How to manage Dental Practice

For a sucessfull Dental Practice Students should be taught that:

  Dental Practice = Humanitarian Attitude + Business Attitude

And BDS should have a new subject “Dental Business Management” which will be very helpful for students who are going to set up a clinic.

Here are the few things for the Dental Councils all over the world to consider for Dental Students and Dentists:

1. Running a Dental Clinic is no less than maintaining a Business:

In Dental Schools they take every effort to make sure that we are a sucessfull Dentist but do not teach us the art of business management to maintain our dental clinic. You have to be taught in Dental School itself the art of business management which is necessary to maintain a Successful Dental Clinic. Running a successful Dental Practice needs Business attitude.

dental practice management

2. Dentists need to maintain Humanitarian attitude as well as Business Attitude:

Dentists have to maintain the Humanitarian attitude as we are Health care providers and have taken an oath to help the people in need. There are many situations in which we have to have a huge heart rather than having a huge pocket thinking about money. This is where the Business attitude kicks in, we have to have good business to keep us happy and satisfied.

  Dental Practice = Humanitarian Attitude + Business Attitude

When the balance is made that is when you can have a successful Dental Practice.

Humanitarian Dentistry

3. Dentists are taught how to relieve the patient of his problem but not taught how to bring/attract the patient to his clinic:

Dentists are taught in college the various aspects of dental treatment and taught many procedures which help him treat and relieve the patients of their problems but the Dental Student is never taught “How to Attract the Patients to his Clinic”.

Attracting Dental Patients = Dental Business (This should be a subject in BDS course)

The Competition is growing very fast as the number of Dentists are growing very rapidly so the art of Business management and Advertising is a must have at the present time. As we cannot expect the patients to come to your clinic without any effort of yours in attracting them.

What are the ways you learn Dental Business management:

1. Dental Business Management Books – You can get innumerable number of books which teach you the art of Dental Business
2. Internet – there are many dentists who share their experiences, which is the best source of learning what is good and what is bad for our dental practice
3. Self experience (Trial and Error) – Learn from your own mistakes
4. Observing your seniors: Observe your seniors as they are in the situation in which you will be in the next 1 or 2 yrs, so learn from them what they do, how they do, and what is good and what is bad. Imagine them as specimens or Test rats and learn by observing them and taking tips from them.
5. Other Businesses:Look at other businesses and learn how they are advertising and attracting their customers by giving away attractive offers.

So i Kindly Request Dental Universities and the Dental Councils to

Operator Position for Mandibular teeth

Operator Positions in Oral surgery is a very important aspect in the success of your Dental treatment. The correct positioning of the operator is very important to help the Operator or Doctor to have good Visibility and Accessibility of the Oral cavity.

 Proper positioning of the patient and the operator, illumination and retraction for optimal visibility are the fundamental  per-requisites to proper  Dental Treatment.

Chair height and Position of Operator and Patient facilitates thoroughness of instrumentation. The position of the patient and operator should provide maximal accessibility to the area of the operation. Improper positioning and chair height will lead to premature tiring of the operator and diminishes the effectiveness of the Operator.

Dental Operator should have a straight Back while working to avoid undue Stress on the lower and upper spinal cord

The Universal Seated Position for the Clinician/Operator: 

• Forearm parallel to the floor
• Thighs parallel to the floor
• Hip angle of 90 degrees
• Seat height positioned low enough so that the heels of your feet touch the floor
• When working from clock positions 9-12:00, feet spread apart so that your legs and the chair base form a tripod which creates a stable position
• Avoid positioning your legs behind the patient’s chair
• Back of the operator should be always straight
• Head erect and should not be bent of drooping

The 2 main things which we have to consider are the Operator Position and Chair Height:

• Chair height
• Operator Position
• Patient’s Position

Chair height:

For Maxillary Teeth:

• The Chair height should be 8cm or 3 inches below the shoulder level of the operator.

For Mandibular Teeth:

• The Chair height should be 16cm or 6 inches below the level of the operators elbow.

Operator Position:

Based on the operators working hand:

Right Handed Operator or Clinician:

• 7 o’ clock position to the front of the patients head
• 9 o’ clock position to the side of the patients head
• 10 to 11 o’ clock, to the back of the patient’s head
• 12 o’ clock position, directly  behind the patient’s head

Chair positions based on the operator position related to the position of the wall Clock

Left Handed Operator or Clinician:

• 5 o’ clock position, to the front of the patient’s head
• 3 o’ clock position, to the side of the patient’s head
• 2 to 10 o’ clock position, to the back of the patient’s head
• 12 o’ clock position, directly behind the patients head

Based On Maxillary and Mandibular Arches:

For Maxillary Teeth:

• Right Front of the patient

For Mandibular Teeth:

• All Left Mandibular Teeth – Right Front of the patient

Mandibular Teeth on the Right Side:

• Central incisor, Lateral incisor and Canine – Right front of the patient
• 1st and 2nd Premolar – Right of the patient
• 1st and 2nd Molar – Exact Right side of the patient
• 3rd Molar – Just behind the patient on Right Side

Patient’s Position:

The patient should mostly be in Supine Position

The Mouth of the patient should be close to the resting elbow of the Operator

Patients Body:

• For Maxillary Teeth – The back of the chair should be slightly at a 45 Degree position from the floor
• For Mandibular Teeth – The back of the chair should be almost parallel to the floor

Head and Chin Position:

• The patients head should be positioned at the edge of the head rest

Chin Position of the Patient:

• For Mandibular teeth – Chin Down position
• For Maxillary teeth – Chin Up position

Based on Sextants of the Arches:

Operator Position for Sextant 2: The Operator should be positioned 9 o’ clock to 11 o’ clock position which is depicted in green color. And the Positioning of the Operator in for the Areas of teeth depicted in Blue color is 11 o’clock to 12 o’ clock position.

