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    1. Practice Management

    Hygiene in a handbasket: 5 steps to hygiene heaven

    Oct. 26, 2010
    Gary Kadi tells you how to teach your hygienists to shift their focus from selling to having their patients BUY what they want. In so doing, you’ll reach hygiene heaven!

    By Gary Kadi

    It is a hellish thought for hygienists to sell anything — even whitening, something most patients want. There is a simple, direct way to turn your gum gardeners into whitening worshipers (or worshipers of any treatment that will help their patients) by teaching your hygienists to shift their focus from selling to having their patients buy what they want without doing “wallet biopsies.”

    5 steps to hygiene heaven

    1. Have your hygienists establish a purpose for their work/department. This shifts their focus from selling cancer screenings to providing the priceless value of preventing cancer. Fulfillment and dollars come from providing value. Watch the positive change when your hygienist shifts from selling to helping patients get more of what they want and less of what they do not. Examples of hygiene purpose: zero bleeding, total health and wellness, every patient looks great and feels great.
    2. Make a priority list of protocols to happen in each one-hour hygiene visit. Example: If you want to increase your whitening cases, include a shade check on each hygiene visit as structure for patient to ask about where they are and where they could be.
    3. Establish a Healthy Mouth Baseline™ that allows all team members to have a say and take ownership in the practice treatment philosophy. Write it up and laminate it, and use it chairside to educate your patients.
    4. Use the PCS method for presenting to patients. PCS stands for Problem (stained teeth) Consequence (you can enhance your look and feel) Solution (you can “bring sexy back” with a bright white smile).
    5. Create a “triple-win” bonus: The patient wins with a bright, white smile. The team wins personally, professionally, and financially. And so do you!


    Now go create some pearly “grills.”

    Author bio
    Gary Kadi, founder of NextLevel Practice and author of "Million Dollar Dentistry," is globally recognized as the dental expert for profound results in the lives of dentists, dental teams, and their patients. Call (866) 926-0914 now to get your No. 1 unanswered question in your practice answered, and check out www.GaryKadi.com.