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An insight to dental practice management: a literature review

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 Das M et al.: Dental Practice Management REVIEW ARTICLE

An Insight to Dental Practice Management: A

Literature Review
Mayank Das1, Devina Pradhan2, Lokesh Sharma3, Kumari Pallbi Sinha4, Shradha Mohanty5,
Mandar Todkar6
1,3,4,5-Resident, Dept. of Public Health Dentistry, Sardar Patel PG Institute of Dental Correspondence to:
& Medical Sciences, Lucknow, U.P. 2-Post graduate student, Dept. of Public Health Dr. Mandar Todkar, Postgraduate student, Dept.
Dentistry, Rama Dental College Hospital & Research Centre, Kanpur, U.P. 6- of Public Health Dentistry, Pacific Dental College
Postgraduate student, Dept. of Public Health Dentistry, Pacific Dental College & & Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan.
Contact Us: www.ijohmr.com
Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan.

ABSTRACT
Nowadays, the dental health care is delivered majority by the private practitioners all around the globe. The more
importance was given on the design of the dental treatment rooms than on the design of the business office. The
planning of the business office workspace is also a key factor and such area should be ergonomically designed as the
business staff can deliver its tasks with the maximum efficiency. Any patient who first time come in the dental clinic is
the most important person for the dentist. The different digital tools can improve the practice efficiency, reduce
administrative costs and improve communication with other providers. Also, there are various dental software’s that are
available for the dental practice management. The appointment system is very important in the dental practice
management, and it must be managed efficiently. Usually, the system contains lists of all the scheduled patients as well
as events for the dentist and staff. It is the control center of the office and a key factor in the success or failure of a
dental practice. Dentist during their daily practice face issues regarding legal aspects and standards of care while
rendering dental care to the patients. For the protection and safety of the patients and society, both voluntary and legal
requirements must be implemented according to legal standards. Therefore, though the complete implementation of an
ideal dental practice is not possible to attain, day by day improvement is necessary for betterment. For effective dental
practice management, it is necessary that the complete dental team works in an efficient manner and follow the correct
rules and laws.
KEYWORDS: Clinical Practice, Dentistry, Dental practice management, Dental services, Education, Practice Management

ASSSAAsasasss
AINTRODUCTION
Dentistry is one of the important health care profession.
The different health care delivery systems are play a
major role in the different countries. As the time goes on,
the variety of dental health care is delivered to the
population.1 Nowadays, the dental health care is delivered
majority by the private practitioners all around the globe.
The more importance was given on the design of the
dental treatment rooms than on the design of the business
office. The planning of the business office workspace is
also a key factor and such area should be ergonomically
designed as the business staff can deliver its tasks with
the maximum efficiency. However, nowadays,
convincing any population for regular dental treatment is
one of the difficult problem facing by the dental
practitioners.2 The obvious solution to this problem is to
attempt to attract and keep new patients. It is vital that the
dentist in a participatory healthcare practice seek input
from his staff, which includes secretary, receptionist,
business assistant, and even front-desk person. The staff
is the greatest asset a dentist can have in the office.
Specific guidelines need to be established for hiring
qualified staff, selecting a wide range of creative benefits,
and establishing a competitive salary scale that reflects
productivity and cost-of-living increases.3
How to cite this article:
Das M, Pradhan D, Sharma L, Sinha PK, Mohanty S, Todkar M. An Insight to Dental Practice Management: A Literature Review. Int J Oral Health Med
Res 2018;5(1):54-56.
METHOD
In this review, the literature search was done by the
online web search regarding the topic. Initially, beginning
the online literature search was conducted using different
data source like PubMed, MEDLINE, EBSCOhost; and
the articles published in the different journals was
obtained. The search engine such as Google also used to
find the articles using the keywords as Dental practice
management, Clinical practice, Dental services, etc.
Furthermore, the literature data consist of different
original articles, reviews, textbooks, etc. were
documented.
DENTAL PRACTICE
MANAGEMENT
Any patient who first time come in the dental clinic is the
most important person for the dentist. Also, the telephone
is the most important piece of equipment in the office for
communication. It is perhaps the fastest and easiest way
to transmit messages. To be effective on the telephone,
the receptionist must keep a smile in his or her voice,
answer calls promptly, be attentive and discreet, be
cordial and responsive, ask questions tactfully, take

