Just like many things in this world, work life balance is a complex subject, perhaps with the wrong term/title that forces people to search for answers in the wrong place. What is balance? According to the Oxford dictionary, it’s a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions. Meaning Your Work and Your Life, magically, need to be equal and in correct proportions! I have so many questions! What are the proportions? Who determines them? Should work be as important as life or vice versa? Should these proportions stay the same for the rest of your life? Even if we look at the basic math, taking averages it’s already not very equal: 168 Hours in a week 40 hours - WORK 56 Hours - Sleep 72 Hours - Life Seventy two hours for life, that is double of work hours, assuming, at least for the purpose of this conversation, sleep is recharging ability to live and work. If we already have such inequality by pure numbers, why is there so much conversation today on work life balance? I would also assume that most people refer to Life part of the “work-life balance” conversation, that time is running out and at the current pace there is not enough life in the equation. Just like anybody else, I ask myself this question, especially as I’m getting older the time is running at the faster pace each year, “What is work life balance?” Let’s look at it by breaking it into 10 year span terms: “Redbull” 20s In my 20s I wanted to work all the time, weekends, evenings, all the time. I would take 40 Work hours, add 72 Life hours and even try to cut off a few hours from sleep. I was driven. I wanted to prove to myself and my family that I could make it! There was no balance. However, there was happiness. It made me happy that I was pursuing what I wanted. I was building my own company and even when I wasn’t I would drive around rich neighborhoods of Chicago, “working” on my goals, imagining living in one of those mansions! If I had a choice to do all over again, not in a chance I would do anything differently! I call it the “red bull decade”. You can survive on 4 hours of sleep, 2 cups of coffee each hour and a redbull. I’m not advising it, but it’s an option for a particular goal or personal ambition. Even if one is not pursuing ambitious goals to change the world, it’s still important to give it your best in the 20s to mess things up, make mistakes, own up to it and try to correct things. The learning experience is enormously important and the more you gain the more value one can create for future self. It’s more important to give it your best, try a career, business, side project, etsy store, etc. Push yourself to work a little harder and see what happens. Ironically it’s also the best time to go all in on Life and experience things before family. Visit new countries, travel and explore yourself through the uncomfortable setting of being in a different country with a different language. Take unpaid leave for 1 or 3 months and just go. I would call it retreat with your future self as you get a chance to face your fears and look back. Ask yourself “Is the direction I chose is truly mine?” By the way, if your employer is mad and/or not supportive, you are part of the wrong company! When you consider “leap of faith” decisions in your 20s the brain will try to tell you “that’s impossible?” or “how are you going to pay for it?”, don’t listen, get creative and just do it. This is the time in your life to train the brain - "If there is a will there's a way! Don’t miss this important opportunity!" Golden 30s This is my territory at the moment. When I turned 30 I could feel something was different. I was different. More content with what I have, less materialistic possession and on the mission for what I know I want. I wasn’t guessing, I invested in my 20s to explore, wander around, work really hard on the wrong things, businesses and a relationship. In my 30s I understood the difference between arrogance and confidence. I learned the value of being honest, telling how you feel and practicing the “if it’s important do it now” mentality. I was 33 years young when I took my first real vacation, with close friends, on a yacht hopping popular Greece islands. I enjoyed every minute of “Life” time and towards the end of the trip I couldn’t wait to get back to Work life. My energy was restored and I knew in order to see more in life I needed to continue working hard to create life opportunities again. This sounds simple and basic, and it really is. In order to create quality Life moments I need to create resources to allow life moments. Resources are created by bringing value to this world in the form of ideas, hard work, and being able to execute on the ideas. We can’t exactly predict the outcomes in dollar amounts or what our efforts are going to be worth, but at least we can give it our best try! In the 30s you start choosing friends, dropping negative friendships, discovering hobbies, establishing a personal health program that includes diet, working out, and choosing your one favorite activity. Many start running marathons, triathlons, Ironman, etc. It’s important to pick the camp and learn all you can about it. It also provides a certain “escape” from day to day activity. I recently learned, from an Interview Tim Ferriss did with Mark Zuckurberg, that running is a great physical activity but it doesn’t help to zone out from day to day activities. Ideally you need to find sports that take up ALL of your attention. I picked hockey! When I play and practice, 3-4 hours a week, I’m fully present. There is no phone, no smart watch, nothing. Even if my wife is watching the game I rarely notice her. I’m fully in the game. Otherwise I’ll get run over or hit by a bigger guy into the boards (survival element). Most importantly you start re-evaluating close family as it becomes more and more important to stay close with the loved ones and create your own island of stability -your own family! This era is full of investments into your current self but more importantly into your future self. Most people start settling into “Well that’s how it is”, “This is what life is”. I recently started hearing “Who would play hockey at my age?” or “It’s too late to start the business” or even worse “Who do you think you are?”. This is really sad and I can’t help but think that I’m so lucky that I made a lot of time investments in my 20s to remove even the possibility of these thoughts entering into my universe! So it’s hard to imagine equal distribution of work and life up until this point. It always tilts and swings in different directions with an effort to live a full life and work really hard to provide yourself an opportunity to have great life moments in the future. Maybe things start to change in the 40s? Wise 40s I’m not there yet, but I hear from those who are there that it’s awesome to be 40! You are wise, experienced and accumulated a great deal of resources. I do feel most people start tilting towards life and experiencing things that they simply didn’t have time nor the resources to explore prior. One downside of the 40s that I do hear is that your inner circle is closing down. Meaning the number of people you interact with is getting smaller and one has to make a lot of effort to meet new people and maintain existing relationships. I really don’t know anybody in their 40s who thinks about the subject of Work Life Balance, however it seems to me most double down on trying to squeeze the most out of the productive phase of life and build a great future. Most importantly I noticed people are very clear on what “great future” means to them. The saying of “climbing the wrong ladder” becomes a lot more obvious and you still have time to swap the “ladder”. Again this is not my area of expertise and all I can do is observe people and so far it looks promising! Fruitful 50s I have no place contemplating work life balance ideas in my 50s, my gut tells me you are ripping the benefits of all the hard work. One of my fears since I was a kid is what my life would look like when I’m at the retirement age. I care less about driving a nice car today vs when I’m 60. I try to imagine myself being a dad or grandad who buys a nice car for cash and can easily take the entire family on a trip to Italy for a month. Perhaps having a clear vision of what the “end” looks like brings the whole work life balance idea to an actual balance. Balance of time, goals, ambition and where you currently are is what makes sense to me. I know what my life would look like in my 50s/60s and for that I want to work my tail off today. That makes me happy and focused. It also helps me choose the right friends who are like minded and on the same mission. There was a hint of that in 2018 on a yacht in Greece with one my close friend Ivan, who I knew since we both immigrated to the US in 2005 with no money and no friends. We had a great time conversing over life since we immigrated and what the future could look like. Imagine the same place and same people when we are in our 50s and 60s, the conversations we will have? I can’t wait 🙂 So much is ahead of us and a better term for what I see as work life balance is Work Life Zen (or harmony, as Jeff Bezos famously coined the phrase). Definition of Harmony - the quality of forming a pleasing and consistent whole (according to Oxford Dictionary)
