There are several factors to consider when operating a successful dental office. While certain details may differ from office to office, generally most if not all dental offices are relatively parallel. To understand the similarities and difference, an observation was conducted at two different dental offices; for the sake of confidentiality they will be known as ‘Office A’ and ‘Office B’. During the observation, four different priorities were noted for observation; office management, chairside assistant role, communication and teamwork, and lastly client rapport.
Office Management is crucial to the operations of a dental office as it is the first point of contact with the patient. Office A handled their office activities well, when patients …show more content…
The DA’s from each of the offices had similar responsibilities, even though during the observation different tasks were performed by each. Both offices start with bringing the patient back, Office A has the DA bring the patient back to the procedure rooms, while Office B has either the DA or the receptionist bring the patient to the rooms. Once the patient is in the room radiographs were taken. During my observation Office A took several radiographs, while office didn’t take any during my stay; both use digital receptors, which is processed straight onto the computer, the DA at Office A did not wear gloves while placing the protective cover over the image receptor. Office A uses saran wrap to prevent instruments and trays from getting dusty or dirty and help keep them clean, they also wipe the trays with disinfectant wipes, while Office B just places instrument right onto the tray and then wipe them down with a disinfectant wipe after use. The DA at Office A handled suctioning, articulating paper, passing of instruments, etch, and bond. The DA at office B not only had all the same tasks, but placed the dental dam on the patient on her own while the dentist stepped out. When it came to adjusting the lights and turning them on and off the DA at Office A neglected to sometimes turning on the light and or adjusting it; the light had been in the patient eyes for several minutes before the DA or dentist even …show more content…
Staff at both offices work extremely well together, Office A employs a lot more staff working at any one time, so colleagues could easily help out when things start falling behind; office B does not have enough staff to help out if needed, however, because the receptionist is also a dental assistant she can cover the DA in the operatory or help out when needed. The office staff at Office A communicate quite well with one another, however, it was strictly work related, the DA was a temp at this office and did not seem very fond of working there and the dentist seemed to be aware of this. Office B on the other hand treat one another like family, and while they are working together, can talk about things other than work while engaging the patient at the same time. Both offices have DA’s and dentists that work well together, Office A lacked the chemistry that was evident in Office B. When the dentist at office B needed to go in a different direction or move to a different procedure and required a different instrument he was courteous when communicating his needs, Office A did as well, but you could sense the difference in communication between the two offices. Because Office A is considerably busier they have eight operatory in total compared to office B which only houses two; one being used for restorative procedures and surgery and the other is used