Dental hygienists are specially trained to work in their role, adding to the expertise of the dental team. Today they play an increasingly important part in providing dental health care and although not all practices have a hygienist, more now offer this as part of the service to patients, either part or full-time. There are many ways a practice and its patients can benefit from using a hygienist, and in working closely alongside the dentist hygienists can give patients specific care that is tailored to their individual needs. Their main work is to prevent and treat gingivitis and periodontal disease. However, they can also play an advisory role by showing patients the best way to improve and maintain their oral hygiene, giving essential advice on diet and prevention of dental caries.
Having a trained hygienist working in the practice can protect and support you as a dentist as it helps to show you are following recommended best practice guidelines. There is also an argument to suggest that patients benefit from receiving two expert clinical perspectives, with the hygienist specifically trained in giving patients expert advice on oral hygiene methods and routines to follow that will minimise some of the risks associated with dental caries.
By providing hygienist services in your practice, you are also adding to the range of dental services your patients can access. Patient Group Directions (PGDs) are also important when dentists are using the services of dental hygienists – these are legal frameworks that allow named hygienists (and therapists) to administer certain medicines such as topical fluoride and local anaesthetics without a patient specific prescription. Patient Group Directions are complex documents and carry with them a set of strict requirements that must be strictly adhered to.
From a business perspective and a patient perspective there are advantages to using a hygienist for certain treatments as their time can be more cost effective than a dentist’s. Hygienists can spend more time with patients, for example often the hygienist will spend a number of appointments getting the gums healthy, ready for the dentist to restore the teeth with crowns and fillings. They can carry out full mouth periodontal charting and can
provide extra services to support the dentist such as taking impressions and radiographs.
It is very important that the whole practice team understands the importance and value of the services the hygienist provides. Although, it is now more generally accepted that patients may be referred to hygienists for specific treatment, practice staff may on occasions be on the receiving end of objections from patients, who still insist on seeing the dentist. All staff, but particularly receptionists, should be trained in this kind of objection handling and the practice should have a clear pathway in how to handle this – explaining carefully to any patient why a hygienist may be better placed to provide certain oral health treatments.
Using a hygienist for certain treatments can also help when scheduling patient appointments as you may be able to build in more flexible appointment times for patients.
Marketing hygienist services
Hygienist services can also be an important benefit marketed to payment plan patients. Flexible payment plans can allow you to set a monthly fee for your patients which will suit their different oral health needs. The most basic payment plans will cover a number of dental checkups, dental hygiene visits and dental X-rays whilst others can offer a more comprehensive preventative and restorative healthcare plan.
With a flexible dental payment plan it is possible to tailor individual plans specifically for patients who have greater periodontal treatment needs (as opposed to restorative treatment) and who may require more frequent hygienist visits. A payment plan allows the patient to spread all their dental costs via a monthly fee, which in turn should also encourage them to return to the dental practice for any regular periodontal treatment that may be required, thereby preventing the possibility of any disease worsening through lack of receiving the appropriate treatment, check-ups and advice.
Encouraging patients to attend dental appointments regularly can be a challenge for many practices but evidence suggests that offering a payment plan can vastly improve how often patients visit a dentist and/or hygienist. Giving patients the tools to budget for their dental care can lessen the worry of affording appointments and reduces the likelihood of them cancelling or delaying an appointment. Research has shown that payment plan patients are the most likely to visit their dentist every six months (91 per cent) compared to private patients who pay as they go (52 per cent).
In fact, if you have patients that are requiring regular hygiene dental visits, it would be worth making sure your hygienist is also aware of the dental payment plans available to patients as they can also explain the benefits to
patients of joining a plan.
The Centre for Workforce Intelligence produced a stock take of dental care professionals in 2014 and has predicted
that by 2025 the shift in the way dental teams work together as professionals will mean that dental hygienists are in short supply. It is thought that dental hygienists and therapists combined may be carrying out 18 per cent of all direct patient care by 2025. It is estimated that 7,700 dental hygienists will be needed and as practice teams are constantly evolving, it is well worth considering the ways in which a dental hygienist can be used in practice, to
improve and enhance the way we care for our patients.
References available on request.