Welcome back to ZenOne podcast. Today I'm visiting one of my favorite offices in Waco Texas, Acre Wood Dental and the team, Dr. Ben Johnson, Allison, Meghan and Dan Johnson. We discuss projects Dr. Johnson completed during COVID, managing during tough times, culture and leadership. We cover so many great topics on desire, what makes one pursue perfection and continue to grow professionally. Dr. Johnson shares a story of a personal failure and steps he took to overcome. As Winston Churchill was working to form the United Nations after WWII, he famously said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste”. In our context never let a great challenge go wasted without a growth [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RHo-RnL650[/embedyt] At about 32 minutes into the conversation we change gears from personal growth and business to family and fundamentals of the successful marriage. Show notes and timestamps 14:00 - Changing Practice Management Software 16:40 - How Dr. Jonson evaluates new software options for the office 19:30 - Desire to Grow and add more practices. How to identify strengths and what is the max 24:00 - Daily Routine for peak performance 25:00 - Lights go off but we continue recording 26:15 - Are you born with desire and ambition 30:00 - Steps to overcome failures 32:40 - "How much do you share with your wife?" 40:30 - We mention Dr. Tom Novak (Beacon Dentistry) and his relationship advice To learn more about Dr. Johnson's incredible story, please watch this video: https://youtu.be/Hr6y0SSuv1o Website: https://www.acrewooddental.com/
Dr. Tom has incredible story of growing up in Chicago ,having paper routes at 9 years old and growing up in the family of 6. After completing dental school, Tom joined the Navy for 5 years and then spent some time in Seattle making $31,000 a year before landing in Weatherford Texas. He recently expanded to a new building, from 2200 SF 7 ops space to a 4000 SF 12 ops stand alone building. Dr. Novak shares his life wisdom on running a practice, raising kids and building incredible family. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9-tOG_2rE0[/embedyt] Timestamps: 2:00 - from 1963 7 ops space to a stand alone building with 12 ops and awesome team 5:40 - drive and ambition 6:55 - 10251 days story 8:50 - You have now idea what to do in parenting 13:30 - Best parenting advice 21:20 - Family is a unified front 24:30 - “The goals, I don’t think if I have any….” 26:10 - How to be happy with what you have 28:10 - Simple but Powerful life advice: “Savings has always been the Payment” 30:20 - “Is this a lot of money, son?” To learn more about Dr. Tom Novak biography: https://youtu.be/egNCFjQh4yQ To learn more about Beacon Dentistry: www.beacondentistry.com
Questions about testing dental waterlines are all over social and print media. Terms like DUWLs, CFUs, and LPSs are in the literature but what does that alphabet soup mean and what is a dental office supposed to do about it? The good news is, is it isn’t as hard at pronouncing words like Pseudomonas Aeruginosa (which is something could be hanging out in your dental unit waterline, DUWL, right now). So let’s get you on a path to clean waterlines and keep you off the latest news cycle. It’s really a simple 5 step process to make sure waterlines are in the clear. 1. Shock: First you have to shock all your dental unit waterlines. When I say all, I mean ALL! Even the ones you don’t use--actually, especially the ones use--they are the most likely to have built up biofilm due to the stagnant nature of the line. You can use a diluted bleach solution or a prepared shock solution. There are many articles and videos online for the exact instructions on how to shock based on the method you choose. 2. Test: After you shock you need to determine if your lines contain less than 500 colony forming units (CFUs). There are a few options out there for testing. You can do it yourself with an in-office test such as ProEdge Dental’s QuickPass or Aquasafe water test kits. They are both easy to use. The QuickPass has a 48-72 hours incubation period, while the Aquasafe requires 7 days. Or you can outsource and send samples out to a lab. Once again, when you test you have to test ALL of your lines. So that could mean water samples from 3-7 lines per operatory--don’t forget your ultrasonic scaler, it has a waterline too. If you don’t pass the test, go back to step one and shock again. 3. Treat: Now that you have determined your lines are safe, let’s keep them that way. You can treat them daily with a tablet-like BluTab or you can install a straw into your unit water reservoir that is replaced yearly. Do not be fooled by a well-meaning rep that tells you the tabs or straw are all you need to do. Unfortunately, if you aren’t doing step four the biofilm will build right back up. 4. Maintainance: Daily maintenance is key to keeping your lines free of CFUs. At the end of each workday, the lines need to be dried so that water doesn’t sit stagnate overnight or over the weekend. Standing water is a biofilms dream. Just think of a vase of flowers, after that water sits for days a film grows on top of the water and on the sides of the vase that is hard to remove. That’s a biofilm. So imagine your tiny dental waterline tubing and water sitting in it for any period of time. Here’s an example of a daily waterline routine: Fill the unit reservoir with tap water (note distilled water will not keep you safer, in fact, it has no chlorine so you are more likely to build up biofilm) Put in Blu Tab if using and reattach water bottle Turn unit on Run all lines for at least 30 seconds Between Patients Run all lines that enter the patient’s mouth for 20-30 seconds Turn unit off Drain water from the unit reservoir, dry Straw if using, and reattach bottle Turn unit back on and run all the lines until they are dry Turn unit off "If your ultrasonic scaler has a separate water source be sure to complete all the steps above with it." 5. Re-Test: It is key to re-test your waterlines to be sure that regrowth has not occurred. OSAP recommends that you re-test monthly at the beginning of implementing your waterline maintenance routine. If monitoring results show your water quality is acceptable for 2 consecutive months then you can move to quarterly testing. If a unit fails then you start the cycle all over again with step one and shock your lines. It is key to also be sure you are keeping records of your efforts. Dental Board inspectors are consistently asking for this documentation to ensure you are compliant. ProEdge.com has a free handy checklist you can download (link below). Or you can create your own. Just be sure you are keeping track! While this may seem like one more thing to add to our already busy routine it’s a key step to ensure you are providing a safe environment for your patients. I have had dentists push back at the cost of the tests or the time it takes to establish yet another protocol. But just imagine if your mother, grandmother, child or even you, were in that chair, wouldn’t you want to know those lines are safe? ~Amanda Hill, RDH, BSDH Disclaimer: This article is the sole opinion and research of the writer and doesn't reflect the opinions of ZenSupplies. Resources: More references on this subject: https://osapjdics.scholasticahq.com/article/5075-dental-unit-water-quality-organization-for-safety-asepsis-and-prevention-white-paper-and-recommendations-2018 Waterline testing Log: https://proedgedental.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/QuickPass-Log_5.2019_V3.pdf Some of the ABBREVIATIONS as a reference: ADA - American Dental Association ANSI - American National Standards Institute AWWA - American Water Works Association CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CFU/mL - Colony forming units per milliliter DFU - Directions for use (see also IFU) DHCP - Dental health-care personnel DUWL - Dental unit waterline EPA - US Environmental Protection Agency FDA - US Food and Drug Administration HAI - Healthcare-associated infections HPC - Heterotrophic plate count IC - Infection control (or infection prevention and control)
As ZenSupplies has continued to grow, naturally, our team has focused increasingly on how we can imp...
