The Purpose of Hygiene Schedules
Learning dental hygiene scheduling is important. Because the hygiene schedule is important for several reasons. It’s through our hygiene schedules that we build relationships with our patients. And it’s also where most of our patient education takes place.
Then, there is office production to consider. As about 80% of our dental restorative schedule comes from hygiene exams. And there is some science behind it all.
The Hygiene Schedule Template
Do you have the right number of hygienists for your dental practice? That is the very first question to ask yourself? If your dental practice doesn’t have enough hygiene time for your patient base, you have a problem!
The reverse is also true. If you don’t have enough patients for your available hygiene hours, it won’t work well. Those problems can’t be fixed with training.
Do the Math
- Take the total number of active patients (at least 2 hygiene visits in past 18 months). Multiply that number by 2. Then divide this number by 12. Now multiply that number by 85%. This is the number of patients in your practice right now who need hygiene. Do your hygiene hours reflect enough care for these patients?
- Now, let’s factor in the new patient population. Take the total number of new patients last month. Multiply that number by 25% (perio consideration) and add it to the total number of patients who need hygiene hours. Do your hours still jive with patient need?
Keeping The Schedule Booked
Every dental practice is unique. And creates a hygiene template that suits their needs. It’s the job of the hygiene coordinator to plug in the right appointments at the designated times. To confirm well. And to keep reactivation systems current.
- Appointment Confirmation – confirm 2 weeks out & 2 days out (unless a patient requests otherwise)
- Strong Call List – know who is available when and how to best reach your patients
- Consistent Reactivation – Every unscheduled patient is contacted each month. Active patient numbers are accurate.
Grow your patient base with excellent hygiene schedule management. It’s through this system in our practices that we expand. And we can evaluate our abilities to care for our community well in our hygiene department growth.
