There's an old Romanian proverb that says: "If you want to sweep the steps clean, start at the top."  

Cleanliness, and especially the control of infectious organisms is certainly right at the top of the priority list in any dental practice. Choosing the right disinfectants and sterilants is both practical and essential - so this guide is here to inform you of the most important things to consider when choosing, as well as to provide you with the best options for buying the perfect product.

Why is Disinfection so Important?

As a rule, healthcare professionals tend to be hyper-aware of the risks of poor or substandard dental disinfection. Cross-infection is always a danger, and since the start of the 2020 pandemic, the risks have only increased. Effective hygiene procedures will cover not only hand-hygiene, but also the thorough disinfection of the dental clinic, identifying high risk surface areas, devices and equipment in particular. 

Is there a difference between disinfecting and sterilizing?

The CDC guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting environmental surfaces in dental offices clarifies the differences between disinfecting and sterilizing as follows:

“Disinfection destroys most pathogenic and other microorganisms by physical or chemical means. In contrast, sterilization destroys all microorganisms, including substantial numbers of resistant bacterial spores…”

The guidelines specify and define general housekeeping surfaces and non-critical surfaces, as well as clinical contact surfaces, such as countertops and dental units. The appropriate chemicals will work best for the different areas. For lower risk procedures and areas, simple cleaning and disinfection will be all that is needed - but in higher risk areas a complete sterilization may be necessary.

What is the Proper Way to Use Dental Disinfectants?

Dental instruments, devices, and equipment can be broadly categorized according to their risk for infection. The three classes are:

1. Critical
2. Semi-critical, and
3. Noncritical. 

In order to understand the difference, we can define them roughly as follows:

• Critical: Any instrument or device that penetrates or comes in contact with soft tissues or bone are defined as critical. Obviously the risk here is greatest, and therefore these should be sterilized by heat. Examples of critical devices include  periodontal scalers, scalpel blades, and surgical dental burs.

• Semi-critical: A medical device that comes into contact with mucous membranes or non‐intact skin is defined as semi-critical. Here the recommendation is to sterilise by moist heat after cleaning. Some of these devices or instruments may be heat-sensitive. In this case, the alternatives are to use either a low temperature sterilisation process or a high level instrument grade chemical disinfectant. Suitable products are listed below for your convenience.

• Non-critical: This is a medical device that only comes into contact with intact skin (but not mucous membranes) and therefore poses the least risk of transmission of infection. This level of device should be cleaned as necessary with detergent solution. If further treatment is deemed necessary, you can disinfect with a low level or intermediate level instrument grade disinfectant after cleaning. There are a number of viable products for this purpose in this list.

It should be clear from the  above that it is important to select the proper disinfection or sterilization procedure for each specific device. 

Disregarding the manufacturing specifications for intended use could cause damage to equipment. More importantly, since these specific chemicals are by nature toxic to living organisms, it means that sterilants and disinfectants must always be handled very carefully!

Customers should always be provided with the information needed to match the disinfectant or sterilant to the proper devices, instruments and critical levels.

What Should I Keep in Mind when Choosing a Disinfectant?

There are many products to choose from, so to help you make the best possible choice, please consider the following guides:

• Consider the Contact Time. Many disinfectants dry before the necessary contact time is achieved, especially those with long contact times or high levels of alcohol. Since time is always of the essence in a busy dentist’s office, choose a product that has a realistic contact time.

• Match the disinfectant to your equipment. Dental equipment is seldom cheap or easy to replace. Make sure the product you use will not harm your devices, equipment or surfaces.

• Match the disinfectant to your cleaning tools. Certain kinds of cleaning equipment react badly with some kinds of disinfectant or sterilant. For example, cotton and some microfiber cleaning tools can bind with quaternary ammonium compound-based disinfectants (quats), preventing the release of the disinfectant onto the surface without the user being aware of it. The effectiveness of the process will be severely undermined - so make sure you know which products to use for each procedure.

• Take it easy on your staff, clients and guests! Some products have strong odors, or they may be irritating to the eyes, skin or respiratory tracts, and may require the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Limit the use of such disinfectants, and rather choose a product that is friendly to the consulting environment. The products below are some of the most suitable in this regard.

