The Role of a Hygiene Consultant

For the most part, a Hygiene Consultant is just what it sounds like a person who is qualified as an expert in the dental care industry. However, this definition barely scratches the surface of the true nature of the profession. In fact, a Hygiene Consultant may be quite knowledgeable about the practice of dentistry, but without ever examining a set of real human teeth firsthand. For that matter, a Hygiene Consultant is much more likely to be a whiz with compiling spreadsheets and organizing meetings than operating a drill or polishing tool. First, there is the corporate arena to consider. In this environment, a Hygiene Consultant may serve as a coordinator between a company’s human resources department and its dental insurance plan provider. The scope of activities involved in this capacity range from benefit analysis to cost-effectiveness evaluation. This person may also work toward resolving network issues, including reviewing the education and history of participating dentists, as well as assessing the standard of care each provides. In this role, in particular, a Hygiene Consultant may be called upon to mediate cases where conflict or ethical issues have emerged.

Help You Understand the Importance of the Hygienist’s Role

Hygienists play a huge role in the growth of a dental practice today. In fact, the hygiene department should be the second-largest profit center in the dental practice. Think of the dental hygienist as an ambassador for the dental practice. Indeed, the hygienist is in a very unique position, spending a large majority of one-on-one time with patients in the chair. The hygienist is first in line to present the risks and benefits of preventive and aesthetic dental treatments. The dental hygienist can, thus, set the stage to help patients accept treatment plans, large and small. Furthermore, when a hygienist sees the same patients multiple times a year, he or she has a chance to develop personal relationships with these patients — and this means building more trust. This added trust will, then, make patients more likely to listen to the hygienist’s treatment plan suggestions and more likely to ask the hygienist for help in their decision-making process. Hygiene Consultant list examples of where a hygienist can — and should — get involved with suggestions and decision-making include choosing the best restorative options, deciding upon various cosmetic/aesthetic procedures, understanding preventive products, such as power toothbrushes and knowing which one is best for them , and choosing which mouth rinse to buy and what toothpaste is best suited for their oral condition.

Focuses of Teamwork

All successful businesses begin with a collaborative team. Even the vocabulary the world’s most successful businesses use will describe their employees and show the companies’ high regard for teamwork. Starbucks employees are known as associates. When you’re a guest at the Ritz Carlton, employees and guests are known as, “ladies and gentlemen, serving ladies and gentlemen.” And there’s no reason your dental office can’t emanate these very same values. For starters, everyone should be on the same page. Each member of the dental team needs to be enthusiastic and well-versed in discussing the benefits of preventive and aesthetic dentistry. Also, the doctor and the auxiliaries must share a practice vision and philosophy for patient care. That’s where dental professionals can make a difference. An expert Hygiene Consultant can analyze your dental office’s highest potential and create a custom, step-by-step plan that capitalizes on your practice vision and brings you more success than you thought possible. Meanwhile, start with a morning team huddle to get your team on the same page, and if you don’t already, plan monthly team meetings to provide a time for collaboration and exploration of new ideas and systematic processes. This is where the right hand learns what the left hand needs to do, so to speak. Then, your team will have the ability to be in complete harmony which leads to higher profitability. Taking time during team meetings to set the backdrop for a seamless day at the office creates added value to the patient services and the team doesn’t feel dead at the end of the day.

Implementing Recare Programs that Work

Remember that myth we busted at the beginning of this blog, which you don’t need to pack in extra patients each day to build profit? If you’re still wondering how this works, the answer is in your practice’s recare system — with your hygiene department at the helm. Imagine the hygiene department as an energy cell and the recare systems the mitochondria of the dental practice. When a well-developed system is in place, your practice will experience increased profits. The key is in pre-scheduling. That is, before the patient leaves the hygiene room, the hygienist or hygiene assistant schedules the patient’s next appointment. The hygiene department has the best auxiliary to schedule the next appointment because they intimately understand the patient’s needs and desires for the next appointment and the necessary procedure to schedule. This is your ticket to success: You must have close to 95% of your hygiene patients leave with their next appointments already scheduled. And you should know the barriers and patient objections which may occur ahead of time so you can plan accordingly in your team meetings. For example, many times patients will not know what they are doing in two weeks, and especially they may not know their schedule in 4 or 6 months.

The Role of a Hygiene Consultant