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Let's face it - we all dread it. That sweet, innocent, little voice that, every 60 minutes or so, floats softly into our operatory and over our right shoulder. You know those word's ... "Doctor, can you please check my hygiene patient?" Those words can wreak more havoc in our schedules and more stress on our heart muscles than a pterodactyl swooping down and dragging us by the ear into the hygiene room at the worst possible moment. Yet, the periodic oral examination, properly executed, can provide countless dental procedures to add to our schedules and dramatically enhance the efficiency and profitability of our practices. No practice is devoid of patients in need of dental treatment who present faithfully for hygiene visits, yet do not proceed with appropriate dental treatment. As the old saying goes, "There are millions of dollars of uncompleted dental treatment sitting in every dentist's file cabinet."
The goal of an effective periodic oral examination is to educate and motivate the hygiene patient to proceed with appropriate dental treatment without disrupting the dentist's and the hygienist's schedule. This is no small task when you consider that the dentist must see a hygiene patient every 60 minutes or so to carry out a thorough examination, determine the next course of treatment, and present it to the patient in a charming, confident manner. Also keep in mind that this must be completed in a minimum of time because the dentist is likely to be treating another patient at the same time. Conversely, ineffective and overly time-consuming periodic oral examinations result in the dentist destroying the ability of the hygienist to stay on time, an emotionally and/or physically stressed unattended patient in the doctor's operatory, and a dentist who operates below his or her potential due to the inability to motivate patients to proceed with treatment that will enhance their oral health.
Establish a protocol and stick to it!
The periodic oral examination deserves a careful analysis, an effective and time-efficient protocol, and a predictably positive outcome. Done correctly, it is easy to imagine all of the positive effects this would have on our practices: more patients on the path to enhanced oral health, a full schedule for the doctor, and hygienists unimpeded (or,...