Another really good article.

Through World Dental, I came across the blog of Linda Zdanowicz. I’m so glad I did. She has a great article about the restrained growth of dental assisting as a profession, as well as her opinions on the reason why.

Snippet:

I began dental assisting in 1977.  Back then I remember that I learned something new just about every day.  Thirty-three years later, I’m still learning.  My job is vastly different than it was back then, but I’ve always been thinking and trying to keep a step ahead of what was going to happen next.  I was lucky, I’ve had some great dentists as mentors clinically, and a great philosopher in Tom Morris to keep me thinking about how to act with integrity.  Did these people just happen to come along for me, or did I seek what they had to offer?  I promise you, it’s the latter.  I recognized the gifts they were willing to share and opened myself up to learning.  I read and still read, anything that will help me grow in my profession.

So, how do I see the dumbing down of dental assisting?  When I hear dentists saying they prefer their Isolite to an assistant because it doesn’t talk.  When I hear dentists saying they’d just as soon hire someone from McDonald’s than deal with a dental assistant with experience because he won’t have to get her to do it his way.  These are signs of lax leadership, giving up, and settling.  It is keeping dental assisting at a basic level, just a superficial position in which one sucks up spit and cleans up rooms.  Thinking and anticipating become a long lost item on a wish list that the dentist comes to think of as too much to ask for.  That dentist has decided to accept mediocrity, but in doing so, he’s made mediocrity a commodity.  Acceptance of mediocrity begets and attracts more mediocrity.  Mediocrity plays no part is success, so that dentist has limited himself, as well as condoning mediocrity in his employees.

What role do assistants play in the dumbing down of dental assisting?  A major role.  Dental assisting should be as much a profession as dental hygiene.  We should want to understand dentistry and work in partnership with the dentist and the team to give our patients outstanding care.  Dental assistants can develop themselves constantly and see themselves as healthcare providers.  Instead, many see dental assisting as a job.  They don’t bring curiosity, don’t learn why everything happens, don’t engage and don’t became an active and essential contributor to the success of the practice.  As long as they are doing good enough to keep from being fired, that’s good enough for them.  Then they complain about salary and respect as if it is something owed, rather than something earned.

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10 Tips

I found an interesting article last night.

Worldental with this post starts a article series about dentists and dental workers. And we are very glad to present you an article from Linda Zdanowicz, she works in dental care since 1978 and now she carry on an informative blog Exceptional Dental Practice Management.

Buiding A Great Dental Assistant

Ok, get out your pen and paper. Make your list of all the things that you would want to have in a dental assistant. This position often has the most untapped potential of all. Here is what my list would look like and why:

1. Loves assisting – I don’t want to put a lot of work into someone who is going to leave and go to hygiene school. I want someone who wants to keep learning and improving and who really enjoys coming to work every day. That spreads out into everything she does.

2. Enjoys serving others – I don”t want someone who sees service as servitude. I don”t want someone who resents what is asked of them. I want someone who looks for ways to give the extra that makes us special.

3. Compassion and Empathy – I want someone who will look past a patient’’s bad mood and find a reason to like them. I want her to be able to care about how people feel and who wants to make it a little better.

4. Intelligence – I like to hear an assistant who is able to answer patient’’s questions and who can speak with proper grammar. We all reflect on the practice and on our boss’’s judgement so I want everyone to be shining examples of good taste and character.

5. Integrity – Speaking of character, integrity ties the whole picture together. It’’s the Australian Sheep Dog of all the character traits. If you have integrity, you probably have many of the others. Integrity means that you do the right thing.

6. Good Chairside Skills – Or the desire and capacity to improve. A good chairside assistant makes the worklife of a dentist much easier and impresses the patients.

7. Honest Communication – I’ve seen some employees in other offices who feel that they have great communication skills, but they come off as phony. There is one office that has a young woman that calls me babydoll every time I talk to her, it drives me crazy. I don”t want anyone to drive our patients crazy. I want our staff to be warm and welcoming as well as professional.

8. Sense of Humor – Dealing with patients can be stressful. I don’t want an assistant who will walk around feeling put upon or grouchy. I want someone who can laugh and be easy with everyone and help keep tension under control.

9. Team Player – I want someone who realizes that her best success comes when she joins her effort with the rest of the team. She worries more about getting the job done well, than about who gets the credit. She shares what she knows with others because she realizes that knowledge shared is knowledge squared.

10. Someone Who Lives Up To Their Potential -In the book, The 7 Habits of Exceptional People, Steven Covey talks about P/PC. That is Production vs. Production Capability. I want someone whose production matches her capability to produce. I want someone who is encouraged and excited about the fact that when they meet their goals, their potential expands to make room for new growth and new goals.

I’m sure there are others, but those are big to me. How do you build an assistant like that? You tell her what you want and then you expect to get it. If you don”t get it, you let her know and reinforce your expectations. You show appreciation when she lives up to it and you cheer her on. You let her know that she makes things better. Make sure her salary is a reflection of her abilities and of what she brings to the office. Building and keeping a great assistant will make your practice a place you enjoy going to every day.

DANB Credentials

Found this really good article on the recognition of DANB Credentials. Here are some snippets.

