How to Optimize Your Hygiene Department with Paula Quinn

Paula Quinn has quite the resume. She has over 30 years of experience in dentistry, is a practicing dental hygienist, and speaks internationally for Invisalign and Biolase. Fortunately for us and our clients, she’s also an extremely valuable team member here at Next Level Consultants! She was recently interviewed by Roadside Dental Marketing, during which she broke down topics such as what you should look for when hiring a consultant for your dental practice, common mistakes to avoid, how to optimize your hygiene department, and tips on how to find and hire hygienists. The highlights below are just a small portion of everything she covers in the almost 24-minute video, so be sure to check it out to benefit from all the knowledge Paula has to share!

“What Should You Consider When Hiring a Consulting Team for a Dental Practice?”

• Your Issue May Be Multifaceted: Most dentists/owners recognize a weakness in their practice, so they try to hire someone to fix that weakness. But, a particular problem in the hygiene department might stem from another part of the practice, so improving hygiene won’t necessarily fix the issue.
• Hire Consultants That Can Help Your Entire Practice: Rather than working with a consultant that focuses on one thing, it’s best to partner with a team that has expertise in every area of dentistry, both from the clinical and business side. That way, multi-pronged problems can be addressed holistically to help with specific issues while improving the practice as a whole.

“What Are the Most Common Mistakes You See Practice Owners Make?”

• Not Having a Clear Vision: The individual skills of the team members don’t really matter if everyone is not on the same page. Without a clear goal and constant communication, the practice is not going to succeed consistently, because everyone is essentially moving in a different direction.

“What Are Some of the Ways a Practice Can Get the Most Out of Their Hygiene Department?”

• Start with the Patient: Hygienists should talk to each patient to figure out what is important to them when it comes to their dental care.
• Use Cleaning Time to Educate: While a patient is sitting during a cleaning with their mouth open, a hygienist can educate them about their oral health and how it affects their overall health. A little small talk is OK, but the time where the patient essentially can only listen is a valuable opportunity to give them information that could lead them to get more treatment in the future.
• Frame Everything Based on the Patient: Any conversation with a patient should be based on what is important to them. If they want to avoid pain, that should be the starting point when it comes to bringing up further treatment or re-care.  

“Any Tips for Finding and Hiring Hygienists?”

• Market Value Has Gone Up: Hygienists are in high demand, so their market value has increased. Dentists/owners should be prepared to pay them notably more compared to the past.
• Run Personalized Ads: Advertise qualities that make your practice stand out, with a key one being technology. Hygienists will be drawn to a practice that uses an iTero scanner or lasers because this will allow them to work faster and provide better care, plus it shows that the practice values their patients and team by making the investment.
• Incentives Are a Good Idea: In this hot market, things like a sign-on bonus and special incentives can help practices stand out. It will show that they value hygienists and that new hires will be rewarded if they put in extra work and help patients decide to get more profitable treatments (like Invisalign).

Want to Hear More From Paula?

If you have any questions about the topics covered here or want Paula and the team at Next Level Consultants to help your practice find the best ways to achieve your goals, all you need to do is contact us today to schedule a meeting, or you can get a complimentary practice evaluation by clicking here.