4 Considerations To Make Before Finalizing Location For Dental Practice

 

4 Considerations To Make Before Finalizing Location For Dental Practice

We’ve compiled a list of some important criteria that a good dental clinic location should have. We understand that there won't be many locations that scores well on all the parameters; so you should try to weigh in all the factors before taking a decision.

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1. Location

 

Visibility & Accessibility

 

The clinic should be easily visible to passers-by so that they can remember it when they are in need of a dentist. A space with best visibility might cost you a little extra, but you can take it as your long term investment in marketing of clinic. Also, ensure that the space comes with ample provision for displaying required signage.

 

Your clinic should be very accessible with multiple transport options from across the city. It would be ideal to have a practice in the center of the city as long as it meets the remaining criteria. If you could get a location that needs as minimum time as possible to commute then nothing like it; as it will save your as well as the patient's time.

 

 

Neighborhood & Locale

 

A clinic is expected to be an absolutely clean place which stands for hygiene and good health. Adjacent and nearby shops, offices and hospitals play a very important role in building an early impression. Having hospitals in the immediate vicinity not only increases the number of referrals but also attracts patients who are looking for an expert opinion.

 

It is crucial to setup your clinic in an area that has a decent reputation among your target patients. Setting up a clinic in a substandard area could get your patients disinterested while setting up a clinic in a way too opulent location could keep your customers away thinking your services are too costly. You can use your consultation fees as a reference to help you determine the right area for your practice.

 

 

2. Demographics 

 

Check for the Average Income, Age & Population of your demographics and make sure there is no shortage of the right audience in your area. The average household income of the population in the neighborhood will serve as a benchmark for you to decide your consultation fees. In case you are looking for a class practice then make sure that you set clinic in an upscale locality so that the patients could afford it. Based on your expertise make sure that your practice is situated between the right age group. For example, it would be a good idea to set up a pedo practice in a residential location instead of an industrial location. 

 

Try to study & understand whether the population in that particular area has decreased or increased and if its composition is likely to change. It would be a clever move in the long run to set up a clinic in a location that has rapid growth potential.

 

3. Competition

 

Too many dentists in the vicinity with the same specialization can hamper your practice as the patients in the neighborhood have multiple options. Also, setting up a practice in the middle of established clinicians could mean that you have to put more time and efforts in order to create your own identity. 

 

A healthy competition might help you to grow with competitive advantage, however you should take the decisions wisely..

 

 

4. Infrastructure

 

Exterior & Interior

 

The external appearance is one of the first things that gets noticed and makes an early impression which is followed by the interior. So make sure that the building looks descent externally and also you have enough space for waiting room, operatory and good ventilation. 

 

We would advise to go for a relatively larger sized place than your current requirement. It will help you when your practice picks up and you want to accommodate one more dental chair, the extra space will come in handy or else you would have to do same exercise few years down the line.

 

 

Facilities

 

If your clinic is going to be in a popular location then make sure it has ample parking for visitors; inadequate parking space can turn off patients especially who drive a car. There won't be a need of an elevator for a clinic at ground floor, but otherwise there should be the facility or else you might lose out some geriatric prostho patients. It is very important to have a clean washroom for your patients; this will also be useful for patients who might constantly need a washroom.

 

It is very likely that you might not find a place that scores well on all of the above parameters,

 

but make sure that you compromise wisely...

 

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Source : DentistFriend

Things To Consider If You Are A Beginner In Implantology!

 

Things To Consider If You Are A Beginner In Implantology!

1. Know Implantology First Before Proceeding

I had seen so many young emerging dentist putting implants haphazardly without knowing much about Implantology. My sincere advice to them is to please go through proper protocol and learning before jumping into it. It is not only procedure but it is a science and we need to learn & understand it thoroughly if we want to achieve long term success.

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2. Choose Proper Mentor or Courses

From whom you learnt Implantology is more important. Irrespective of systems and methods your mentor plays a crucial role in your learning curves. Today so many young dentists doing courses without much experience. Please choose your proper mentor who had done so many cases who can surely guide you about failures also. Don’t choose courses which are nearer to you or cheaper only.

 

3. Consider Implantology equal combination of Prosthesis and Implant together as a single outcome

So many people only consider placing implant is a win game. Actually once after experience of 10 years of implantology I can surely say that placing prosthetically driven implant is really challenging. So learn more about complex rather than focusing on only placing implant.

 

4. Do proper Exercise before placing implant

Surgical Implant placement is not the only thing, even everyone can do it. The only concerned thing is to see proper bone height, width, quality of bone, systemic conditions, angulations, inter arch distance, prosthetic outcome, overall dental hygiene, bad habits etc.
Do proper exercise and you should have proper map on paper before putting implant.

