Patient management Archives - Dental Head Start

As a new grad, it’s almost the norm rather than the exception nowadays to have at least some form of digital dentistry within one’s practice. But it wasn’t always this way, and for many more seasoned dentists, the world of digital dentistry was something they had to slowly piece together over the years and learn to leverage.

In this months’ feature, we explore Dr Lingaiah Dronavalli’s journey in dentistry from his early years as a new grad with huge expectations but without the tools, resources and mindset to grow and how that overall affected his feeling of fulfillment, to where he is today – a self proclaimed dental peacock who takes pride in his work!

We talk about Dr Lingaiah’s discovery of digital dentistry and CEREC specifically, and how that’s not only shaped his growth as a clinician, but also how it’s taught him to leverage technology to maximise efficiencies and workflows within his practice and ultimately optimise the entire patient experience. We explore the concept of practice ownership and associateship and the importance of building mutually supportive environments within the practice.

TIP #134 – Empowering & Educating Parents on Breathing & Growth with Dr Shereen Lim

September 22, 2023September 27, 2023Leave a Comment

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It’s common practice nowadays to encourage parents to bring their children in early to familiarise themselves with the dental appointment. But beyond chair rides, gloved animals and triplex tickles, what else can we do to help empower parents during these appointments?

This is Part 3 of our series with Dr Shereen Lim on Sleep Disordered Breathing and Airway Health in young children. If you haven’t already be sure to check out Part 1 (TIP #125 – Childhood Bruxism: A Case Study) and Part 2 (TIP #128 – Teeth, Tongues & Tonsils)

In this episode, we talk about the different stages of growth in children and the things we can help educate parents on to look out for including feeding, thumb sucking and dummy use.

TIP #113 [RE-RUN] – Don’t Die Wondering, Just Ask with Dr Mark Hassed

February 16, 2023February 15, 2023Leave a Comment

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You will never get the girl/boy, the job or the case acceptance if you do not simply ask.

Sounds obvious, but critically analyse your own communication and case acceptance. Are there situations where you’ve seen a patient again and again and fallen into a habit of single tooth dentistry, without offering the comprehensive solution?

Dr Mark Hassed is an expert in case acceptance and communication and this is one of hundreds of useful tips he’s shared over the years of coaching dentists via The Relaxed Dentist. He writes a weekly blog and has made his renowned course online, on-demand for your Covid shutdown blues.

Don’t die wondering, Ask!

FEATURE #77 – Isn’t It Wonderful When Patients Say Yes with Dr Paul Homoly

November 21, 2022November 20, 2022Leave a Comment

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As dentists, where our primary goal is to help those in need, we need to remember that our patients aren’t just mouths with problems we need to fix, but they are human beings with feelings and needs, goals and ambitions and stories we owe it to them to listen to.

In his book, ‘Isn’t It Wonderful When Patients Say Yes’, Dr Paul Homoly introduces the concept of the Spectrum of Appeal – of red and blue language that shape the way we communicate with our patients. He is a leading voice on the topics of treatment acceptance for complete dentistry, practice development, and influential communications.

In this episode, we get to hear Dr Homoly’s unique journey in dentistry, and the passion he has for it that has led him to be the first dentist worldwide to earn the highest designation in professional speaking from the National Speakers Association. It was an absolute honour to speak with Dr Homoly, and it’s a conversation I hope inspires you all!

TIP #98 – How to Connect with Patients with Dr Paul Jay Hwin

August 18, 2022August 18, 2022Leave a Comment

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Everyone says we have to be good at communicating, but what are practical actionable steps we can take to actually achieve this? What should you say? What shouldn’t you say?

In this episode, we cover exactly that. We are joined by Dr Paul Jay Hwin where we discuss the importance of connecting and building value with patients. Paul shares simple tips and a basic framework that we can implement when talking to our patients today. In this episode, we learn how to dive deeper to better understand our patient’s story and what’s truly important to them so we can provide them with the best possible care.

TIP #96 – A Complaint? Now What? with Harry Nicolaidis

August 4, 2022August 2, 2022Leave a Comment

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So you’ve gotten yourself into a little bit of a sticky situation and received a complaint…now what? Now, fingers crossed this never actually happens to any of us, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry, to be informed and to have all our bases covered.

Harry Nicolaidis is one of Australia’s leading alternative dispute and litigation lawyers, and assists health practitioners and dental practice owners across a wide range of issues. In this episode, we talk about what to do and perhaps more importantly, what not to do when faced with a complaint. We talk about the protocols we should have in place to look after ourselves and our patients, and who our first point of call ought to be.
Litigation is a scary part of dentistry, but at the end of the day, there is a wide support network around us that we can tap into. You don’t have to face it alone.

TIP #88 – Practising Safe and Defensive Dentistry with Dr James Tran

May 26, 2022May 22, 2022Leave a Comment

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How many times have you dreaded going in to work knowing you have a certain procedure in your books, or gone home thinking if what you did was the right thing. No doubt most of us have experienced this and would love to keep these days to a minimum.

In this episode, Graeme speaks with James about practising safe and defensive dentistry and what this means in your daily practice. Everyone is happy when you are having fun and doing the dentistry you enjoy doing. Predictability while you’re practising reduces your headaches so you can go to work more relaxed and go home without having to worry about the day’s work.

FEATURE #68 – The Future of Dental Head Start with Dr David Keir

January 17, 2022January 20, 2022Leave a Comment

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Taking on the challenge of starting a podcast and delving into a world that you know nothing about is daunting. Putting yourself out there in a close knit community is a brave thing to do, and David has done it flawlessly.

David holds an engineering degree, been a dental assistant for a millennia, played semi-pro poker and can now add a successful career as a podcast founder to the mix. There’s not much David can’t do.

Erica and Graeme sit down with David as they explore David’s life, talk about what Dental Head Start means to them, the future of DHS, and David’s parting wisdom have worked for 5 years and is now leading into a new, fun life adventure.

We couldn’t think of a better interview to start off the new year 2022 with.

TIP #66 – Managing Patient Complexities with Clin A/ Professor Dr Tony Au

November 18, 2021November 18, 2021Leave a Comment

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For us students and new grads, communication is an area that doesn’t get much attention, but can be a make or break moment when talking with patients. Do you ever wonder how you can explain concepts to patients in simple terms? What about explaining pros/cons or risks about certain procedures? How will they even trust you enough to let you do such a procedure?

In this interview with Clinical Associate professor Dr. Tony Au, we talk about all things communication. Tony is a specialist prosthodontist in Sydney who deals with complex cases AND complex patients daily. Tony provides us with his top tips on how to deal with pushy patients, how to use analogies to help patients understand concepts, and how to BED a patient. You heard that right, how to BED a patient. If that doesn’t peak your interest, I don’t know what will.

TIP #58 – You Can’t Be Everything to Everyone with Dr Alistair Graham

September 9, 2021September 9, 2021Leave a Comment

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As a dentist, you can’t be everything for everyone. Most of us learn this the hard way.

On this podcast, Dr Alistair Graham shares with us the value he gained from narrowing his career path and skill set in dentistry.

Determining the kind of dentist he wanted to be allowed him to focus his efforts and concentrate his skill development in the areas of dentistry that were right for him. Today, he and his team have absolute clarity on the kind of patient they want to attract to their clinic and as a result, they only perform the kind of dentistry they love. This is by design.

He explores the decision making process that every dentist has to go through to gain focus in their own career and determine the path that’s right for them.