The life of a Dentist pretty much revolves around his/her dental clinic and the dental practice. A Dentist spends his entire lifetime in his/her clinic. Compared to other professions where most of the professionals work as a team in big organizations, a dental clinician has a solitary work life. That means a Dentist also has the sole responsibility of managing his/her proprietorship as well as the clinical practice. A constant change and upgradation in such circumstances become even more mandatory. Although, an upgradation or change does not need any occasion but if it’s a new year why not take the opportunity of being in the new year resolution tempo to implement the makeover!

1. Inculcate new technologies in your dental practice!

Refine your Endodontics with Apex locator and Endo motor

There are Dentists who still practice Endodontics with a conventional hand filing systems. Although there is nothing wrong in that. But if new technologies make your work more efficient then why not use them. It’s definitely not a bad idea to gift your practice an apex locator and endo motor, if you have a busy dental practice.

Smarten-up with intra-oral cameras

As Dentists, we are well aware that reaching the nooks and crannies of the oral cavity is a real task. We do know the struggles of reaching especially the posterior maxillary teeth. But with intraoral cameras, this task can be easily reduced. Intraoral cameras are great to detect incipient lesions, caries with limited access, micro-cracks, early cancer detection, etc. Also, it’s a great convincing tool for patients who see these anomalies with their own eyes on the display. Definitely, a must-have in 2022!

Make your work easy with intra oral scanning

Intra-oral scanning has reduced a lot of manual and tedious work of Dentists. From alginate to polyvinyl impressions, it’s been quite a journey! But intraoral scanners have been the real game changer! Impressions are more precise, accurate, human error-free, hassle-free and time-saving. Even though the cost of intraoral scanners is huge, Dentists can start renting scanners for their work or can even purchase a scanner in team. This way there is no financial burdening and work keeps going!

Go Digital

Digital dentistry is the future of dental practices! There is simply no escape way! Be it the digital smile designing softwares, CAD-CAM technology, or 3D printing. Everything is digital! In such a case not being aware of these new technologies would be a real crime. So, this new year at least pledge to yourself that you will get accustomed to at least one new digital dental technology.

Start working with loupes!

As Dentists, we all know the importance of magnification. And the practice of minimally invasive dentistry has highlighted the significance of working under magnification. Loupes are just one way to start the journey of micro dentistry. So, without even giving a second thought order the pair of brand-new loupes today.

2.Foray into Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is clearly the need of the hour for most businesses. Though dental practice cannot be considered literally as a business. But why not leverage its indispensable use for the best of dental practice. Though the personal touch of a Dentist and his/her work makes the real difference, let’s just accept the fact that digital marketing is essential. An online presence of practice is absolutely mandatory.

It could be having a clinic website, social media page or profile of your clinic, reviews, and listings, etc. We live in an age where people visit food restaurants ofter they have come across a few social media posts. The need is real to have a digital presence for any business. 90% of the Indian population is hooked to the internet so why not showcase your work or simply make your practice visible to the netizens. Digital marketing can definitely up your game considerably if not drastically. It’s a good platform to highlight your practice to the internet world and reap the benefits.

If you find it difficult to have a digital presence this new years you can considering being a DentalDost partner. Being a DentalDost partner can help you do the same as well as increase your patient footfall as well. (Find out what DentalDost has to offer)

3.Put your dental practice into a system!

As compared to big hospitals dental practices are small organizations. Most of the Dentists have single chair with 2 assistants and a few have multiple chairs with multiple assistants. Even though small it’s a health organization and needs to be systematic and equally ordered too. A separate dental apron for your assistants can give the clinic a more professional look. If you already have one, consider upgrading the look. Similarly, a biometric for all the staff members including the chief Dentist can really put things into order. These changes will not only make your dental clinic look more professional, organized but even accountable.

4.Brand your dental practice

Although not a prerequisite but in 2022 and ahead to build a sustainable dental practice branding has become ubiquitous. So, what is branding? Branding your dental practice simply means adding value to your existing practice. The motto behind branding of any product is to build trust with that product. Likewise, branding of dental clinic helps reinforce trust, create an awareness and establish a positive image in the potential patient’s mind.

If the right branding of your practice fulfills all these criteria, then generation of new patients is simply a byproduct! Budding dental practices or Dentist’s who are not keen on spending much on branding can at least get a copyright of their logo! This logo will serve as an identity of your dental practice henceforth. Thus, that’s how branding helps to associate patients with your practice and helps to create an awareness regarding the practice.

5.Pledge to practice green dentistry!

Climate change has become the most serious issue for the past many years. And everyone has a role to play in terms of leading to these climate changes. We have only one planet and preserving our planet should be everyone’s responsibility. For few years now the practice of eco-friendly dentistry has gained momentum, especially in developed countries. The mainstay of green dentistry is 4 Rs- reduce, reuse, recycle and re-think.

There is a lot that dental practices can contribute towards eco-friendly dentistry. To start with switching from manual dental x-rays to digital x-rays, paperless billing, mindful usage of water and energy resources, reducing disposable items and encouraging the use of autoclavable items, correct disposal of bio-medical waste, encouraging patients to use biodegradable oral hygiene products like bamboo toothbrushes etc. Even such tiny steps can have a compound effect on climate change.

Highlights

• Giving a pleasant makeover to your dental practice can instill great enthusiasm and fresh perspective to the Dentists.
• Analyze carefully your dental practice and the necessary changes required for better functioning of the clinic.
• Addition of new technology like dental loupes, apex locator or endo motor can enhance your clinical skills tremendously.
• Branding of your dental practice can help to build a long-term trust with the patients.
• Making optimum use of digital media to market your practice can be a fresh new change.
• Having a systematic and organized clinic can give a professional impression to the dental practice.
• Taking that much required pledge to practice eco-friendly dentistry can be the first step to reduce the climate changes.