Office Life

Should leadership be taught in dental school curriculums?

Absolutely!  The dentist running a practice must be the ‘scientist’ in dental sciences and deliver quality care. Also, the dentist has to be a ‘business’ savvy individual to ensure the practice’s financial health. What else does the dentist need to be … the team ‘coach’. 

It is either the dentist’s role or if the office has an office manager, it may fall upon the manager.  Nonetheless, it’s a reality that hand-in-hand with being a practice owner comes leadership.  So where does a practice owner ‘learn’ leadership? 

It would be fantastic along with DENT 3055 there would be a Leadership 101 course that teaches the practice owner how to navigate the various dynamics of a team to develop and strengthen that team. 

July 1976 at the American Legion Convention at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, Legionnaires was named and identified as the cause of an outbreak of severe pneumonia with 200 cases and 29 deaths (3) (5).  The outbreak was linked to the inhalation of aerosolized contaminated water (3)(5).  A milder infection caused by the same type of Legionella bacteria is called Pontiac fever. Rewinding in time, in 1968 in Pontiac Michigan, Pontiac Fever was named and identified as an outbreak of influenza-like illness, identified by people who worked at & visited the city’s health department and had inhaled aerosols from contaminated water (3). Legionnaires' disease is an acute bacterial disease, causing death in 5% to 30% of cases (4). The Government of Canada’s Legionella site, states the following:

“Cases of Legionnaire’s disease may be difficult to detect because very few of the people exposed to the bacteria get infecte

Spring signifies a time of change where colors are plentiful, and every breath delivers fresh air. Dental professionals should use the energy of seasonal change for their own refueling and restructuring.

It goes without saying, dental offices are busy places and the day-to-day operations do not leave much time in anyone’s schedule to re-organize physical spaces in the office as well as the mental compartments of our process of care circuits when treating clients.

What does physical space re-organizing look like? This would be going around the office and removing ALL clutter. The best way to ‘SEE’ if your office and operatories look cluttered is to take a picture. Play an ‘eye-spy’ game with the picture. What do you see that should not be in the picture?

An Untidy Work Area Equates Uncleanliness

Risk Management in a Dental Office

In many provinces, the pivotal moment for IPAC was before the pandemic, in 2017, when public health units and regulatory bodies took a closer look at the practice of IPAC in dentistry to ensure compliance with ‘routine practice’.  Before the pandemic, many offices had already swept through their IPAC policies and made enhancements to strengthen their IPAC procedures, decreasing the risk level and satisfying the elements of routine practice.  Although in 2017 reading the fine print and deciphering through the grey areas of written standards seemed like a pain in the neck, I look back and say thank you, 2017, for shaking our IPAC world ahead of time. 

In this shake-up, dental professionals became more knowledgeable in the theory of IPAC and started initiating structure to IPAC.  Again, not that we did not follow IPAC prior, but we did

Suppose you ask dental-phobic patients for the main reasons that the thought of dental visit elicits such fear and loathing.

In that case, most will probably respond with feelings related to the potential for anxiety or pain.

This anxiety can stem from genuine unpleasant past dental experiences or unknown potential for pain.

A recent study showed that over 90% of dental professionals were feeling stressed. Those who work in the dental industry are probably not surprised to hear this. Working in dentistry has always been identified as a highly stressful profession.

Operating a successful dental practice extends beyond purchasing equipment and supplies. Understanding the nuances of expenses and implementing targeted approaches to reduce costs while increasing profits is pivotal for sustained growth and success.

Understanding Variable Costs and Fixed Expenses

Variable costs, representing 45-55% of a dental office's expenses, encompass various essential elements like payroll, lab fees, expense fees, dental and office supplies, staff CE training, and infection control products. Meanwhile, fixed expenses, constituting 4-7%, encompass recurring overheads such as rent or mortgage, utilities, phone/internet services, dental software subscriptions, and staff health benefits.

Diverse Factors Influencing Costs