Which are the Best Dental Disinfectants?

Every dental practice is different, and there is a staggering variety of different products to choose from. How can we know which is best? As we have mentioned above, keep in mind that disinfectants generally come in three classes:

1. High level disinfectants - cold sterile solutions
2. Intermediate level disinfectants
3. Low level disinfectants

Furthermore, these three different classes of product also come in a variety of applications, including liquids which are sprayable, aerosols and pre-moistened wipes. On this point the CDC recommends: “When used correctly, disposable disinfectant wipes, cloths, or towelettes are effective for cleaning and disinfecting environmental surfaces in dental settings. Any disinfectant used in a dental setting should be registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and be approved for use in health care settings (i.e., hospital grade).”

To make your selection easier, we have collected the most effective and most popular items below.

MetriCide 28 Day Cold Sterilization 1 Gallon

MetriCide 28 day Cold Sterilization is ideal for stainless steel instruments, thermometers, anesthesia equipment, respiratory therapy equipment, and also rubber and plastic objects. It is suitable for non-critical, semi-critical and critical devices. 

Metricide 28 disinfectant is dependent on a minimum effective concentration of glutaraldehyde, as measured by a chemical indicator. So in order to help prevent healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) and safeguard healthcare personnel, it is recommended that you test the glutaraldehyde solution before each use.

The Metrex 10 2800 metricide 28 high level disinfectant sterilant is highly recommended for immersible and heat-sensitive equipment and instruments. It contains surfactants.

BirexSE®

As far as dental disinfectant liquids go, BirexSE® has few competitors. For more than 20 years it has been  known, trusted and used in the dental industry, and is considered as the top tier among its peers. Birex meets the 2003 CDC guidelines for hospital disinfectant liquid and dental disinfectant spray on the intermediate level. 

It is usually used as a concentrate, and that makes it highly cost-effective as a one-step surface cleaner and broad-spectrum, antimicrobial disinfectant. As a concentrate, it takes up less storage space too.

EPA-approval states that it is effective against TB Mycobacterium, HIV-1, staphylococcus, salmonella, pseudomonas, streptococcus, and drug-resistant organisms such as MRSA, and H1N1 (swine flu).

The patented 3-in-1 formula of the disinfectant liquid is highly effective in its purpose, while shielding sensitive environmental surfaces from discoloration and damage. As it disinfects it also deodorizes, leaving no unwanted smells or antiseptic odors. 

OPTIM 33TB Disinfectant Cleaner from SciCan

If you are looking to save time and avoid double work, then Scican OPTIM 33TB cleaner and disinfectant is the perfect choice. The standard dental industry procedure is to usually clean first, and then disinfect afterwards. This product cuts the workload in half by efficiently combining the two activities into one.  Effective cleaning happens simultaneously with a broad-spectrum anti-microbial activity and a short contact time.

This is possible because the  active ingredient is - 0.5% Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide, based on AHP patented technology. That means your environmental surfaces are sure to be sufficiently and safely decontaminated in a shorter time. Often products with long contact times are less effective because there simply isn't enough time in a dental practice for busy personnel to wait the required time. Fast turn-around rates require faster acting disinfectants, with no need to wait for contact times to be effective.

OPTIM 33TB surface disinfectant is listed with a toxicity of category 4, which is another huge plus. The EPA requires no warning labels for this category, which means no volatile organic compounds, and no added stress on personal health and safety, or environmental responsibility.

Cavicide Disinfectant

Metrex Cavicide Disinfectant is a convenient, ready-to-use, intermediate-level combined cleaner and disinfectant. It is effective on all non-porous surfaces, including plastic, stainless steel, glass, tile, and Formica, making it ideal for cleaning and decontamination of environmental and medical device surfaces.

Cavicide  is highly effective (within 3 minutes) against a number of common organisms, including TB, Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Furthermore, Cavicide Disinfectant is rated as being effective within 2 minutes for the following organisms:

• Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)
• Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)
• Herpes Simplex Virus Types 1 and 2
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1)
• Human Coronavirus (not associated with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS)
• Influenza A2 Virus

For faster, cleaner and more effective control, use Metrex Cavicide Disinfectant spray, or wipes.