Today my guest is John Demma, COO of a very unique DSO, Light Wave Dental Management. We discuss leadership, team culture, and leading through service. John has a unique story, growing up in the family restaurant business, learning important skills early on. As John said during the interview "When it comes to leadership and management, there is nothing new under the sun" it's important to establish your decision framework, principles and guiding values to become a great leader. We go into details and examples from John career at Sleepy's (10 year career path) and National Veterinary Associates (4 years) and how the idea of Servant Leadership has led John to the current role at Light Wave. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAAYfmtQh24[/embedyt] My Takeaways: - Good people do great things - First line of team and management is the most critical part of the organization and senior level management is the least important - Empower the front line management - Principles for growth: - Self Exploration - Decision Making Framework - Values - Work life balance always comes with the question: "What are you willing to give up to achieve X" - No Foundation leads to firefighting. Strong foundation, leadership, long term planning leads to high performance - One important skills to transition from junior management to more senior is to "Learn how to Story-tell" - Walk and take calls to manage Hope you enjoy it!
Elizabeth starts at 5am everyday at the gym to start moving and prepare for any challenges the day can bring. Then the work starts at 6:30am with one of the 6 locations at River Run dental. Her job role is a Clinical director, but she wears many hats to help achieve the goals. We spend a good amount of time discussing goals, and how to find a dental practice that has goals and focused on growth. Elizabeth shares her simple questions to identify the right practice for yourself. Know what you are looking for and find the practice that can help you get there. We talked a little about early days of the pandemic in 2020 and how Zen was able to help River Run during PPE shortages.
The bad news is that our industry has been and will be fundamentally and permanently changed because of the pandemic. A lot of the changes affecting processes, procedures and protocols (especially as they relate to PPE’s) will probably remain. One guarantee therefore, is that things will not be going back to “the way they were”. The good news for everyone is that a vaccine is being rolled out. The good news for employers is that the FFCRA has expired (as of 12/31/2020), which means one less thing to have to administer and manage. The good news for most practices is that they have successfully navigated the COVID crisis and survived! What’s that all mean? It means we are getting closer to some sense of new normalcy and with the crisis abating, now is the time to proactively change hats from crisis management (back) to leadership. Nowhere is leadership more important than with employees. Business success is almost always related to people success—your “Human Resource”. You can’t do it alone (as much as you might wish you could some days!). The foundation for people success is leadership. To build long-term organizational success, leaders must spend more time focusing on people and outcomes, not just surviving or results. One starting place is to take a serious look at these questions: What kind of employer are you? What Is your reputation as an employer/boss/leader? Is your practice/business one where people want to come to work? Would you work for you? A lot of marketing time, attention and money is spent on getting positive Google and/or Facebook reviews. But what would your Google or Facebook reviews be of you as an employer? Positive? Negative? Mediocre? Cheap? Supportive? Caring? The difficulties you may have finding, hiring or retaining employees are indicators of your reputation as an employer/boss/leader. Many practices and businesses don’t or haven’t had problems in the recruiting, hiring and re-employment process. Why? Because those practices and businesses have reputations as good places to work. This is a result of leadership that truly embraces the “human” in human resources. For these practices and businesses, employees are not an expense; employees are rather a resource to be truly valued and supported. Today, many practices are asking: “where have all the good employees gone?” Our economy goes through cycles where there are lots of quality employees available and times where there are not. We are clearly now in a time where there are not, and the reasons are many. Due to the pandemic, many former dental employees have changed careers, others have retired or decided to permanently stay home for childcare or schooling reasons. Whenever there is a tight labor market, employers look for some type of “magic bullet” for finding and hiring employees (the proverbial needle in the haystack). Sorry to inform you, but there is no magic bullet for that. There is a magic bullet though that can make a difference and help. That magic bullet is focusing on principles that lead to long term retention of your existing employees. Long term retention of quality employees is the holy grail of leadership. Leaders understand that turnover is a killer. Turnover impacts time, revenue, overhead, profits, performance, consistency and quality of service. The costs of turnover are insidious. There is an emotional toll, as well as a financial toll. The stress and impact on morale is a significant emotional toll. Financially, the costs of recruiting, the time reading resumes, screening applicants, interviewing, plus the costs for reference checking, skills assessments and background checking all add up. And then there is the financial impact of how long it takes for the new person to be fully up-to-speed. Ouch! Leadership’s goal is modeling and leading in ways that engages, appreciates, recognizes and supports employees, that results in performance and long-term retention, i.e., little to no turnover. Notice how you solve the problem, by eliminating the problem. Creating and fostering a safe and trusting work environment is another hallmark of people leadership. Trust is the life blood of any relationship and is a pre-condition for all teams. This is created by respectful and trustworthy behavior, which reduces mistrust, fear and insecurity. It is impossible for even the best of employees to thrive when the work environment is one of mistrust, fear and insecurity. This also requires communication because in the absence of communication: People will assume the negative; you don’t like them or didn’t like what they did Will be less likely to seek out assignments or tasks or offer ideas in the future If asked or assigned in the future, the effort won’t be 100% -- why bother? Confidence and engagement will go down Everyone “says” they’d like their turnover to be lower. But ironically most don’t invest time and energy in efforts that can directly lower turnover, i.e., people leadership principles. Turnover is otherwise accepted as a given. What do employees want? In answer to that question, many employers say: “money, all employees care about is money!” Yet study after study shows that that is not the case. Things like: Ethically sound business principles and quality healthcare. A consistent and fair management style. Policies that are friendly, frank, fair and firm. A pleasant and harmonious work environment-minimal stress. Adequate facility, instruments, tools, equipment and supplies. A competent and compatible staff/team. Assistance in learning: communication, decisions and initiative. Clearly defined job responsibilities. Recognition: acknowledgement contribution and appreciation. All rank higher than money in most surveys in the dental industry. Note how not only don’t these cost you money, they truly represent the embodiment of good people leadership. As we begin moving beyond the COVID pandemic, the level of success you experience will hinge in large part on your leadership. Leadership that is people and employee centric, i.e., “people leadership”. Where there is a strong commitment to create a safe and trusting work environment, built on communication and truly putting the “human” in human resources. Want to reduce your turnover through retention of your quality employees? Let me leave you with this “to-do” list to get the ball rolling: Become a better leader Give people the benefit of the doubt Approach employee absences (particularly due to childcare or school closures) with a positive problem-solving attitude Show appreciation Provide recognition Thank your team every day for being there Communicate, communicate, communicate Train, support, train, support Create a safer and more trusting work environment Seriously, become a better leader; most of the time your employees are not the problem, it is your leadership, don't take it out on them The end result will be less stress, less turnover, longer term retention of quality employees, a happier work environment, and greater financial rewards for everyone—now that’s a winning combination. -Tim Twigg Tim Twigg is the President and co-owner of Bent Ericksen & Associates. Bent Ericksen & Associates is the leading authority in human resources and personnel management in the healthcare industry, helping dentists successfully deal with the ever-changing and complex labor laws.