Operator Positioning for sextant 2

Operator Position for Sextant 5: The Operator should be positioned 10 o’ clock to 12 o’ clock position which is depicted in green color. And the Positioning of the Operator in for the Areas of teeth depicted in Blue color is 11 o’clock to 12 o’ clock position.

Operator Positioning for sextant 5

Operator Position for Sextant 6 and 4: The Operator should be positioned 9 o’ clock to 10 o’ clock position which is depicted in green color. And the Positioning of the Operator in for the Areas of teeth depicted in Blue color is 9 o’clock to 11 o’ clock position.

Operator Positioning for sextants 4 and 6

Operator Position for Sextant 1 and 3: The Operator should be positioned 9 o’ clock to 12 o’ clock position which is depicted in green color. And the Positioning of the Operator in for the Areas of teeth depicted in Blue color is 10 o’clock to 12 o’ clock position.

Operator Positioning for sextants 1 and 3

All these dental apps are available in iTunes App Store most of which are Free.

Here is a list of Dental Apps:

1) Dental Expert: download here

Dental Expert is a patient’s guide to understanding all aspects of dentistry and its procedures. This application includes the most frequently asked dental questions answered by the top dental experts in each field.

2) My Dental Hub Mobile for iPhone:

My Dental Hub Mobile App provides you with various animations and narrations of dental conditions and problems. This app is useful for dental students and more useful for patients who want to know about the probem and treatment. It can be very useful for dentists to show patients the animations easily without the use of a computer.

3) Dental Aid:

A very interesting app which will help you see and understand dental procedures with the help of  high quality dental pictures which have categories like Examination, Operative Dentistry, Prosthodontics.

4) Dental Assistant HD:

This is an App for dentists which helps you keep record of your patients dental history, contact information, pictures and useful data which a Dental assistant maintains in your clinic which can be easily managed with the help of this app.

5) iBraces Help:

This App is a source of information for patients who are currently using braces or for patients who want to undergo orthodontic treatment. iBraces help provides you with very useful information regarding Orthodontic treatment having pictures and Videos for description.

6) Mouth & Teeth:

It is a Dental app which covers various topics of various dental problems and treatment which include Dental Health, gum Disease, Oral Cancer, Orthodontia, snoring, Voice Disorders, Tooth Disorders,, Tonsils and various other topics. It is a very informative app which covers various aspects of dental problems.

7) DentalNavi:

Dental Navigator is a App which helps Dentists to explain different methods of treatment to patients. It has various dental animations and videos along with photos which can be very useful in helping patients understanding what the treatment plan you have decided for the patient.

8) Brushy Time:

As the name suggests it is an app which helps you maintain the amount of time for which you brush your teeth and Rinse your mouth, with its animated look it will be very helpful to teach children easily.

9) DentALL Removable Partial Denture Designer:

This App is made for the Dentists where there are many partial denture designs which can be used to design a partial denture in your iPhone after taking a picture of the caste and then send it directly to the Lab. who can look at the design and fabricate the denture base. It allows you to use Major connecters, minor connectors, direct and indirect retainers.

10) RVG Mobile:

This App is used as a screen to view the radiograph directly on the iPad or iPhone screen. RVG machines are coming built in to be compatible with iPad, iPhone.

11) Dental Dictionary:

It is a product of Mosby’s Dental Dictionary which is a very extensive and standard dictionary which can be very useful for dental students when they need to know about a term immediately.

12) Suturing techniques Videos:

This App provides each suturing technique with the help of a VIDEO demonstrating how to perform it,its advantages, its drawbacks, its indications. at 3.99$ it is worth the money we pay for. The Video’s provided in the App are very informative.
Download the App here – Suturing Techniques

With more and more doctors using iPad’s in maintaining daily patient records and as a visual aid communication. Kodak has developed  RVG system which is Apple iPad compatible and even can be used with your iPhone.

RVG Mobile Software for iPhone and iPad:

RVG mobile software is available in Apple iStore form which is used with KODAK RVG 6500 Sensor which is made Apple iPad compatible and it is very useful to view the radiograph directly into your palm on your iPhone or iPad.

How to use RVG Mobile Software:

1. RVG Mobile application is used with the KODAK RVG 5100 and RVG 6100 sensors.
2. After acquiring x-ray images on a computer
3. The dedicated transfer interface wirelessly submits them to the user’s iPod touch, iPhone and iPad providing remote access to clinical images.
4. The image can be viewed immediately on your Apple device just after the radiograph is taken.

Download the Software in the iTunes store – RVG Mobile Software for iPhone and iPad

• Ideal to use after eating, at work, at school, during travel.
• Wipe teeth, gums and tongue.
• No water or rinsing necessary.
• Special moisture shield – helps keep finger dry!
• Sugar-Free.

So for these situations there are Oral-B Brush Up’s which can be used anywhere anytime without requiring any water tooth brush or tooth paste.

The Brush Up’s have the following features:

• Textured cleaning surface to clean teeth
• Burst of mint flavor to freshen mouth and breath
• Thin, compact size makes it easy to carry in your wallet
• Comfortable, slip-on design fits most finger sizes
• Individually packaged
• Material acts as moisture barrier between your finger and mouth

These can be used even on children as most of the small children do not prefer brushing , where this can come pretty handy.