Professional

The healthcare industry is becoming increasingly competitive, and the field of dentistry is no exception. As a dental practitioner, it is crucial to understand the various factors that attract new patients to a dental office to grow and sustain your practice. Let's explore these determinants that drive patient attraction.

Communication is extremely important in dentistry, especially for the relationship between patients and dentists. You have to be able to talk effectively to patients so they feel comfortable and confident during their dental procedures. One thing that's easy to overlook is the tone of your voice.

But it actually has a huge impact on how patients perceive dental professionals and their procedures. In this article, we're going to talk about why tone of voice matters in dentistry and how it can affect patient satisfaction and outcomes.

Why Tone of Voice Matters

Tone of voice refers to the emotional quality of speech conveyed through pitch, volume, and rhythm. It's a powerful tool in communication that can really affect how a message is received. In dentistry, the tone of voice can impact a patient's perception of the dental professional,

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming various industries, including healthcare. The dental industry, in particular, has been increasingly incorporating AI technology to improve patient outcomes and optimize dental care. In this article, I will explore the ways in which AI is currently being used in dentistry and the potential future developments in this field.

The importance of infection control has long been established in the dental world.

Two main reasons are:

• Dental offices are higher risk in general, because of the amount of time spent in direct proximity to the patient’s mouth and nose while working.
• Patients cannot wear a mask as it would interfere with the procedure.

Dentists use dental dams as a barrier to isolate specific teeth or oral tissues during certain dental procedures.

The dental dam acts as a barrier to prevent saliva, blood, and other bodily fluids from interfering with the dentist's view and access to the tooth or oral tissue being worked on.

It is no secret that dental clinicians work hours upon hours under the armor of personal protective equipment. For educational facilities and some dental offices, the pandemic PPE layers were not new protocols. For others, it was a novel approach to the safe practice of dentistry.

Are all these layers still required post-pandemic? Why had educational facilities and some offices already expanded their PPE wardrobe before the pandemic?

As dental professionals, it is not new news that enamel falls prey to constant demineralization.  In the Enamel 101 of dentistry, we learned the fact that hydroxyapatite can be attacked by acids and break down if there is not a remineralization balance.  The ideal balance is to stop acid attacks period. 

Writing an IPAC Manual has its challenges. It's not as easy as it seems, as there are many factors to consider before you can call it complete. The following is a list of frequently asked questions, and responses from maxill's own dental educator extraordinaire, Michelle Aube-Simmonds, RDH.   

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. 

Does every office need a DUWL program?

This can be answered by the equipment the office has.  There are two types of water delivery systems in a dental office:  direct municipal and closed bottle systems. 

The direct municipal has no bottle and is only required to purge the DUWL on opening, closing, and between clients. 

However, a closed water system as per the MIFU of the manufacturer of the dental chair or bracket table with the attached bottle, states a program is required to include cleaning, disinfecting, and testing. 

At this point, a retrofit from municipal to closed is not mandated.  It is important to note that offices do not get confused with the word municipal … if the office uses tap water in their closed bottle system that is not considered m