As we enter into a new era in the dental world, there are many changes that are happening. There is still a lot of uncertainty on what is to come. This can work both for us, and against us at the same time. We are seeing practices that are having a hard time getting their team to come back, and on the other hand, practices taking this time to slow down, and evaluate the flow of the office. So how do we move forward with what we have? Having this time off has been a great time to look at our team, where are we doing well, and where could we improve? In a sense, going back to basics. Let’s start by discussing “Titles” within the office. I like to use this term loosely because sometimes when we add titles to positions, we get a shift in responsibility. Let’s talk about how to organize the team, in order to maximize what we have! Positions in an everyday office include, Dentist, Hygienist, Assistant, Treatment Coordinator, Scheduling Coordinator, and an office leader. Sometimes the leader is the doctor, and sometimes the leader is a manager, or Business Lead. We all know the best way to get nothing accomplished, is to assign a task to multiple people :) How do we break down the positions, and hold our team accountable? Ultimately the scheduling coordinator is responsible for the schedule, and the treatment coordinator is responsible for presenting treatment plans. IF you are unsure of who belongs in what position have the team brainstorm the tasks they complete and decide if this should be under “Scheduling Coordinator” or “Treatment Coordinator”. Keep in mind this isn’t meant to be set in stone. This may change over time, based on what works and what isn’t working. Step 1: Start by setting up a meeting with the team, and have them write out their daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. Here we don’t need to be super specific, just the tasks that are done, and when. What we are doing is…...building the positions in the office!! YES! Your TEAM is going to build their “Job Description”, “Checklists”, and “Objectives”, which will ultimately lead to our “training manual”. Again, our team will participate in what they help create! YAYY!! Just think, how many times have we hired a team member, and put them in the back (or front) without ANY direction? (We have all been there!) Step 2: Now is the perfect time to decide WHEN each team member should be able to complete that task, given their position. Go through and label each task as 1 (meaning they should be able to complete that task in 1 month), 2 (within 2 months), and 3 (within 3 months) of hire date. This will make training SO much easier! Now we can organize this list into our 30, 60, and 90 day objectives! You now have a layout for your next new hire!! Step 3: Have them write out 2-3 sentences explaining how to do each task. (IF this needs more explanation, we can build on that later). Step 4: The doctor, or Office Manager can now compile the job descriptions, checklists (daily, weekly, monthly), 30, 60, 90 day objectives and breakdowns of each task to be completed! The best part...THEY created it!. GREAT JOB! You are one step closer to maximizing your team! Within this simple 1-2 hour meeting you have created accountability within each position, with the help of your team. YOU are no longer the doctor wondering how you can get your team on board to do things YOU created for them. THEY are creating their own positions! Don’t forget to add lunch in there and maybe a fun team activity:) So just because we have downtime, and our teams are changing, some downsizing, it doesn’t have to be a time to panic. By organizing your team, and responsibilities in the office, you are able to maximize what you DO have. It also will create a better dynamic within the whole office. It may seem overboard at first, but I PROMISE you are doing more with less. ~Kellie Black, RDH Disclaimer: This article is the sole opinion and research of the writer and doesn’t reflect the opinions of ZenSupplies.