 

5. Never Do Implant without CBCT or at least OPG

IOPA or OPG shows only bi-dimensional image and Implantology is 3D Science. So always make habits of CBCT before putting implants. If you don’t have CBCT Centre in your city than please make sure to take diagnostic casts and articulate them, if possible make RPD with marker in tooth and then go for OPG and place implant where u planned. Surgical Guide which is prosthetically driven can help you in guiding.

 

6. System is not that much important but Good system saves u in many places

System is not that much important as good skilled persons can place any implant of any system in a patient with a good success rate. 
But in initial phase good systems will help you a lot even though you made mistakes in angulations,  placements etc.
Choose a system which has many prosthetic options and according to availability, their success stories, easiness, their frequent supply and proper person in your city to help you out.

 

7. Don’t Jump in Implantology without proper planning and protocol

Any case of implants should be done as a protocol.Starting from IOPA, OPG, CBCT, Preoperative Cast, Articulation, Proper history of Patient, System, Inter-arch Distance, Proper Blood Investigations, Pre-operative antibiotics, Physician concern if required, routing follow ups in healing phase with x rays, Transfer copings , trials and then final fixation.

8. Don’t Let your patient be judgmental in decision making in any steps of Implantology

So many times your patient will demand for immediate placement, immediate loading, less number of implants etc but don’t let them decisive. Take decisions only on your planning even if they have hurry let them decide but be firm on your planning.

 

9. Don’t be hurry on giving treatment Estimate on day one

Always make a habit of analyzing case with necessary history, intra-oral examinations, investigations, articulated upper and lower casts and all necessary prosthetic options like angulated or castable abutments, any screw retained or hybrid prosthesis etc…
You can also discuss with you lab person before proceedings.
So many times dentists give quotations on day one without knowing much and later they put themselves in troubles and they don’t earn much at the end. Don’t be hurry, take your own time to analyze everything and give quotation after all necessary planning.

 

10. Do surgeries with all armamentarium.

You should have all necessary equipments and material s on hand at the time of surgery. Bone grafts, membranes, exapnders, condensers etc please arrange before surgery. I had seen so many dentists search for all these during the surgery. These will reflect lack of your ability to work and patient will easily notice this too.

11. Teamwork

Teamwork is like your weak part can be corrected by a stronger substitute. Call any prosthodontist or periodontist if you want few procedures to be associated and give fantastic results.  Make a small group of interested people and do work together, they can guide in treatment planning and also in placement. Discuss regularly regarding Implantology and you will get wonderful knowledge and confidence.

 

12. Last but not least COST

After knowing this much you must be understood how much headache is in implantology. Don’t do it in less charge. Initially if you want to learn place few implants at less profit but don’t do charity. After few cases analyze what you are expending on cases and then charge accordingly with proper profits.

Friends, so many factors still missing, but I tried to add as much as I can.

*Implantology is future of Dentistry and this branch can easily make you millionaire provided you learn it properly and apply it with all your master skills.*

For any help you can contact me on jakhsnil@gmail.com

Source : DentistFriend

Indemnity Insurance: Is Your Dental Practice Insured?

 

Indemnity Insurance: Is Your Dental Practice Insured?

In this blog post, I am going to discuss an essential topic that every doctor should be aware of. More often we read cases in the newspapers where a patient died or suffered negatively due to doctor’s negligence or patients or their relatives sued hospitals or doctors for their unprofessional conduct. These issues are very sensitive, due to some malpractices or negligence of doctors and also because some hospitals are trying to get more money by recommending unnecessary medical tests and treatments, people started looking at doctor’s community with distrust. It is found that there has been a rise in the patient’s awareness and the judiciary authorities are more consumer-friendly now and have been asking doctors or hospitals to compensate their mistakes.

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According to a 2013 survey by Dr.Ashish Jha of Harvard School of Public Health, India recorded 5.2 million medico-legal cases in a year, for an incorrect prescription, wrong timing, and errors in surgery, incorrect drug, and dosage. Therefore, to protect doctors from the above financial risk, a special financial cover known as Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) is introduced.

 

What is Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Doctors are the professionals who face the risk of financial liability while practicing their profession. The amount they can be sued can be very high. Therefore they need a special financial cover to protect themselves financially when they are sued for unprofessional conduct, negligence or mistakes during treatments.

In short, Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) is an insurance policy specially meant for professionals like doctors, lawyers, Charted Accountants etc to cover liability falling on them as a result of errors, negligence, mistakes committed by them while rendering their professional service.

 

What does PII policy cover?

