3 ways to easier hygiene exams

March 8, 2010

By Rachel Wall, RDH, BS

Do you cringe every time you hear a call for a hygiene exam? Do you feel that your hygiene checks can be faster and more productive? Well, you're not alone. This is a common frustration that I hear from both dentists and hygienists.

Hygienists: I have to wait so long for a doctor exam.
Doctors: I go in there to do an exam and the hygienist hasn't even mentioned to the patient that he has a broken molar.

Here are three ways to make hygiene exams quicker, more productive, and much less painful:

1) Allow the hygienist to participate in the discovery and diagnosis process. This includes taking intraoral photos and sharing the hygienist’s concerns about dental problems, whether perio or restorative. Set the expectation with your hygienist that you would like restorative needs to be addressed before you enter the room. This is most easily done when you create a master treatment plan. This removes a roadblock that some hygienists encounter, namely, "But I can't diagnose." If the actual diagnosis has already been made then the hygienist can simply view the next section of planned treatment to be sure it is still the most urgent. Then reviewing the problems becomes easy, especially when intraoral cameras or digital cameras are used. Now when you arrive for an exam, there is a photo of the problem on the patient monitor and the patient is ready to schedule. All the hygienist needs is your confirmation.

The first step to increasing hygiene co-diagnosis is getting you and your hygienist(s) on the same page. Using our case review protocol helps make this happen. The case review protocol is included in our free CD, “Secrets to Increasing Hygiene Co-Diagnosis.” Go to www.InspiredHygiene.com to get your copy.

2) Give your hygienist a systematic approach to the hygiene exam. Set the expectation that all points of the exam should be completed before scaling and before calling for the doctor exam. You can create your own exam protocol or e-mail me at [email protected] and I’ll share ours with you. This leads us to step 3.

3) Be open to checking hygiene before the end of the appointment. If your hygienist is completing the exam before beginning to scale, then he or she will be ready to go within 20 to 30 minutes of beginning the appointment with all the information you need. The hygienist can call you for an exam at that point, and then you have 15 to 20 minutes if you need to finish a procedure. Give the hygienist permission to call you again after 10 minutes have passed.

A great way to make this easy is to use a communication system. You may have a light system or a "run up the hall" system. My favorite is radio communication. The Motorola TalkAbout 6510 with headset is a great, affordable unit that is available at Radio Shack and most office supply stores. This system allows all team members to communicate important information and call the doctor for exams. There is one caveat to using radio communication; everyone (that's right, even you) must agree to wear the radio at all times, no exceptions. If one team member slacks off, the system just doesn't work.

Want to pump up the profit from your hygiene department? Get your free subscription to our high-content, high-value weekly Inspired Hygiene e-magazine. Designed for dentists, high performance hygienists, and office managers, it contains tips, tools, and articles that will help you and your team deliver high quality care in a productive environment. Simply go to www.InspiredHygiene.com and fill out the box in the upper right corner.