WHEW! Have you taken some time to really think about all that has changed over the last 6 months? What a whirlwind! Every position in the office has been affected by this. Some have lower exposure risk, and some have very high exposure risks. But one thing remains consistent: The unspoken fear of what the future holds for dentistry. So many I have reached out to have one main question in mind, “Is this going to be our NEW normal?” Let's talk about what our new normal looks like and spend time thinking about our overall goal in the practice, and what we want to provide to our patients. This, of course, happens to be the main subject being brought up by every single office. As you know, most offices have run into some sort of an issue obtaining the proper PPE. Pre-Covid we were able to wear our scrubs, lab jacket, mask, and goggles. Now we find ourselves with N95, face shields, proper air flow systems, and lots of disinfectants we didn’t even know existed. Is this a bad thing? Were we too lax before? I do see the new standards sticking around for PPE. When you relate it to the goal, safety for all, taking infection control measures SHOULD be a serious topic. Not only is this keeping us safer, but our family, and patients, and our community. As healthcare providers, we have really had to step up, and do what is right for all. Great job all! As part of our protocol, we are pre-screening patients before they come in, to determine their exposure risk. Whether it's the Coronavirus, or another virus, it is always a good idea to do a thorough questionnaire on our patients prior to entering. Since we have already built this into our daily flow, should this become a permanent addition to our everyday practice? Temperature Checks It is recommended for all offices to document employee and patients temperature, prior to entering a dental office. There are a variety of ways we have seen these done, but one thing that remains constant is every patient, every time. Let's think about how this affects us as a dental professional. We know this virus is contagious, as are all viruses and bacterial infections, so keeping the temperature check as part of our daily routine may not be a bad idea. During any time, if a patient comes to the office with a temperature over 100, it may be okay to kindly ask to reschedule their appointment. After all, our overall goal is nothing short of providing excellent care to our patients, while keeping our teams and our patients safe. For me, this is a keeper:) Condensed Waiting Room Before the pandemic, we had a reception area full of families waiting for their appointment. Now, we are either still closed inside, or have very minimal seats, all spaced apart. Although we are not promoting “togetherness”, or “meeting thy neighbor”, we are promoting safety. Patients want to know they are safe. Will this stay around forever? We can continue the option of texting in, or phoning in when we arrive for an appointment, or have the option to wait in the reception area. For me, this is a no go:) Maintaining an AWESOME Patient Experience Has anyone missed the nice firm handshake when the patient arrives? To some extent, we have lost some personalization in the mix. The patient experience is always top priority so finding ways to maintain this during a pandemic can be challenging. We always want to make a good first impression to our patients so finding alternatives is key. A smile is a great way to make a good first impression. Being authentic, introducing yourself, being grateful, making eye contact, and acknowledging the patient in a positive way WILL leave a lasting impression! On another note, taking this time to reorganize your office has been instrumental in moving forward. The rise in outside dental ad ons has really seen an impact. We have seen many not return to the office, causing inefficiencies in the day to day tasks. Therefore, teams have been reaching out to 3rd parties to fill those voids. I do believe this is going to continue long term for the dental community. Call centers, and outside billing companies have seen a major increase this year. With all outside sourcing comes expectations. Setting up the services, and understanding expectations of outcomes, these sources can provide additional, needed support for your practice. All in all, the new standards may stick around for longer than we would like. The further we get down the road, the more these become our new “normal”. I send praise out to everyone in the dental community that has kept a positive attitude, while embracing all of these changes. None of this has been easy, and it may continue into a normal, so KUDOS to all who have made a difference in our world! Not only are you embracing it, but you are picking up, and moving forward to be the best practice you can be! ~Kellie Black, RDH Disclaimer: This article is the sole opinion and research of the writer and doesn’t reflect the opinions of ZenSupplies.
Dental practices have faced numerous challenges this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and those challenges continue. As the number of cases of COVID-19 continues to increase, dental practices are facing additional hardships. Supplies of PPE, especially respirators, continue to be difficult to find. Dentistry now faces shortages of disinfectant wipes and gloves. And as the community spread of COVID-19 increases, patients and dental team members are becoming infected in record numbers, causing confusion about what to do in case of exposure. Yet another challenge that looms on the horizon is increased surveillance of dental practices by regulatory authorities, such as OSHA and state dental boards. Managing these challenges requires dental teams to continue to access information updates from public health agencies, training when updates occur, and written documentation of efforts to provide the safest environment for both patients and dental teams. There have been numerous OSHA inspections in dental practices resulting from complaints from employees. In addition, some state OSHA agencies have been conducting unannounced inspection for compliance with COVID-19 guidelines for employee safety. In the case of a practice in MA, OSHA issued numerous citations and fines of $9500.00. Information about this inspection is available through these links: Inspection Detail | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (osha.gov), and Georgetown Dentist Fined $9,500 For Violating Coronavirus Safety Guidelines – CBS Boston (cbslocal.com). The good news is that vaccines should be available within the next few months. It is important to note, however, that the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccines will not immediately end the pandemic. Most public health experts agree that COVID-19 will continue to spread and require us to continue to follow our guidance from the CDC for at least the next year. We must continue to be vigilant in screening patients and employees, wearing appropriate PPE, practicing universal source control, updating infection prevention training and documenting all of the protocols that we follow to protect both patients and dental team members. While it is unlikely that dental practices will be ordered to close again, as in the beginning of the pandemic, we cannot let pandemic fatigue to cause us to let our guard down. Instead it is an opportunity to fine tune our protocols to be prepared for whatever may come our way. Let us look at these protocols and what is required. Both OSHA and the CDC state that when aerosol-generating procedures are performed, the respiratory protection level is N95 or higher. Guidance for Dental Settings | CDC and COVID-19 - Control and Prevention | Denstistry Workers and Employers | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (osha.gov). When N95 masks were very difficult to find in the beginning of the pandemic, the FDA allowed the use of Chinese-approved KN95 respirators to be used during the pandemic through its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) provisions. In addition, when even the KN95 respirators were difficult to obtain, the CDC guidance stated that an ASTM Level 3 surgical mask and a full face shield could be work, but not for treating a patient that known or suspected to be COVID-19 positive. Although N95 respirators are still not in great supply, they are available now through both dental and medical distributers. Respirator manufacturers have increased production and shifted production to the U.S. to assist in getting these much- needed devices to health care professionals. In addition, the FDA EUA allows health care workers to reuse these disposable (one-time use) devices to help supplies to last longer. It is risky to assume that just because respirators were difficult or impossible to obtain several months ago, that may not be the case now. If your practice is inspected by OSHA, an inspector will ask to see documentation of