Hygiene Coaching

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.

• 1. The hygiene department contributes 25%-35% (or more) to total practice production
• 2. 50%+ restorative work is discovered during hygiene patient visits
• 3. Monthly Hygiene Production: $30,000+ (per Hygienist)
• 4. Hygiene Production Per Visit: $225
• 5. Hygiene Same-Day Production: 30%
• 6. Hygiene Perio Diagnosis Rate: 40%
• 7. Hygiene Case Acceptance: 85%
• 8. Fluoride: 80%
• 9. Sealants: 10%
• 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.

A client acquired their third practice in 2017 with their primary focus on patient retention and comprehensive care. The owner doctor was apprehensive about committing to a hygiene training program for fear of upsetting and losing patients due to change. This practice was in a rut and change was necessary to save the business. Staff included three hygienists, one dentist, three dental assistants, and two front desk staff. The practice had a total of 9 operatories and production was stalled at about 500k per year. The doctor was aware that the hygiene team was underperforming and his motivation to seek help stemmed from his commitment to provide the best care for his patients. With aligned philosophies, we got to work!

By first building rapport with the team, together we created a hygiene standard of care that would translate not just to the hygiene department, but to the entire practice. The team participated in a two-day training that included learning a new hygiene periodontal protocol, understanding the oral systemic link to gum disease, verbal skills to increase case acceptance, a chart audit procedure, proper coding, and much more. The doctor and team were pleasantly surprised by the increase in productivity; the patient experience was elevated and patients were complimentary of the team’s approach.

With the Hygiene Standard of Care protocol developed and in place, each provider’s performance could be effectively reviewed and an incentive-based pay structure could be fully executed. The practice saw a rapid increase in periodontal and adjunctive services being utilized, which was a direct result of better communication with patients about optimal oral health care and how they benefit from having a healthy mouth.

Increased Hygiene Department Production

$13,788 to $54,877 a month

Increased Periodontal Diagnostic Percentage

5% to 42% a month

Increased Periodontal Visit Percentage

10% to 62% a month

Increased Hygiene Production Per Visit

$107.00 to $340.00 a month

Increased Overall Practice Production

$440,869 to $1,617,218 a year