The policy covers all sums which the insured Doctor becomes legally liable to pay as damages to the third party in respect of any error or negligence committed while rendering professional service. Professional Indemnity Policy covers against following:

1. Professional Negligence

2. Unintentional breach of copyright or confidentiality

3. Loss of documents or data

4. Claim investigation costs

5. Offense & insult

6. Loss of goods or money

What PII does not cover?

1. Intentional damage

2. Claims and circumstances known before issuance of the policy

3. Act of Terrorism or war

4. Contractual liability

5. Insolvency of the insured

 

 

Which insurance companies provide PII for Doctors in India?

Insurance companies like United India Insurance, The New India Assurance Co. Pvt. Ltd., Reliance General Insurance, ICICI Lombard GIC Ltd, offer PII policy coverage for Doctors in India.

How to select the sum assured?

In professional Indemnity Policy, the sum insured is referred to as Limit of Indemnity. This limit is fixed per accident and per policy period which is called Any One Accident (AOA) limit and Any One Year (AOY) limit respectively.

The AOA limit, which is the maximum amount payable by the doctor for each accident, should be fixed depending upon the nature of treatment and the worst possible damage that could happen to the patient.

 

How to claim?

In case you feel that any event will likely to give rise to a liability claim, you should inform your insurance company immediately.

In case you receive any legal notice or summons, it should be sent to the insurance company. The company has the authority to arrange defense on your behalf.

The maximum amount payable will also include defense cost which will be included in AOA limit selected. The AOY limit will get reduced by the amount of claim paid for any one accident. Any number of such claims should not exceed the AOY limit.

How much does it cost?

Normally the premium for PII is 0.30% to 1 % of the amount insured. So if you wish to get a professional indemnity insurance for sum insured of 5 Lakh; then your premium may range from Rs.450 to 5000 The premiums may vary from company to company as well as depending on the doctor’s specialty, seniority, practice, equipment used etc. majorly. It will be a year policy, every year the doctor has to enter into a fresh agreement.

 

What if you don’t have a PII cover?

Indian patients treat doctors as next to God, but now the situation is changing. The fact is that Doctors are also humans who can commit mistakes during treatment. Hence it completely makes sense to have professional indemnity insurance to secure your dental/ medical practice.

Source : DentistFriend

Challenges Faced By Married Women In Dentistry & Solutions!

 

Challenges Faced By Married Women In Dentistry & Solutions!

The life of a woman is a series of multitasking jobs. She studies, takes care of her parents, has a career, gets married, takes care of her new family and also ensures to shape the future of her kids. In this entire cycle, her career can sometimes reach the pinnacle of success but majority of times, it takes a back seat. I’m happy to share this real ground bottom reality with everyone and overwhelming odds we face day in and day out in our personal and professional life. I know a few people would disagree with my views but I am also sure that many women dentist would agree with what I have to say.

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Recently, I was at a dental awards function and I got to know about a lot of success stories of women in dentistry but, somewhere within me a question kept coming about the indomitable spirit of a woman which lies in her home, the home that she nurtures in her heart and mind. For a woman dentist the biggest challenge is whether she should be a hands on dentist or a hands on mother, wife or both.

 

I have read, seen and experienced how a married woman dentist undergoes 360 degree change once they are on family way. Childbearing and rearing, family responsibilities and social commitments have a deep impact. Though some woman are able to break the cultural and the psychological barrier and rise, on the other hand some give in to the family pressures .The decision is either to do part time or a full time practice or to completely quit for family and domestic commitments. This decision does not depend on her alone but also on the family support that she gets willingly. Our profession is mentally and physically demanding and though women are considered mentally strong, under certain circumstances we all can have stress and burn out. A woman dentist is considered successful if she has balanced her family and professional life.

 

The thin line between success and failure can be overcome by the following modalities;

1. One can start group practice with like minded women

2. Specialization is the key: One can devote her time to a particular specialty be it Cosmetic Dentistry, Endodontics etc.

3. You can keep the work hours flexible and take appointments at a suitable time. The bottom line is that the practice should not be dependent on you and should be able to run on an auto pilot mode.

4. Last but not the least,  a dentist being a life partner for her can be a blessing in disguise.

 

To end it all I would say being a woman is the most wonderful gift of God and let not the woman in each of us hamper our professional success and personal commitment.

The pressures shouldn’t bog down the energy to do it all and keep achievement as the essence of womanhood, be it in your personal or professional life. Be persistent. The ambition with which you walked into your undergrad school on the first day and the dreams and aspirations you hold so dear to your heart should keep firing the fuel of your ambitions and  you should be a go getter

There is much more to the womanhood that each one of us can see. So thumbs up to the woman power until we meet again…….

Source : DentistFriend