Good/bad dentists

Hello buddingdentist

Welcome to the MSE site.:wave:

I'm lucky that I have a great dentist. She is very friendly and has a great sense of humour. It puts me at ease, even when I'm having work like a root treatment done.:eek:

So........I would add to your list, an ability to put patients at ease is important.

Regards

Nile

Hi Budding!

I have been a dental nurse for 15 years,
I have found that the academically brilliant dentists arn't very good as they have little or no social skills!
Social skills are a huge plus as a dentist.
Oh...and BE NICE TO YOUR DENTAL NURSE!!!! A good one is worth her weight in platinum!
...Linda xx

This is a copy of something written by a colleague of mine.

He is available for after dinner speaking if anyone is interested!!!

You have to be an expert on
adhesives, amalgam, anaesthetics, anatomy,
bad breath, biochemistry, bleaching, bridges,
childrens dentistry, crowns,
dentures, diet, disease process,
endodontics, fluoride,
gums, gerodontics,
implants, needlestick injuries, the NHS,
orthodontics, orthopaedics, and osteology,
pathology, pharmacology, physiology,
material science, sedation, white fillings,
teeth grown in rats' intestines and prescribing drugs,
as well as the routine stuff and now ozone apparently.

Articles in the Daily Mail, features on the Jeremy Vine show, the Office of Fair trading. Which magazine. And Panorama.

As a single-handed practitioner you have to learn to juggle the Access to Medical Records Act,
case reports, clinical waste, Confidentiality issues, consent, COSHH, credit licensing, cross infection,
The Data Protection Act, the Disability Discrimination Act,
Electrical testing, emergencies, fire regulations, first aid, fraud,
The Health and Safety Act, inspection and testing all your equipment, your laboratories, the Medical Devices Directive, mercury scavenging, pathology specimens, radiology, RIDDOR,
solicitors, sterilisation and pressure vessels, vaccinations, VDU regulations, water regulations and
written policy documents e.g. practice manuals.

Then there's the employment stuff, absenteeism, appraisals,
contracts of employment, discipline, discrimination, firing, gifts, hiring, interviewing, holidays, hygienists, locums, maternity and SMP, paternity, adoption, part-time workers, operating a PAYE system, student loans, stakeholder pensions, references and statutory sick pay.

Did I mention selling your practice, business rates, complaints, banks, consultants, credit cards, fee scales, leasing, merchant services, logos, insurance**, third party payment plans, the DPB, RDO inspections, staff training, Xmas parties, your accountant, your bank manager, junk mail, marketing, suppliers, repairs, computers, drugs, gases, light bulbs, fire extinguishers, flowers in the waiting room, air conditioning and web sites?



On the insurance front, buildings insurance, personal health insurance, car insurance and public liability insurance as separate areas demanding attention. If you are unlucky you may also be required to cope, in no particular order, with the delights of rent reviews and surveyors, leasing regulations and subletting, parking problems, vandalism, security alarms, flood protection, the PRS, the BSA, passport applications, firearms applications and bad debts. If all this seems too easy I suppose you could also apply to register for VAT as well :-).

There’s hardware, software and the networking of computers.

You need to be an electrician, a plumber, a joiner, a decorater and a plasterer.

And then there’s the hydraulics of that fab chair, the electronics of the new phone system.

Public speaker, networker, author.

Manager, leader and inspiration.

You will also need to design and delegate production of practice information leaflets, staff badges, appointment cards, childrens stickers, checklists, compliments slips, daylists, diet analysis sheets, labels for tablets, leaflets, letterheads, mailings, failed appointment letters, private fee guides, quotations, receipts, prescriptions, rubber stamps, time-sheets and xmas cards.

Plus you have to do your main job (dentistry) and have a family life while resisting all impulses to stick a large gnome up the President of the General Dental Council’s bottom.

For me, the defining moment with my dentist was realising she understood why I was frightened. She didn't make me feel daft for feeling scared and every time I see her she makes sure I am settled and ready for her to start before even lowering the chair.

What Toothsmith (or his friend) needs is a superb administrator / practice manager he can trust enough to delegate all the non-mouthy stuff to. You'd need to be even nicer to one of them than you would to the dental nurses, I reckon!

So, Social Skills top of the list then?

Oh, and TS, your friend doesn't seem to have sexual discrimination / equal ops explicitly on his list, yet I'm sure you need an equal ops policy, not to mention a policy on Child Protection and Protection of Vulnerable Adults ...