your attempts to obtain appropriate PPE. Keeping a log of these efforts will protect your practice against citations and fines. There have been news reports of severe shortages of gloves. This could be a game changer. Unlike respirators during the EUA, gloves cannot be reused. Practices may have to switch from their preferred type or brand of gloves temporarily, even using latex gloves in some cases. Latex gloves have not been used routinely for some time because of the prevalence of sensitivity and allergies on the part of patients and dental professionals. If you must use latex gloves, be sure to screen both patients and employees for these sensitivities and make sure that your Epi-Pens are accessible and up to date in case there is an emergency. Many dental distributers are providing different brands of disinfectant wipes than what most practices are familiar with. Make sure that the product is EPA registered, and has a label claim as a tuberculocidal disinfectant. Although many manufacturers are promoting their EPA-registered claims against SARS-CoV2, the CDC Guidelines for Infection Control in Health-Care Settings states when there is the presence of blood, an intermediate level, tuberculocidal disinfectant must be used. RR5217 Dental Front.pmd (cdc.gov). The EPA stated early in the pandemic that products on the EPA List N should be used, but recently clarified that if a product does not appear on this list, but has a label claim for a microorganism more difficult to kill than SARS-CoV-2, it was acceptable to use. List N Advanced Search Page: Disinfectants for Coronavirus (COVID-19) | Pesticide Registration | US EPA. It is possible that your favorite brand of disinfectant is available in a liquid formula that can be applied with a spray bottle, however, it is important to remember that we switched from spraying disinfectants to using wipes to decrease chemical exposure (and potential for respiratory problems) for dental team members. The solution can be sprayed onto an applicator (gauze or paper towel) and applied to surfaces. The CDC Guidelines for Sterilization and Disinfection in Health Care Settings Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities, 2008 (cdc.gov) state that solution should not be placed in containers where gauze or other applicators is soaked. The fibers in the gauze will inactivate the solution. Wipes are different in composition and do not cause this to happen. Several companies, including SciCan, sell dry wipes (StatWipes) that you can add your preferred disinfectant to. In addition to an OSHA-required Exposure Control (infection control) Plan, dental practices must also have a COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan. This must be in writing and is a key document scrutinized in an OSHA inspection. Key elements of this plan include a Hazard Assessment and Exposure Determination, and protocols to follow if an employee is exposed to COVID-19 at work. Guidance for the Preparedness and Response plan is available from OSHA in these documents: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA4045.pdf and Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 (osha.gov). CDC guidance on exposure to COVID-19 and returning to work is available in these documents: Interim U.S. Guidance for Risk Assessment and Work Restrictions for Healthcare Personnel with Potential Exposure to COVID-19 | CDC, Return-to-Work Criteria for Healthcare Workers | CDC. When dental team members wear respirators, a written respiratory protection plan is also required, which includes information on the required medical evaluations and fit testing of the devices. Again, OSHA has provided guidance on developing a plan in these links and documents: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf, OSHA 3384 SMALL ENTITY FOR RESPIRATORY PROTECTION STANDARD REV 9.28.11:Layout 1. Medical evaluations and fit testing must be documented. Although it has been reported that OSHA has suspended all fit-testing requirements, it has only suspended the annual fit-testing of respirators. These tests must be completed initially (when first wearing respirators) and any time that the type or brand of respirator is changed. Since this could be often, due to supply shortages, I recommend that dental practices conduct their own fit-tests. A member of the team can be trained to administer the fit-test and test kits can be purchased through most dental distributors. Some test kits come with an instructional video, but online training is available and there is no certification required. A free, online program for fit-testing is available through the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses at: AAOHN : Online Learning. Dentistry will be forever changed by this pandemic – mostly in positive ways. We have a better understanding of disease transmission and how to control the spread of infectious diseases. We have more scientific knowledge about the hazards of exposure to aerosols in dentistry and the importance of air quality in our dental health care settings. Our patients have a greater appreciation for all the safety protocols we follow to keep them safe. The negative impact is most certainly from the costs associated with PPE and other equipment and supplies. But we are dedicated to the delivery of quality oral health care in the safest manner possible. We will survive this challenge and quite possibly be more resilient because of it and be better prepared if another pandemic occurs in the future. If your practice would like some assistance in developing your OSHA and COVID-19 documentation, please contact me at mary@marygovoni.com, or visit my website at www.marygovoni.com. Mary Govoni, MBA, CDA, RDH Mary Govoni & Associates
Who likes to get up in the morning and DREAD going into the office? How many of us work for fun? (Being honest, MOST of us have to work)! So, how can we make this a great place to be? How can we make our teams feel secure, appreciated, and that each and every one of them MATTER? Over the years, as generations change, and studies are completed regarding mostly women in the workplace, we find that women don’t care about the money as much as we think they would. Their focus is more on feeling fulfilled As long as a team member understands their responsibilities in the office (See previous blog about creating checklists) Repetitive position- Show appreciation In order to support our team it is SO important to show them you care. Most offices consist of 12 or fewer team members, which can be so EASY to appreciate. We want to steer clear of making them feel like “just a number” or “just a warm body”. So how can we show them we appreciate what they do for the team, the office, and the patients? Bonus/Incentive-Offering an incentive or a bonus system is a way to show your team you care. If the team goes above and beyond, honor that. Praise, Praise, Praise!-Let them know how WONDERFUL they really are!! Recognize any team member that steps out of their role and does something special for a patient or a team member. We know how much you do appreciate them, so why not show it? Family leave benefits Being in a small office doesn’t mandate (In most states) that you have to offer any benefits for a team member that leaves for an absence, or a maternity leave. It can be difficult for an office to offer full family leave benefits when a team member is out of work for an extended period of time. So we can’t put the team out because we are losing one temporarily. So what can we do? Weekly Allowance- What about offering a small amount for a weekly pay? Maybe enough to cover groceries, or uncounted for baby supplies. