Hygiene Analysis

In many practices, the Hygiene Department can feel like they are separate from the rest of the team, but in truth the hygiene department is actually the life of the practice. It is imperative that the practice work as a team and understand that patient trust is often built in the hygiene department. Optimizing the dental hygiene department has been proven to be a major factor in dental practice success, the patient experience, and driving revenue.

As important as hygiene is to practice growth and success, it is not uncommon that hygienists come to work and simply see the patients that are on their schedule with little to no awareness of goals or targets … if goals have been created to begin with. A lack of goal setting, systems, and training leaves hygiene with no real direction and no expectation to do things differently. Each patient should be approached as not just another prophy, but a person who trusts your dental practice to keep them in the best oral health. If a hygienist is truly engaged in what it means to work with patients in a proactive manner and to do everything possible to keep them in optimal health, they will be productive. It is a certainty that providing patients the very best care results in profitability for the practice; the two go hand in hand.

Creating goals helps create a tangible aspect of what is done day to day and patient to patient. ADP can help you work with your hygiene team to set achievable goals and to implement proper systems and training to close the gap between where things stand today and where you want to be in the future. Having protocols in place for periodontal diagnosis and care is sorely lacking industry-wide; supervised neglect is entirely too prevalent; adjunctive services, that benefit patient health, are rarely top of mind for the hygienist who is just trying to get to their next patient. The main objective should always be treating each patient and addressing their needs on an individual basis while providing an exceptional experience.

Important targets to know and measure:

• The hygiene department contributes 25%-35% (or more) to total practice production
• 50%+ restorative work is discovered during hygiene patient visits
• Monthly Hygiene Production: $30,000+ (per Hygienist)
• Hygiene Production Per Visit: $225
• Hygiene Same-Day Production: 30%
• Hygiene Perio Diagnosis Rate: 40%
• Hygiene Case Acceptance: 85%
• Fluoride: 80%
• Sealants: 10%
• Reappointment Rate: 99%

Aligned Dental Partners provides practices with the necessary foundation, protocols, and systems to build a result-driven hygiene department with intense focus on providing excellent patient care. We offer a high level of service with personalized coaching techniques and a proven program that will drive and maximize practice success. With our expert hygiene consulting services, we find that hygienists and dentists become re-energized and incredibly confident in their ability to diagnose and effectively communicate treatment needs to their patients in a way that results in 85% or greater case acceptance.