Asking for a Friend: Am I still a top-tier clinician without top-tier dental equipment?

All I want to do is go shopping—in the dental catalog. In the age of modern dental technology, it’s easy to covet the newest and best equipment in our hygiene operatories. But do we allow it to measure the quality of our workday? Or the quality of our work? Of course, dental hygienists want to stay up-to-date in dentistry, and it can be particularly challenging to return to work to our same old setup after attending a hygiene convention filled with information about top-tier modalities. It may even cause resentment in the office when ideas surrounding upgrades are not well-received. In those moments met with defeat, hygienists go home to scroll the accounts of newfound friends in the industry who boast about their privilege of using the most incredible tools. That’s when the thought occurs: Am I still a top-tier clinician without top-tier equipment?

Hygienists working in offices that implement top-tier equipment will share with you the efficiency, ease, and patient satisfaction they experience, making it a no-questions-asked “want.” When speaking to a hygienist who does not currently use the newest and greatest, she says, “Of course, I want to provide my patients with the greatest standard of care, and I feel bad that I don’t. My boss isn’t on board.” For hygienists privileged to use top-tier equipment, it is essential to remember that we are usually at the mercy of what our office provides us. One could argue that hygienists can invest in products or equipment themselves, but most people are not in a position where they can do that. And how does that work in offices with multiple hygienists who don't invest? Does the luck of the schedule determine which patients get elevated care? When examining the variable of armamentarium solely, how different is the delivery of care?

What the data says about dental technology

A study comparing traditional rubber cup polishing to air polishing concluded that plaque removal was more efficient with air polishing and preferred by both the patient and the provider.¹ The evolution of mechanical plaque debridement sparks considerable interest in methods such as guided biofilm therapy among hygienists,² but not all hygienists have access to the equipment. That doesn’t mean that those hygienists are doing it “wrong.” The cost of this equipment can be as much as $10,000 per operatory, with little to no direct increase in production for the office, making it a tough sell in some offices. However, we know that better outcomes lead to better patient retention, and better ergonomic equipment leads to better provider retention, saving the office a lot of money in the long run. So, leaning into these facts and your passion for providing the best care for your implant patients, such as supporting their investment in maintenance visits, will encourage your boss to order it. Sometimes it won’t. In those cases, you’ll continue to give your very best to care for these patients with what you have.

Obtaining modalities that yield more “direct” production or less of an upfront investment may be a more straightforward approach. For example, a study shows how an intraoral camera improves treatment acceptance in patients who need restorative treatment, increasing office production and improving the effectiveness of oral hygiene instructions.³ Similarly, more advanced cameras, such as periodontal endoscopes, can vastly increase office revenue, achieve better procedure results than blind scaling, and reduce or eliminate the need to refer your patient out for surgical intervention.⁴ Technology like this makes a hygienist a surgical hygienist; that sounds undoubtedly top-tier, right?

However, don't get wrapped up and forget the most important thing

We do so much more than simply clean teeth. Hygienists should not feel inadequate for working with what they have. Hygienists are highly skilled in mechanical plaque debridement with hand instrumentation and ultrasonics. We spend twice as much time providing essential care in assessments, evaluations, and oral hygiene instruction. Procedures such as screening for blood pressure, oral cancer, periodontitis, caries risk, nutritional counsel, tobacco cessation counsel, home-care demonstration, and simply just having a human conversation can be both tooth- and life-saving for a patient. That is top-tier.

Share your excitement with kindness versus authority (remember, there are still hygienists in the darkroom developing film and likely against their wishes). Offer advice to fellow hygienists without the newest modalities on how your office started with them or the names of the reps who helped you get your office on board. There will always be new tricks of the trade and a “better” way to do things, but delivering patient-centered care in a caring and effective manner will always be critical. If you’re a hygienist lacking what you love, even scoring a new adjunctive therapy such as topicals, desiccants, or fluorides can be refreshing. And don’t give up on your wish list! If you dream big enough, the opportunity will come to you, one way or another.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Clinical Insights newsletter, a publication of the Endeavor Business Media Dental Group. Read more articles and subscribe.

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