case, it did indeed turn out beautifully. Then follow up by saying that it was a pleasure to work with them, and if they have any friends that would appreciate the same standard of care, you’d be delighted to see them.
  
  
• Ask for referrals at every opportunity. For more information on how to ask for referrals click here.

Downtime provides a great way to become creative at how you can further build your practice. Take advantage of slow periods. Maximize opportunities within the hygiene department and remember the importance of building the relationship between the dentist and patient. If you use these tools, you will increase productivity regardless of the scenario you find yourself in.

Points to Ponder:

• How many hygiene days do you have per week?
  
  
• Do the hygienists talk with patients about potential treatment, setting the stage for the recall exam, and then answer questions and discuss the benefits of proceeding with treatment?
  
  
• Do all team members engage patients in lifelong oral health care that begins with hygiene treatment?
  
  
• How do you use downtime in your practice?
  
  
  

For a free 30 minute consultation on how to maximize
your productivity, contact us.

About the Author

CoraMarie Clark, BSDH MBA is recognized as a highly effective dental practice strategist. She works with dentists that want to optimize their potential both personally and professionally. Her collaborative approach has helped teams develop dynamic competitive strategies and achieve high impact sustainable results.

If you would like to explore the possibility of having CoraMarie work with your Dental Practice or speak for your Association or Group, contact us today.

Strategix
phone 403.686.6136
email coramarie@strategix-ltd.com
web strategix-ltd.com

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