Welcome to Dental Talking Points by KLAS Solutions!
In every edition of Dental Talking Points, we bring you valuable insights, industry updates, and key strategies to help your dental practice thrive. Whether it's the latest trends in practice management, innovative clinical approaches, or exclusive updates from KLAS Solutions, we’re here to keep you informed and ahead of the game.
Expect expert advice, actionable tips, and behind-the-scenes looks at what’s happening both inside and outside of our business. Let’s navigate the evolving world of dentistry together—because your success is our mission.
Stay tuned, stay informed, and let’s keep the conversation going!
Feature Blog
Introduction
An efficient hygiene schedule is key to a well-run dental practice. When properly managed, it ensures a steady patient flow, maximizes production, and reduces stress for both your team and your patients. However, many practices struggle with scheduling issues like last-minute cancellations, appointment gaps, or overbooked hygienists. The result? Lost revenue, frustrated staff, and a disrupted patient experience.
Creating a hygiene schedule that works for everyone—your patients, hygienists, and front office staff—requires a balance of strategy, automation, and flexibility. By making a few adjustments, you can improve efficiency, patient retention, and overall workflow.
1. Block Scheduling for Predictability
One of the most effective ways to create an efficient hygiene schedule is by using block scheduling. This means designating specific time slots for different types of hygiene appointments, such as:
- Prophylaxis (regular cleanings)
- Periodontal maintenance
- Scaling and root planing
By assigning appropriate time for each procedure, you avoid overbooking or running behind. This structure also helps your hygienists stay on track and prevents them from being overloaded with back-to-back complex cases.
2. Pre-Schedule Hygiene Appointments
A common reason for empty slots in the hygiene schedule is patients forgetting to book their next appointment. The best way to prevent this is by pre-scheduling. Before a patient leaves your office, have your front desk book their next six-month hygiene visit. This keeps your schedule consistently full and ensures patients stay on track with their oral health.
3. Automate Appointment Confirmations and Reminders
Even with pre-scheduling, no-shows and last-minute cancellations can still be a problem. Reduce these issues by using automated reminders via text, email, or phone calls. Send a reminder a week before the appointment, followed by another one or two days prior. This simple step significantly reduces missed appointments and allows time to fill any unexpected openings.
4. Have a Short-Notice List for Cancellations
No matter how well you plan, cancellations will happen. Instead of letting those slots go unused, maintain a short-notice list of patients who are willing to come in on short notice. When a cancellation occurs, quickly contact those patients to fill the gap. This keeps your hygiene schedule full and maximizes production.
5. Balance Provider Workload
A common scheduling mistake is overloading one hygienist while another has open slots. Use scheduling software to track appointments and distribute them evenly across your hygiene team. If a patient needs to reschedule, move them into an existing opening rather than creating a bottleneck on a future date.
6. Offer Flexible Scheduling Options
Patients have busy lives, and limited scheduling options can lead to cancellations or no-shows. Consider offering early morning, evening, or weekend hygiene appointments to accommodate different schedules. This flexibility makes it easier for patients to commit and reduces gaps in your schedule.
Conclusion
An efficient hygiene schedule benefits everyone in your practice—your patients, hygienists, and administrative team. By implementing block scheduling, pre-scheduling appointments, automating reminders, maintaining a short-notice list, balancing workload, and offering flexible scheduling options, you can create a smooth and productive system. A well-managed hygiene schedule not only boosts profitability but also enhances the patient experience and reduces stress for your team.
Client Success Stories
We take pride in the success stories of our clients, and we'd love to share their achievements with you.
At KLAS Solutions, we take pride in having the best in the business! 💪We’re honored to be your trusted partner in dental success! Contact us at [email protected] to get in contact with one of our a transition specialists!
Upcoming Events
Dental Overhead Reduction
Date: March 14, 2025
Time: 11 AM - 12 PM EST
Speakers: Phil Cole
CE Credits: 1
What I Need to Know to Buy a Practice Seminar
Date: April 24, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location: PNC Headquarters
Speaker: Phil Cole
CE Credits: 2
What I Need to Know to Sell My Practice Seminar
Date: April 30, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location: PNC Headquarters
Speaker: Phil Cole
CE Credits: 2
Business Ownership Featured Article
Business and Leadership Connection
Recently I was talking to a Dr who had purchased a dental practice about a year previous to our conversation. This person was sharing with me how excited they were to have the privilege of leading a team and had a deep appreciation for the responsibility of being an owner and leader. We talked about the struggles and the rewards. I could tell through the course of the conversation, though, they were holding back. Finally, I asked, "What is it that you are really struggling with as a business owner?" The answer I received can be summarized into three things:
1. I am having a hard time getting my team on the same page.
2. I am struggling to get the team to engage fully in the work we are trying to accomplish.
3. I don't understand my business well enough to lead with the confidence that I would like to have.
Maybe you are a dental business owner who can relate to the statements above. Maybe when you bought your practice you had big dreams to build an amazing practice that operated efficiently, served thousands of people well, and was extremely profitable. Perhaps you thought the rockiness you experienced at the beginning would only be temporary and would eventually level out. But now, when you do an honest assessment, you realize that you've just become used to your team and the business under-performing. Are you resigning yourself to just making it through another day, and hoping for a better tomorrow? That's not good for the business or good for you as the business owner and it doesn't have to be this way.
There are some rhythms in business that great business owners and leaders know and build habits around. They are the business pillars that support the heavy weight of what you are building. There are myths out there that the habits revolve around just working harder, after all you have to set a great example. Don't get me wrong, hard work is part of it. You won't be successful without it, but hard work is only one of the pillars. No great structure is built on one pillar.
The habits of great business leaders are not new, nor are they difficult to understand, and they aren't easy to establish. They will take consistency and dedication, but more importantly they will take the right work. It is critical that you have a plan. A plan starts with a vision for where you want to go. It includes identifying and establishing your core values. Your non-negotiables when it comes to behaviors in your practice. It is important to have an annual mission statement. A statement that puts you and your team on a mission for the next year and feeds into your annual plan, your priorities for the year. That annual plan will only be accomplished if you have a good rhythm of setting short term goals that keep you and your team pulling in the same direction. Additionally, understanding your financial and non-financial KPIs is critical to understanding the levers of business. If all of this sounds overwhelming, you are not alone. Trying to accomplish all of this on your own is not realistic, but the cost of ignoring is falling far short of what you and your team are capable of. If you’re interested, we can help guide you through a step-by-step process to establish these business habits and put the foundational pieces in place that will support the heavy weight of building the practice you truly want. Connect with us to find out more.
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Feedback?
Thank you for being a part of the KLAS Solutions community. We hope you found this newsletter informative and inspiring. As always, we value your feedback and suggestions. If there's anything specific you would like us to cover in the next edition, please feel free to reach out to us.
Wishing you continued success in delivering exceptional healthcare services!
