You must realize that it's not the dentist or the hygienist's intention not to treat perio disease. In fact, many times they are treating the disease BUT calling it a "difficult prophy". Everyone loses in this situation. The patient loses because they are not made aware of the disease and it's far reaching effects.
If you've been reading my articles for awhile, it's probably no surprise to you to hear about the "Perio Paradox", a term coined by one of my mentors, Dr. Chris Bowman. Depending on what study you read, it's estimated that 35-75% of Americans have some form of periodontal disease. And when I ask my coaching clients and Mastermind members what percentage of their patients have 4-5mm bleeding pockets, they routinely say 40-50%. Yet for many of them, perio therapy and maintenance makes up only 5-10% of their clinical hygiene services. It's an absurd but true statement. This is the "Perio Paradox".
So how do we close that gap? Well, first we must realize that it's not the dentist or the hygienist's intention not to treat perio disease. In fact, many times they are treating the disease BUT calling it a "difficult prophy". Everyone loses in this situation. The patient loses because they are not made aware of the disease and it's far reaching effects. The hygienist loses because he or she is working extremely hard on what should be a simple prophy. The practice loses because it's not being compensated for the work. And the doctor loses because undiagnosed perio disease is the most common reason for dental lawsuits.
So what do you do? I know you've heard me say it a thousand times...we must be doing complete perio charting with bleeding points, recession, mobility and furcation AT LEAST once a year. How else are we going to know if the patient is healthy or has disease?
We give our clients tools to use this data to educate and enroll the patient into therapy with ease. Like printing the perio chart and sharing it with the patient- knee to knee.
And we help our clients work through obstacles that might have held them back in the past from developing and implementing a truly progressive periodontal diagnosis and treatment program.
Some of the most common obstacles are:
* No clear consistent system for perio diagnosis and treatment
* Hygienists are not calibrated (not all on the same page)
* Poor tools/instruments
* No room in the schedule for perio care
* Beliefs about patients' ability to pay
* Difficulty using technology
* Too much scaling and not enough exam time in the hygiene appointment
* Fear of presenting to long-term patients
How to Finally Get Things Done
No one likes marking things off a 'To-Do' list better than me! That's how I see what I've accomplished and create my work plan for the coming days, weeks and months.
Productivity...It's Not About Money
Productivity, profitability, production, sometimes it seems that dentistry is all about the numbers. Let’s face it, you’re in business to deliver outstanding care to your patients AND make a living, right?
What have you done for them lately?
They come in like clock-work, rarely missing an appointment and just being great patients. And yet it's easy to take them for granted. You count on your base of solid patients to keep your practice running and busy.