Purell Professional Surface Disinfectant Spray Citrus Scent - 1 Gallon Refill

Purell has been one of America's most well-known household brands for years. Now in the healthcare niche, Purell professional surface disinfectant spray is an all-purpose cleaner that delivers both safety and powerful germ killing technology. The active ingredients are  Ethyl Alcohol and Isopropyl Alcohol. 

In other words, with no harsh fumes or chemicals, Purell Healthcare Surface Disinfectant is ideal for dental offices. Instead of unpleasant antiseptic odors, Purell disinfectant spray leaves only a fresh citrus scent. You get a rapid Germ Kill Time: (30-seconds) while maintaining hospital-grade disinfection for MRSA, VRE and Norovirus.

The professional surface disinfectant spray target makes it super easy and safe to use, with no precautionary statements;  and no hand washing required. What's more, it has demonstrated proven multi-surface performance, across most hard and soft surfaces, making it the perfect product for dental practice environments.  

Monarch Surface Disinfectant Spray (by Air Techniques)

Monarch Surface Disinfectant Spray saves time and money with its handy spray and wipe application. Pre-cleaning is therefore unnecessary, and you still get the fungicidal, bactericidal and virucidal effectiveness within 60 seconds or less. All you need to do is spray it on, and then wipe it off.

Active ingredients Ethyl alcohol as well as the quaternary ammonium formula means that you get a complete one-step disinfection on hard, non-porous surfaces. The EPA registers it as effective against TB, HIV, Hepatitis B & C, MRSA, S. aureus, E. coli, influenza and other clinically relevant organisms in just one minute.

Monarch  is Ethanol based, with a bleach free formula, free of aldehydes, phenols and hormone disruptors. It is also fragrance-free, making it safe and environmentally suitable for a wide range of applications in any dental practice. 

Rapicide OPA/28 High-Level Disinfectant 1 Gallon. Glutaraldehyde-free

Rapicide OPA/28 is a Glutaraldehyde-free, ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPA) based high-level disinfectant designed specifically for a wide range of semi-critical medical devices. It has a maximum reuse period of 28 days.

With only a 10-minute high-level disinfection time, Rapicide is faster than all other OPA disinfectants on the US market. The rapid manual disinfection time provides at least one extra disinfection cycle for every five instruments reprocessed – which is good news in a busy environment.

Rapicide OPA/28 effectively kills TB, HIV2, MRSA, VRE, and Hepatitis Viruses. It comes in a ready and easy to use one gallon bottle, with no mixing or activation required. 

 The shelf-life (unopened) is 2 years, and 75 days once opened. It is highly compatible with most materials, and it is non-corrosive to metal. The solution is colorless, and although it is not odorless, it has a mild and recognizable smell. 

CaviWipes Towelettes

Metrex CaviWipes combine a handy cleaner and disinfectant into one uncomplicated product. These dental surface wipes pre-saturated with CaviCide solution, providing effective removal of dirt and quick broad-spectrum disinfection.

The active ingredients are Isopropyl Alcohol and Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chlorides, and the wipes do not contain aldehydes, phenols, bleach, or other toxic chemicals. Therefore these handy disinfectant surface wipes act as a fungicidal, bactericidal, virucidal and tuberculocidal disinfection in only 3 minutes. 

CaviWipes are recommended for use on a wide range of nonporous surfaces and fixtures. They are designed so that they won’t dry out too quickly, or bunch up when being used. Each CaviWipe comes in the form of a durable, non-woven fully saturated towelette, available both in flat packs and in canisters - select your purchase option here.

PDI bUosE Disinfectant Super Sani-Cloth Wipes - Large 160 Wipes Per Tub

Super Sani-Cloth® Germicidal Disposable Wipe are ideal for daily use in typically fast-paced dental environments. The cleaning and disinfectant properties require short contact times and provide broad coverage protection against microorganisms. 

Super Sani-Cloth disinfecting wipes have a high alcohol (55%) content, making them effective in combating 30 microorganisms in around 2 minutes, including MDROs, blood borne pathogens and viruses: MRSA, VRE, HIV, HBV, HCV. 

PDI Super Sani-Cloth wipes are EPA-registered as an intermediate level disinfectant, and they meet CDC, OSHA, and CMS Tag F441 guidelines. There are 160 wipes per canister, and the deep well lid provides ample space to store and access your next wipe. 