Recognition from the Employer
Many dental practices only hire DANB Certificants, or have policies and practices in place to encourage all dental assistants to earn certification. Kelli Fedder, CDA, RDA, the Michigan Dental Assistants Association (MDAA) President Elect and Publicity Chairperson, learned this first-hand when interviewing for one of her first dental assisting jobs.

“I once interviewed with a dentist and didn’t get the job. It was very close, but the assistant I was up against had the credentials and I didn’t. The doctor said, ‘If you want to help yourself out, get credentialed,’ and it was off of his words that I took action and started my uphill battle of getting credentialed,” Fedder said.

Kelli graduated from Washtenaw Community College, and is employed at Kent Family Dental in Grand Rapids, where she has worked for over 3 years. She has been DANB Certified for over five years.

“He was right and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. Consequently, I saw him this weekend and told him what I was up to now, and he gave me a big hug and told me how proud of me he was.”

Appreciation from the Patient
In addition to recognition from the employer, many DANB Certificants gain great rewards from appreciation by the patients that they work so hard to serve.

“The patients do ask what the letters after my name mean, and when I tell them that I had to pass really tough tests and take many hours of education yearly to keep up with it, it makes them realize that they are in good hands,” Fedder said. “DANB Certification is a benefit to the dentists because CDE credit requirements for renewal keep the assistants educated on the ever changing world of dental techniques, materials, equipment.”

Because of the unique patient-assistant relationship, many dentists and employers are generally receptive to displaying the DANB wall certificate, in addition to any required state certificates, in an area that patients regularly view.

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10 things you wish your dentist knew

Obviously I’m not a certified dental assistant yet, but since I’m well on my way to becoming one I always have a peaked interest as to what practicing dental assistants have to say about their careers and the improvements they would like to see in them. I came across a questionnaire by Dental Assisting Digest a while back that asked dental assistants what are the top 10 things they wish their dentist knew. Some of the responses were interesting.

While researching dental assisting as a career, I asked several dental assistants what there thoughts were  – both the good and the bad. And many of them were very forthcoming about the positives and negatives that I may encounter in my career as dental assistant. Some  of these negatives they mentioned were also some of the same responses by dental assistants in this survey. Here are what some dental assistants wish their dentist knew:

• A dentist should treat the staff with respect; many dental assistants feel that their employers treat them like they are “just an expense item.”
• A doctor and dental assistant should be on the same page when it comes to case presentation.
• Talk to your team to see where there might be problems.
• I’m working WITH you as much as I’m working FOR you.
• Spend some money on CE courses as these will be worth it for the office.
• A dental assistant is part of the team. A dentist should not humiliate employees in front of patients.
• I wish you would educate patients rather than lecture them.
• Don’t assume patients can’t afford treatment. Inform the patients of their needs and let them decide. You might be surprised.
• Not all assistants are created the same.
• I am proud of my assisting credentials and I wish you would show me the respect and pay they deserve.

I think in any workplace setting, there are many benefits to working in a positive and respectful environment. For one thing, communication flows better and with that fosters a productive and positive environment – this is something clients can sense. I’ve been in environments where I’ve felt the tension amongst staff. Nonverbal clues were all over the place. In turn, I get uncomfortable and just want to leave. No workplace should ever be like that. Ideally, everyone is respected for the knowledge they bring to the table, as well as their dedication and hard work.

Additional note: Humiliation should never take place in any workplace, especially in front of your clients!

Avoiding cross contamination.

Today I had to study a chapter on the ways to avoid cross contamination in the health care setting. While browsing on DentistryIQ, I came across an article about cross contamination as it relates to a dental setting. Of course, educating yourself on the importance of cross contamination is very important. As a health care provider there are many risks involving blood borne pathogens and other communicable diseases, therefore its crucial to protect not only yourself, but your patients, and fellow co-workers.

Here’s a snippet of the article:

In today’s busy dental practice, the dental team needs to work at top speed to be productive and stay on schedule. Sometimes in the rush to stay on time, our infection-control protocols can be sabotaged by recontamination. Let’s look at some common areas of cross-contamination so we can achieve cross-contamination elimination.

Hand washing and gloves

Routine hand washing should be performed for at least 15 seconds prior to donning gloves. Sinks with foot controls or automatic sensors for turning water on and off are ideal. Otherwise, steps must be taken to ensure cross-contamination does not occur after hands are washed. One simple step, such as using a paper towel to turn off the water, can keep clean hands from becoming recontaminated.

Gloves are considered single-use, disposable items, which means used on one patient and then discarded. Gloves should never be redonned once removed, even if they are to be used on the same patient. Occasionally during treatment we must leave a patient to retrieve an instrument or device. If gloves are not removed, cross-contamination can occur when touching surfaces with the gloved hand to get the needed item. Removing only one glove to open a drawer or cabinet creates another concern because hand washing would not take place and bacteria on hands could transfer to clean items. After retrieving the item, if the same previously worn glove is worn again, cross-contamination can occur.

The three cross-contamination issues are:

1. The gloved hand may contaminate the surface/item touched.
2. If only one glove is removed, the ungloved hand cannot be effectively washed, thus further spreading contamination.
3. Dental workers might recontaminate their own hand by the used glove again.

One solution is to have “food handler” gloves or overgloves available. Another method is to use cotton pliers, salad tongs, or forceps to open the drawer. Then clean, cotton pliers can be used to grasp the needed item.

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