Things To Think About When Offering Hygienist Appointments At Your Practice

These days, it is becoming much more common for dental practices to have at least one specialist dental hygienist who can offer patients essential hygienist appointments. If you don’t currently have someone at your practice and you’re unable to offer these services, it is likely that you will have to refer your patients to other practices whether they need to see a hygienist on a regular basis or for a thorough clean before a more complex dental treatment.  

It goes without saying that there is a multitude of different benefits to being able to offer your patents this type of appointment at your practice instead of referring them and it is undeniably worthwhile considering whether or not this is something you’d be able to do. When contemplating bringing in a dental professional that specialises in oral hygiene, there are a few different things to think about and it can be very helpful to carefully consider the following; 

The number of patients you currently refer 

There is no denying that dental hygienists play a vital role in ensuring that our patient’s teeth aren’t just looked after, but that their oral health isn’t neglected too and you should take some time to think about how many patients you currently refer. This will help you to gain an understanding of how popular these appointments will be and how many you’re likely to book a week. 

Aside from the obvious; cleaning patients teeth by removing plaque and giving advice to prevent tooth decay, you should also consider what other services you’ll require a specialist dental professional to provide. Think about how they’re going to be able to help your patients and whether they’ll need to do other things, such as dental x-rays to help diagnose problems, too. 

The dental hygiene supplies you would need 

Of course, in order to provide hygienist appointments on-site for your patients, you will require some specific dental hygiene supplies. Whilst there is a vast range of hygiene products used by dental professionals and different hygienists will consider different items ‘essential’ to provide exemplary care to patients, it is important to think about what items you’re most likely to need. 

Standard dental hygiene supplies such as mouthwash tablets and prophylaxis paste are a given, but take some time to look into other hygiene products too. Knowing roughly which dental hygiene supplies you require will help you when considering how much it will cost you to start offering hygienist appointments at your practice. 

The cost of other local hygienist appointments

As you’re probably aware, the cost of visiting a dental hygienist will vary depending on the treatment needed, yet the prices of treatments will also differ from practice to practice. For this reason, you should do some research into how much other local dental practices are charging for the various oral hygiene appointments that they offer. 

Knowing the ‘standard’ cost of hygienist appointments will help you to figure out whether it will be cost-effective for you to offer these appointments. Think about the expenditures associated with these appointments, such as the cost of dental hygiene supplies and the hygienist’s wage, and try to establish how much you would need to charge. Then, consider if this is competitive. 

Purchasing dental hygiene supplies for your practice 

All in all, it is fair to say that by providing hygienist appointments at your dental practice, you really will be providing a comprehensive service to your patients and this is always beneficial. If you don’t currently offer hygienist appointments, taking the time to think about everything mentioned above will help you to establish whether they’re realistically something that you’d be able to offer to your patients in the future. 

Should you wish to go ahead and add hygienist services to your practice and you’re searching for somewhere to purchase the best dental hygiene supplies from, be sure to visit the Dent Direct website. Since 2004, we have been delivering high-quality dental products to practices up and down the country. We pride ourselves on supplying dental hygiene products at very competitive prices and when you purchase from us, you can trust that we will provide a fast and reliable delivery service too. Should you have any questions at all in this regard, don’t hesitate to contact us today, we’re more than happy to help.