Clorox Healthcare: VersaSure® Cleaner Disinfectant Wipes 

Clorox VersaSure Cleaner and Disinfectant Wipes use an alcohol-free quat solution. The 1-step cleaning and disinfecting wipes are versatile enough to use on common healthcare surfaces with the assurance of broad-spectrum disinfection. They are EPA registered to kill 44 pathogens, including bacteria, viruses and fungi, in two minutes or less. 

The unique low-residue formula enhances quat activity on surfaces and produces no fumes or unpleasant odors. 

VersaSure Cleaner Disinfectant Wipes are durable, low-linting and textured for greater strength. Improved wetness properties in the design provides greater surface coverage compared with some competitors who use quat and quat-alcohol. This provides the assurance that treated surfaces will remain wet for the full contact time, giving you peace of mind.

The Right Disinfectant Ensures Client and Personnel Safety

Just as it’s important to “start at the top” when sweeping the steps, so it is important to choose your disinfecting and sterilizing product based on your top priorities. Each dentistry practice will have its own quirks and preferences based on what is more important - saving time, money, avoiding harm to the environment, or ensuring the highest possible level of safety. 

This guide has highlighted the products that perform best in all of those spheres. Each of them, individually, has its perfect place - whether as a bulk liquid, or individual sanitary wipes, whether used in a high, medium or low risk area - your disinfecting and sterilizing needs are taken care of. 

Shop all infection control products at better prices.

Modern dental offices rely on a variety of tools for cleanings, restorations surgeries and more. There are so many tools that identifying them can be challenging for beginners. In this guide, we take the time to share the uses and key features of standard professional dental tools that you will encounter when keeping your dental practice inventory stocked and ready for procedures.

Noble Dental Supplies carries all of the dental instruments professionals require, so you can get everything you need in one place, saving you ample time. We pride ourselves on helping practices save their hard-earned money and invest it back into their business and patients. 

We are proud to work with the U.S manufacturer J&J Instruments, which provides some of the highest quality instruments on the market for affordable prices. 

Aspirating Syringe

In medical terms, aspiration is the removal of blood, mucus or other bodily fluids from a patient’s body. An aspirating syringe is simply a syringe with suction capabilities. 

Pulling up on the plunger allows dentists to draw fluids from a  patient's body or quickly check the needle’s position to make sure it is in the right place before injecting local anesthetics. 

What to look for: When shopping for this tool, look for ergonomic designs that give you better grip, dexterity and control.  Look for durable medical-grade materials that will last a long-time. You need a trusted instrument that will not fail during critical procedures such as injecting anaesthetic.  

Compare top aspirating syringe brands

Tissue Forceps

Forceps are used for manipulating tissue and supporting tissue during surgical incisions or suturing. 

Additionally, they serve as an extra set of fingers for grasping, and they are usually more gentle and less likely to cause injury. 

Tissue forceps have small teeth that help to safely grasp tissue. Minimal pressure on the handle is needed to keep the tissue secure and held in place. 

For this reason, surgeons prefer tissue forceps because they prevent injury from accidentally crushing tissue from applying too much pressure. 

What to look for: Take into account the size of the forceps for your unique operational needs.  In addition, each tissue forcep has teeth of different numbers and sizes. The tip of the forceps may either be serrated or rat-tooth. The best tissue forceps are made from high-quality surgical stainless steel. 

Compare top tissue forcep brands

Periodontal Probe

Used for checking the health of the periodontium, a periodontal probe is an essential tool for every dental office. Dentists require a reliable, long-lasting instrument that fits comfortably in the hands.

What to look for: The most important aspect of a periodontal probe is the markings on the tip. They must be accurate to precisely measure the health of the periodontium and provide the right diagnosis. Each instrument uses a different marking system, so you will want to carefully check the markings to make sure it is the right choice for you. The tip should be polished and smooth to ensure ease-of-access to subgingival areas.

Compare top tissue periodontal probe brands

Acorn Burnisher

An acorn burnisher is used to smooth amalgam after it condenses, burnish amalgam and generate occlusal anatomy. The acorn-shaped tip carves away at excess amalgam to contour restorations.

