A Look Ahead – Patient and Hygienist Experiences in 2022

REIMAGINING THE DENTAL EXPERIENCE FOR PATIENTS

It is no secret that increasing patient satisfaction begins with better communication in and out of the office. The dentist office can be an intimidating, sometimes stressful place for patients, which is why communication between dental providers and patients is crucial.

In-office communication should prioritize making patients as comfortable and knowledgeable as possible. This is especially true for the many patients that neglected preventative care.

The most effective way to make these patients feel comfortable is with nonjudgmental communication about oral hygiene with the emphasis placed on addressing issues and course correcting for better outcomes, all while creating a safe, fun environment for patients to return to.

Dental offices can strengthen patient-provider relationships further with technology. Tech-enabled transparency in the diagnostic process builds patient trust by increasing diagnostic consistency across offices. Replacing 2D radiographs with 3D visualization tools during diagnostics leads to more accurate and better patient treatment planning.

Additionally, the use of 3D scanners allows hygienists and other dental providers to give their patients a better understanding of what is going on with their oral care by providing more personalized instructions through videos, printouts, and verbal communication.

Hygienists can use scanning to transform visits into enjoyable, interactive visits, rather than uncomfortable one-way lectures about oral health.

The advancing technology in dentistry has the power to change not only the way providers evaluate dental prognosis but check in with their patients between major appointments and communicate with those who live remotely or have challenging schedules.

Teledentistry proved to be an important communication tool when patients were hesitant to return to care in the early days of the pandemic.

Additionally, dental offices will continue successfully deploying technology to communicate with their patients through text messaging, emails, phone call reminders, scheduling, and billing—making communication easy while mitigating COVID-19 exposure risk. With this added convenience from technology, dental offices can enhance patient experiences by making them feel safe by proactively sharing what the office continues to do to protect patients and staff from COVID-19 exposure.

Misty Mattingly, RDH, BSDH, is the Vice President of Hygiene Operations at Sage Dental, responsible for overseeing operations and managing a hygienist team of over 100 across Sage Dental’s 65 practices. She is dedicated to advancing the use of innovative technology in the dental field, including artificial intelligence and teledentistry.

Mattingly is the past President of the Georgia Dental Hygienist Association and past delegate for the American Dental Hygiene Association.