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount. Anything you offer will show that you care, and that you would like them to return back to you. For the good of both parties, offer them to come back 1-2 days for the first few weeks, before coming back full time. Let them know you care:) Flexible work environments Most people today are looking for somewhat of a flexible schedule, or at least know they have the option when a particular time arises. Team members want flexibility. (One reason we lose team members over time). Are you too caught up on policy? Are you offering early outs, or days off to meet family needs, outside of vacation time? What could that look like to you? It can be hard to manage this in an office to make sure it doesn’t get taken advantage of, but it IS possible. Set deadlines, know how long they need to leave early on Tuesdays, and make it clear to the team. But get comfortable with saying no, when it can become a burden to the team. Early outs- Ask why? How long, and mark it on the calendar. Communicate it to the team and how we can make up for that extra hour of time. Rotated schedules-If you work every saturday, are you rotating your team so they can have a 2 day weekend every now and then? Stay Interviews Just as important as initial interview, and performance evaluations, are “Stay” interviews. We want them to stay, right?! How can we ensure that we are on the same page with them, and they are happy in their position. We conduct annual, or semi-annual interviews! It’s hard to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday, but connecting with your team and be very beneficial in the long run. You may find out some really great, quality information from them, and had you not sat with them, you wouldn’t have known!! Stay Interview-Ask your team what they LOVE about the office? What makes them come to work everyday? Also dive into what they would change if given the opportunity, and listen. You may find that they have some SUPER awesome ideas! This also opens up communication with your team, and they feel heard. Goals-Ask them where they want to be in a year? It may be the same place, and it may be somewhere you never would have guessed. They may be returning to school, in which you had no previous knowledge. They may be interested in another role in the office, and you may just be looking for that position to fill in the short future. My point is really to connect with them, building trust and open communication. Have fun! What are you doing for fun with your team? Are you sitting down once a week and having lunch with them? Engaging in conversations weekly? Do you know about their family, their kids names? Birthdays? Some of these things seem so easy to do, yet we steer clear of them in order to keep the office “professional”. You can still be professional, AND be involved:) Team Dinner-Set up a team dinner once a year, outside of the holiday, just for fun:) Community event-This can be inside or outside the office. Better yet, let that super excited, high energy dental assistant lead the project! She will LOVE it! Local Sports game-Go to a local sports game and invite the family. You can contact the company and ask about group pricing. Social hour-Have an after work social hour. Keep it 1-2 hours. Enough time to chat, eat, and be social:) CE-Go to a CE with the team, or host one right in your community with local offices. Bring in some education. Its a great time to learn, eat, and be social:) Read “The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace” as a team-Set up some lunch hours and talk about this book. Either chapter by chapter, or as a whole. Write down appreciation languages for the team to see. This is so FUN! Getting to know what makes them tick is a really good way to show your appreciation! Do a drawing-Be creative! Whether its for accomplishments in the office, going above and beyond, or just because you appreciate them! Talk about it in the huddle and acknowledge them. Offer some swag- This doesn’t have to be done from above. Again, find that AWESOME team member that you know from the “stay” interview would like to be more involved. Ask her to work with a local company and design some cute winter hats, or workout shirts. Give them away. Maybe down the road you can even include patients with the swag? :) Maximize your team Now that we talked about our “Stay” interviews, and how to show appreciation, are you able to utilize the information you have? Maybe you found that your team member really isn’t fulfilled in her position and would like other a different opportunity within the office? Is that position available? Can we talk about a timeline? Maybe begin some slow training so when the position is available, she/he will be ready. Are they on the right seat on the bus? You may find they would like to take on more. We NEED that. Our roles are so heavy, take advantage of that opportunity. Be open to listening-Maybe they would like to be a leadership role. Can you offer that? This could be a good time to enter them into some outside leadership, or even management, training. Also, a good time to have them shadow your office manager and see if they would even be a fit for the role. Offer opportunities where/when available- try not to overlook your team when an opening arises. This goes for any size office. Offer your team the open position before you post it publicly. (Please reach out if you have questions regarding this in more detail). I hope you find this information helpful. If you can take one tidbit of information and use it in your practice, you are WINNING. It will show with your team, and with your patients. During times like this it is even more important to show appreciation and care than ever. Our team members can be down, and scared with all of the unknowns. There is no I in team, and no one is successful alone. Find ways to be productive, positive, and enjoy every day! Be the leader, and the boss your team is looking for:) Kellie Black, RDH Kelliemac5@gmail.com Disclaimer: This article is the sole opinion and research of the writer and doesn’t reflect the opinions of ZenSupplies.
Many are concerned with what’s next? When do we get back to normal? What is the new normal? While all of these things are important, I truly believe that the new normal is the renaissance of entrepreneurship in the dental space. Every person who is in the operatory or the front desk has an IDEA! Most importantly EVERY idea is worth putting in action. Every idea is worth exploring and giving it a try. So my question is how do we encourage and propel entrepreneurship forward at the time of uncertainty? Just a simple observation, tough times are the best time to start a business! When I meet with doctors, hygienists, and my favorite dental assistants I encourage them to bring small, seemingly simple/ uninspiring ideas, to some sort of fruition. You gotta get it out and let the world see it. Yes, most ideas will be labeled as “stupid” but if you have what it takes you will go back and think through and come up with a new version. There has been a strong push to start service type business or consulting, to help dental practices with different aspects of collections, operations, OSHA, Compliance, HR, etc. We also see a new wave of dental assisting schools opening across the country, and I want to give a shout out to my friend John Hatfield and his business partner Amanda for opening a new type of dental assisting school, with an added emphasis on budgeting, how to order supplies and compliance. The type of entrepreneurship I would like to encourage and support is around Product Innovation. It would be so great to encourage product type entrepreneurship. Imagine we create a world where dental professionals are encouraged to bring new, innovative ideas to life. I’ve been asking people to develop a new type of wipes that are eco-friendly, use natural ingredients, and use recycled materials. Anyone, please? So what do we need to do as an industry to help bolster entrepreneurship within the dental field? In my personal opinion few things need to be done or developed: Ecosystem for inventors to be able to quickly list a product (or products) provide a Shopify like experience and access to the audience of shoppers who can see new products and give it a try. The ecosystem needs to truly support inventors from the bottom up. So if there is no sales at all or just a small volume, there shouldn’t be any fees associated with listing and selling products. We need to give it a push just enough for inventors to see that there is a demand. The ecosystem that provides access to end users/ buyers. If there is a demand we need to provide inventors access to people who try the product and can provide feedback, either through review, or even online conversion - could be chat or Google Meet. Support Inventors with product distribution without any legal jargon or hard rules, or exclusive contracts. Or better yet provide a software solution for efficient drop ship (something similar to ShipStation). Providing support. It’s easy for some of us to create and invent and push forward, however after meeting so many people I realize there are a lot of people with great ideas and potentially with life-changing inventions that simply don’t believe in themselves. I also don’t believe in fake encouragement, however, the market is the market. If the product is good, people will buy it! There is really no downside in giving it a try. Podcast Support. It’s clear that the attention is shifting from forums to Facebook Groups and Podcasts. I believe each podcast should have a spot to allow Inventors to present products at no cost. It shouldn’t be a 2-3 minute commercial. More of a story, details, and why this product is important. This Friday I’ll be interviewing one of my good friends Dr. Matt Kathan, owner of Timber Dental, a Portland-based small DSO with 5 locations. During COVID, Dr. Matt invented a product and he will share with us what he learned. I’m really excited to discuss how we can help and support dental inventors across the US. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCWWEbnc-Yc[/embedyt] Tiger Safarov