What to look for: You’ll want to consider whether you require a double or single-sided tip. The best acorn burnishers have ergonomic designs to increase safety and comfort.

Compare top acorn burnisher brands online

Crown Scissors

Crown scissors are frequently used to trim the edges of stainless steel preformed crowns. Crowns are preformed and need to be trimmed to fit over the affected areas.

This process requires precision to remove material confidently at the margins of the crown until the desired length is achieved. 

What to look for: Comfort is of primary importance when performing delicate procedures such as trimming crowns. The rings should be comfortable and the size appropriate for your needs. The blade of the scissors may be curved or straight. 

Compare top crown scissors brands

Impression Tray

Impression trays are filled with impression materials such as alginate to create accurate dental impressions. To get a good impression of the teeth, you need to use a technique that precisely captures the grooves of the teeth, gums and sulcus. 

Dental practices need to order a variety of stock impression tray sizes to meet their patients’ needs.  A tray should be large enough to fit over all the teeth without touching the soft tissue.

What to look for: There are disposable trays and varieties such as stainless steel that are long-lasting and durable. Accuracy is the most crucial aspect of creating dental impressions, so you will need to depend on high-quality materials that offer dimensional stability. 

Jacquette Scaler

A jacquette scaler (commonly known as a sickle scaler) is a straight-bladed scaler that is designed for root debridement and the removal of calculus, plaque and other deposits from teeth.  

What to look for: When shopping for dental scalers, look for high-quality medical-grade steel and an easy-grip handle. The handle should be light-weight and may be either round or octagonal. You’ll also want your scaler to stay sharp for an extended period of time. They come with both straight and curved blade edges, and it is good to have both options available. 

Compare top dental scaler brands

Curette vs Scaler: what's the difference?

The main difference between a curette and a scaler is the shape of the blade. In cross-section, the curette blade is triangular and the scaler blade is semi-circular. A curette is specifically designed to reach the subgingival calculus. The blade of the curette may be placed into the periodontal pocket safely without causing lacerations. 

Gracey Curette

In contrast to a universal curette, the gracey curette is a hand instrument that is area-specific, meaning the blade is crafted to perfectly reach a set of teeth or area of the mouth. A gracey curette’s blade has only one cutting edge.  Along with the universal curette, they are one of the main hand instruments used for root planing and scaling.

What to look for: These instruments have to be held for long periods, so you’ll want something light-weight. Gracey curettes come in numbered types, so you will want to consult a gracey curette chart to know which number corresponds to which teeth.

Compare top gracey curette brands

Hemostat Instrument

The primary function of a hemostat is to grasp tissue or bone, but it can be used for general purposes also. The end is serrated with interlocking teeth. When needed, it may be locked during surgical procedures, providing a firm yet gentle grip.

What to look for: You can choose between straight or curved types, and it is good to keep both handy. Look for hemostats with rings that fit comfortably in your fingers. There are many different types of hemostats featuring different tips, and we keep a large selection so that you can choose the right hemostat for your needs.

Compare hemostat brands

Amalgam Carrier

Amalgam carriers are hand instruments designed to fill up dental cavities with amalgam. Their tubular tips can act as syringes transporting the amalgam to the cavity. Pressing on a specialized lever activates a piston that deposits the amalgam deep inside the cavity. 

What to look for: Amalgam carriers may be single or double-ended. You’ll want to look for something light-weight and easy to manage. The inner tube that contains amalgam can be made with Teflon, but surgical steel is the best material.

Compare top amalgam carrier brands

Dental Excavator

Dental excavators are one of the most versatile hand instruments on your tray. They are used to remove damaged tissues in cavities, temporary cement and provisional crowns. 

What to look for: There are many different types of excavators, and the tips can be spoon, leaf or ball shaped. The devices are either right or left-oriented, so make sure that you know the hand-dominance (left or right) of the staff in your office and purchase accordingly. 

Compare top dental excavator brands

Cavity Liner 

Designed for accurate placement of liners, these tools have a small-ball shaped working end. Excellent craftsmanship is required to create a tool that you can trust to precisely transport and apply flowable materials such as liner.  

What to look for: Look out for the size of the instrument and seek out ergonomic designs that are light-weight and easy to hold. You may need a single or double-sided instrument depending on your dental staff’s needs. 

