At the dental hygiene chair we walk a tightrope between data collection, delivery of care and education/enrollment. We must make the most of the precious 60 minutes we have with each patient. The first step in this process is chart review!

You must know the following, before seating your perio maintenance or recall patient, to make a realistic plan for today’s dental hygiene appointment:

• Previously reported risk factors, health history concerns, medications etc.
• Incomplete diagnosed treatment of any kind
• Periodontal case type
• Radiographic needs

Once the patient is seated, break the dental hygiene appointment down into three components, as we do at Inspired Hygiene:

• 20 minutes – Data collection/patient education
• 20 minutes – Patient education/clinical procedure
• 20 minutes – Clinical procedure/doctor exam/documentation

It’s always best to provide a periodontal screening, rather than a comprehensive perio exam when radiographs and doctor exam are scheduled to facilitate time management. In addition, the doctor exam should occur in the second 20 minute time frame whenever possible. This will prevent the hygienist from having to wait on the doctor and increase case acceptance measurably.

Using words and phrases that have the biggest impact can help you get your point across quickly. A great exercise you can do as a team is “Start Saying/Stop Saying.” I’ll get you started; see how many more words/phrases you can come up with!

Stop saying:

• I found …
• You need …
• Inflammation …
• Little …

Start saying

• Bob, you have …
• Sue, it’s in your best interest …
• Infection …
• Slight, moderate, severe …