Dear ZenFamily, Happy Monday and happy August to all! As we jump into another busy week, we’d like to share a recap of live events and webinars for last week (the week of July 27) as well as some exciting live events that we have planned for the week of August 3. So here goes! On Wednesday, July 29, by many requests from the ZenFamily, we invited Mary Govoni to the live webinar to discuss the new OSHA/CDC guidelines, requirements, and simply what's working and what our teams need to know about infection control. Tiger asked Mary about the current shortage of Nitrile Gloves and Surface disinfectants (wipes). What are the options if we can't buy any more? How do we get through the tough times? Please take a look at the full webinar here: https://youtu.be/Gr2K_HEyymU And here is the podcast: https://share.transistor.fm/s/b8be1436 To find more information on Mary Govoni & Associates, please visit: On Friday, 7/31 at 11 am CST, Tiger hosted our traditional "15 min Friday Supply Availability Update" for Zen Offices! Please join us Every Friday at 11am Central for a live update on what is going on on the market and availability of dental supplies. All you have to do is login to your Zen account, app.ZenSupplies.com For the week of August 3, we have planned the following events: 1. On Wednesday, August 5 at 11 am CST, we invited John Hatfield and Amanda Newhouse to a live event to share with us what the process of opening up a dental assistant academy entails. John from Dental Assistants Worldwide will cover in depth the challenges and exciting aspects of starting the Cornerstone Dental Assistant Academy. We plan to ask John and Amanda the following: -What made him want to start a dental assisting academy? -What will be different in their school as compared to other dental assisting schools? -Why is a dental assisting academy needed? -Will Cornerstone Dental Assistant Academy provide remote learning options? -What are the challenges with the school not being remote/being remote? -How will the curriculum change post covid? -How will the curriculum influence sedation, implants, sleep apnea procedures? How to prepare for the new trends in dentistry? The benefit of the LIVE Webinar is that we will be able to answer YOUR questions during this time. So please join us at 11 am CST on Wednesday 8/5 at 11 am CST! All you have to do is login to your Zen account, or follow this link: https://app.livewebinar.com/699-206-742 2. And per our Friday tradition, on Friday, August 7 at 11 am CST Tiger will host a 15 minute Supply Availability Update. The ZenTeam is spending countless hours every week doing due diligence, learning about different products and product shortages, and sourcing new vendors. In addition, the landscape of the supply chain is constantly changing and so are the prices of PPE products. Therefore, I would like to host a 15 min live event EVERY Friday at 11 am Central with a special guest to go over what we learn during the week. We will share EVERYTHING-good, bad and what to prepare for. And this Friday, we invited Dr. Matthew Kathan from Timber Dental to share his invention with us! Simply login to your ZenSupplies account and join us there for all live events! Thank you to all for participating in our live events and we look forward to seeing everyone during this week’s webinars!
Are you struggling to keep up? YOU are not alone. There are more dentists than not having a hard time staffing for the surge of patients, especially hygiene. In this blog let's discuss some tips on how we can get GREAT team members in the door. Let's start with the ad. What does your ad look like? This is NOT as easy as you may think, and can determine what kind of people you are attracting. Starting with the title. Really look at it from the outsiders perspective. When someone reads this, will they want to open the post, or keep scrolling? Is it appealing? Attractive? Fun? Or is it boring, mundane, and like every other job posting right now? Make it stick out!! WE have an awesome team, so show it off!!! Appeal to the audience you are trying to attract! Is your first paragraph just explaining the job, or is it pulling the prospect in? Does it grab their attention? Are you focusing on the great qualities of your practice that make it unique? What do you have to offer that sets you apart? We all know there is nothing worse than a boring ad. As much as the title sounds amazing, we go to the next job because it just seems BORING! (Again, we have all been there:) ) Before you post the ad, ask for feedback. Send it to your team, and ask them, would you apply for this job? Any recommendations? How can we make it stick out? Are we offering a sign on bonus? Can we ask our team and create an internal referral bonus? (Feel free to email me for ideas on this!) When team members are given an incentive, they are MORE likely to participate and bring on like minded team members. Think about staggering this over six months to a year to extend the payments. A few tips for writing an ad: Make the title stick out Talk about your practice. Share your vision and/or mission. People want to work for an office that they can relate to. How do you stand out? What makes you unique? Be specific in what you are looking for in order to weed out extra candidates. Keep it organized, simple, and EASY! I think it's important to remember that we are all in the same boat, trying to add to our team. If you want quality team members who are engaged, energetic, and motivated, you may have to up the ante. If you settle to pay what the doctor down the street is paying, there is no strong incentive to bring new people in. Engage on social media! This is HUGE! Find someone in the office who is awesome at posting and hand the task to them! (With a little incentive:) ). Show your team off! Engage in a community event or two and show off what you are doing. You can even hire a company to do this for you, although amping it up can be done by the team! SHARE your posts! Show off the AWESOME things you do in the office. Hold a team event a few times a year (dinner, sports game, laser tag, spa day). We know you all have fun, and take excellent care of your patients, so let the world know!! People will WANT to join your team organically! If you are looking for a part-time team member, don’t be afraid to post for a temp.This helps to get some faces in the door and see how it goes. If you like them, offer them a permanent position. NO strings attached here. It actually can be very effective:) Lastly, where are you posting your ads? Take a minute to do a job search yourself. There are several places you can post the opening. Some I have used are Indeed, Dental Post, I Hire Dental, Zip Recruiter, Simply hired and craigslist. It seems as if different areas are more successful on different sites, so ask around. Ask what your fellow dentists in the area are using. Don’t be afraid to pay a fee for a posting. Again, if you want qualified team members, you have to put it out there. Post on social media and SHARE SHARE SHARE! Just some of my previous experience, mixed in with today's experiences on getting good team members in the door. Ask applicants that you do not hire, that you thought could be a good fit, if you may hold onto their resume. Building a bank of great team members will set you up for success. Always have options in case something doesn’t work out, or when you are expanding your team. Another way to bring in good people is to give your team business cards they can pass out. If you are out in public, and you meet someone you think would be a good fit, offer them a card. You NEVER know when you will meet the perfect person! I have provided a sample ad for a dental hygienist below!! Dental Hygienist Ad: Our growing team is seeking a motivated, professional Dental Hygienist who is committed to providing excellent, quality dental care to our patients. Our core values are centered around patient care, community involvement, and family promoted culture. As a growing office, we are looking for hygienists that are ready to take their career to the next level. If you are looking for a career change, where you can fully utilize your clinical abilities, please send your resume to:. Responsibilities include: Providing comprehensive dental hygiene services to patients Sterilization of dental instruments Proficient using current infection controls techniques Knowledge and understanding of periodontal disease Charting measurements for diagnosis with the Dentist Education Current License in the State of Illinois Minimum of an Associate’s Degree in Dental Hygiene Current CPR Certification Additional Benefits Free dental services 401(K) retirement plan Family and Team oriented events Vacation benefits Study Club Membership Continuing education offered throughout the year Volunteer Opportunities *Salary based off experience ~Kellie Black, RDH Disclaimer: This article is the sole opinion and research of the writer and doesn’t reflect the opinions of ZenSupplies.