Compare top cavity liner brands

Cement Spatula 

A cement spatula is an excellent tool for mixing and preparing cement, filling materials and impression materials. The working end features a large surface area, and it can be both single and double-ended.

What to look for: You’ll want an instrument with a ribbed handle for a secure grip. It also needs to be made of high-quality non-rusting stainless steel. The working ends come in all sizes, so you’ll want to consider which cement spatula is the best size for you. 

Compare top cement spatula brands

Cheek Retractor

The function of cheek retractors  is to keep a patient’s cheek tissue away from working areas during dental procedures ranging from surgeries to cosmetic teeth whitening. They help dentists to get a full view of the patient’s mouth. 

What to look for: Cheek retractors may be made of autoclavable materials, or they can be disposable. In general, they are either made of plastic or stainless steel. We recommend choosing medical grade-stainless steel for durability and reusability as they are easy to disinfect and are cost efficient. 

Compare top cheek retractor brands

Shopping Dental Instruments

You need reliable tools that you can trust to perform medical operations safely and maximize patient comfort. If you want to save money on your inventory, you don’t need to settle for using tools of substandard quality. 

Our professional dental instruments are made of premium medical-grade steel, and we never compromise on quality. We search the world for the best dental tools, thoroughly reviewing every manufacturer and brand that we work with. 

For over 40 years, we have firmly committed ourselves to sourcing affordable tools that are just as good and even outcompete the name brand instruments. Our priority is to support practices that work hard every day caring for their communities. 

We are a family-owned business and we value working with people to help them solve their problems and run a highly-efficient and smart dental practice business. We are fully stocked, and you can re-order supplies quickly and easily. 

Throughout the entire ordering process, we’ll help you manage your account and optimize your inventory for best pricing, quality and reliable delivery. If you give us your current inventory invoices, we guarantee we can help you save, and give you extra savings to reinvest in your patients and business.

What we’ll discuss 

1. Prioritize Patient Experience: on empathy, education and building loyalty. 

2. Critical Technology to Maximize Efficiency: on inventory management, dental supply optimization, appointment scheduling and recall systems. 

3. Investing in Building and Retaining a Team: on skill development, providing feedback and measuring performance. 

When looking into practical (and realistic) ways of improving your dental practice starting this month, your strategy should be geared for incremental improvement, developed around specific strengths and weaknesses. 

We’ve been working with dental offices for over 40 years, and from continuous feedback, built out an intro list of the most effective ways to scale profit, attract clients and retain quality staff. 

We’ll cover key areas of focus that can help you to direct your growth strategy and solve pertinent problems. In 2021, the following focal points can guide your next steps when making changes to improve your core business operations.

Prioritize Overall Patient Experience 

Health care systems of all types are prioritizing end-to-end patient experience which often begins with increasing patient engagement and good communication. A positive patient experience is the best measure of your success.

Helping your patients and having practice autonomy is the reason you started your dental office, so you should make it a focal point when planning any changes to improve your business. 

Build on empathy and communication skills

Building rapport with patients and expressing empathy are essential for developing positive patient-dentist relationships. In a profession where phobias are common, empathy helps to reduce patient anxiety, and increase patient satisfaction and also treatment adherence. 

Empathy and communication may be improved by providing your staff with the right educational resources and training. Often, communication skills are overlooked during training, so focusing on these skills will make your onboarding process more thorough and educational. 

Another aspect of empathy to address is compassion fatigue or secondary stress trauma. This is workplace emotional or physical exhaustion that ultimately hinders an employee’s ability to empathize with patients. Colloquially, it is known as workplace burnout. Compassion fatigue is more common in caretaking positions that require continuous engagement. 

For your team, empathizing with patients at work can also be emotionally draining, even for the most resilient staff members. Indeed, dental professionals witness the stress and discomfort of their patients regularly, internalizing high amounts of stress.

As a result, it is vital to develop a workplace culture that encourages rest and self-care so that your staff has the energy they need to take care of patients empathetically.  One way you can help your staff is by educating them about workplace burnout and ways to stay mentally healthy and avoid overworking yourself - this will build loyal, long-term staff members as they’ll feel appreciated.

Educate your patients

Providing informative educational materials that highlight the importance of getting treatments will give your patients the information they need to make health decisions. Consider developing educational resources in multiple forms such as waiting room visuals, pamphlets, emails, photographs, and videos. 

After-visit summaries (AVS) are a  key element of patient education. An AVS is a document given to the patient following a treatment that provides actionable information with clear instructions. It also contains a summary of the visit and the date and time of the next appointment.

When developing your educational content, be mindful of your audience. In general, your material should have the following characteristics:

• Written in easily understandable terms and rich with visuals

• Scientific and authoritative (but simple)

• Culturally-competent

• Created with your specific audience in mind (ex: what your practice is mainly focused on)

• Based on oral health guidelines

Earn patient loyalty

Customer loyalty expresses how likely any patient that comes into your office will keep coming back for recurring care. It results from patient satisfaction with your care and services. Remember that loyal patients will recommend friends and family. 72% of surveyed dentists state that positive word-of-mouth referrals are their strongest method for obtaining new patients. 

Collecting data is one way to seek insights about your patient retention rate. For example, you can calculate your active patient number. This is the number of patients who received care in the past 18 months. Use this data to calculate annual patient attrition, the rate at which patients become inactive each year, to then tune dental marketing efforts on both patient acquisition and retention.

The changes you implement must be targeted. Bolster efforts in scheduling your next appointment before a patient leaves the office. This easily helps patients remember their annual oral care checkups (at the very least). 

By gathering basic data about patient retention and actioning on patient experience, you can improve the number of loyal clients that come back to you on-time. Try to look at your office through the eyes of your clients and consider all aspects of their experience under your care. 

Maximize Dental Practice Management Efficiency

Efficiency can be defined as the successful completion of processes using the least amount of time, resources, and labor. Increasing the efficiency of your dental clinic is a life-time task and necessitates a realistic long-term strategy. Below are tried and tested tips you may consider. 

Automate mundane processes with technology & consulting

Automating processes using software helps you spend more time building relationships with your patients and less time doing repetitive tasks. Just about every monotonous task that regularly occurs in the dental business can be automated with the right dental office practice management services. Consider the benefits of investing in technological solutions that will save your staff time and save you money.

Utilize inventory management software solutions

Efficiently managing your supplies is necessary to balance the  fluctuating forces of supply and demand. Supply management software supports you and purchasing staff by tracking all aspects of data related to ordering and supply storage. 

The right software will help you reduce time spent counting inventory, avoid shipping fees from last-minute ordering, and prevent overstocking. When considering implementing an inventory management solution, consider the immediate problems you’re aiming to solve.

Here are top examples of medical supply management software:

• ArbiMed Inventory

• ZenSupplies

Implement appointment scheduling software, yesterday.

It’s best to schedule longer appointments that will require more focus and attention in the early hours of the morning

Self-service appointment software allows patients to schedule appointments online at their own convenience. The dental business is highly competitive, and Smart practices are rapidly adopting digital self-scheduling software to gain competitive advantage (ex: increase new patient flow and return customers).

Digital self-scheduling increases the ease-of-access for your patients. New patients in particular are seeking an easy solution when researching dentists in their area. Your potential patients want to save time during their busy lives and make decisions quickly. Keep in mind that easy dental appointment scheduling allows you to collect email and text info so that you can send reminders via email and text of their next appointment.

Here are some great scheduling apps local offices we spoke with utilize on their websites: 

• SetMore

• Start Booking

• SimplyBook

When scheduling your days consider your procedure goals, and fill time slots with a variety of different procedures (major, tertiary, basic etc.) One way to optimize efficiency is to use block scheduling, a method of scheduling that involves reserving blocks of time for certain operations in a way that meets your production goals.

To get started, it is best to schedule longer appointments that will require more focus and attention in the early hours of the morning. Less intensive care should be reserved for the afternoon and evening hours. Keep with the block schedule method unless a time slot does not fill up a couple days out.

Add on a dental recall management system

Recall management systems are a series of automated texts, calls, emails, or mail that help your patients to remember to make it to their appointments. 

This software benefits your practice by providing professional and customized follow-up messaging that highlights your brand’s unique voice. Customization helps to keep your messaging human and relatable despite the services being automated. 

Importantly, many recall management systems allow patients to customize their notifications to choose the contact method that they like the most. Have a look at:

• PracticeMojo

• RecallMax

Work with the right dental supply company

On average, offices purchase from 4 suppliers to cover all of your inventory needs. Typically we see inefficiencies in continuous non-bulk purchases, which eat up thousands of dollars yearly, which aren’t noticeable when purchased piecemeal. 

The Noble Dental Supply team has ample experience working with dental offices’ inventory and invoicing spreadsheets and software to  find high-quality supplies at lower prices to maximize your profits. Our purchasing & supply specialists help local practices save between 30% to 50% in getting like and better quality products with factory-direct discounts.

Best-practice advice is that your inventory costs should not exceed 5-6% of overall collections. If you are paying too much for supplies, you may want to consider working with a new dental supplier and investing in software that helps your team to manage the complexity of supply ordering, usage, and storage. 

Build up Your Professional Team

A passionate and dedicated team will naturally seek to improve their skills and also develop positive rapport with your patients - which will keep them coming back.

Your team will function optimally when members feel that their job is fulfilling, supportive and conducive to their development and growth as a dental professional. 

Invest in education and skill development

Investing in education will keep you and your team committed to growing and developing as professionals. 

It is necessary to give your team the resources that they need to advance in their careers. Continuing education credits are being required for more and more staff besides dentists. Keeping up to date with the latest developments and strategies for success in the profession is necessary to help your employees do their jobs well. 

Continually training your team helps them follow your unique systems set in place to increase  productivity. Developing your management team is a key strategy to make sure that your employees are getting properly trained. Leaders need to have the skills to communicate workplace processes effectively and serve as role models who show how to do things properly. 

To invest in your team, identify the key skills that need improvement. If you can, bring in experts on a particular skill to teach your team. Hard skills such as mastering software or new medical devices can often be taught by a vendor. 

While continuing education is not required for dental managers. You can also benefit from learning more, and there are resources available to improve your skills as well such as online dental management classes. For example, The New York State Dental Associate provides an online course on risk management. Investing in education will keep you and your team committed to growing and developing as professionals. 

A great example of full service staff training can be taken from Cambeo Dental, which provides a robust online training tool filled with content which includes Osha compliance, employee compliance training, clinical compliance and soft skills training. Cambeo helps staff understand how to increase new patients, eliminating no shows, effective patient communication and more. 

Provide feedback and measure employee performance

Employees enjoy frequent feedback and the feeling of certainty that they are meeting the expectations of their position. 

Providing feedback about performance should be an objective process that focuses on key performance indicators influencing your office's productivity and efficiency. In addition, the feedback should provide clear guidelines for how your hygienists, dental assistants and front office staff can improve their performance and meet your service standards.

Hiring supervisors that have positive traits such as clear communication, honesty, forgiveness, and empathy will help your employees to have satisfactory appraisal processes. During employee evaluations, supervisors and staff can work together to develop measurable and obtainable goals. Lastly, rewarding your people for improvements is essential for recognition and appreciation.

In order for your team members to develop their skills and grow professionally, they must be given clear and consistent feedback. Employees enjoy frequent feedback and the feeling of certainty that they are meeting the expectations of their position. 

Consider implementing a well-established employee performance appraisal strategy to create healthy avenues of communication between members of your team. For example, the 360* feedback method can help to develop a culture of team-work and accountability. 

On Improving Your Dental Practice in 2021

No matter what aspects you seek to improve, the most important advice is to continually optimize repetitive tasks and apply what you learn in the process. Running a successful dental practice does not happen overnight, so have patience and develop a vision of the future which aligns with your goals. Even minor shifts in operation can cause a cascade of positive changes. 

An optimistic attitude can carry you and your staff forward into the New Year. We know that the past year was tough for healthcare professionals, and  we want to do everything in our power to make running your practice easier, rewarding, and more affordable. Thank you for caring for people during these difficult times and being heroes. Your commitment to providing quality care is admirable, and we hope you have a fantastic New Year.

If you’re looking to save more on quality dental supplies that don’t break the bank, please call our office and we’ll help you have quality, predictable and on time supplies - one less thing to worry about while running a smart dental practice.