International Journal of Oral Health and Medical Research | ISSN 2395-7387 | MAY-JUNE 2018 | VOL 5 | ISSUE 1 54
 Das M et al.: Dental Practice Management
messages courteously, speak distinctly, transfer calls
carefully, place calls properly, avoid sexism, and be
coordinate with the caller. In addition, nowadays
Teledentistry is one of the new exciting areas of dentistry,
which enhances the internet to provide the best
information and facilities in rural areas, and includes
telecommunications technology. The internet has
fundamentally transformed the way we communicate and
interact. Both patients and dentists have adopted digital
communication and social media in their interactions.
Social media usage is increasing independent of
education, race, ethnicity or access to health care. The
different digital tools can improve the practice efficiency,
reduce administrative costs and improve communication
with other providers. Also, there are various dental
software’s that are available for the dental practice
management like Dentrix, Practo, etc. that have made the
practice management more systematic and organized.3, 4, 5
The appointment system is very important in the dental
practice management, and it must be managed efficiently.
Usually, the system contains lists of all the scheduled
patients as well as events for the dentist and staff. It is the
control center of the office and a key factor in the success
or failure of a dental practice. The appointment
management system can take the form of a traditional
appointment book or the software installed in the office
computer can be used. The administrative assistant
should keep the schedule if any changes take place during
the day.
“Visit your dentist twice a year” the most commonly used
phrase in dentistry. For patients, it provides the potential
for saving more teeth and promoting the best dental
health, but due to the financial constraints, people do not
visit their dentist. Because of this reason, these days
dental insurance plays a vital role. In the early twentieth
century, the Dental insurance or programs related to
dental benefits did not exist. However, in the recent
times, their increasing growth has changed the overall
perception of dentistry, the patient’s fear of dental
payments that have transformed in the form of a
necessary part of healthcare and improving the oral health
related quality of life.6
For the dentist, it provides an opportunity for the pursuit
of excellence in dental care, as well as keeping and
attracting patients who appreciate the finest possibly
dentistry. The purpose of a recall visit is not to clean the
teeth and take a check-up x-ray, although during the
course of many recall visits it is customary to do both.
Rather, the recall visit should be very specific in
providing for the maintenance of every aspect of good
dental health.3, 7
Special care needs patients are at risk of attaining oral
health diseases throughout their life and because any oral
health diseases can have serious implications and
devastating effects on the quality of life and the health of
the individual.8 It can further lead to systemic diseases as
well. Individuals with cardiac conditions or conditions
associated with endocarditis or with compromised
International Journal of Oral Health and Medical Research | ISSN 2395-7387 | MAY-JUNE 2018 | VOL 5 | ISSUE 1
REVIEW ARTICLE
immunities like HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)
and leukemia are more vulnerable to the development of
oral health disease. Hence, it is always advice to treat and
manage the special care needs patients efficiently by the
dental practitioner.9
Handling the geriatric patient is very important task and,
it is the main duty of the dental practitioner to make them
feel comfortable and relaxed in the clinic. Over the last
decade, with the increasing awareness and knowledge
about the oral health care as well as the treatment needs
of the population, there is the higher demand for geriatric
specialists. In the current and coming scenario, the dental
professionals have to treat the elderly population in an
efficient manner in their dental office with proper
requirements and advancements in their professional
skills. However, the management of elderly patients is
very much different than the general patients.10, 11
Every dental healthcare worker is responsible for
breaking the cycle of disease transmission.12 As we know
that microorganisms are ubiquitous. Since pathogenic
microorganisms cause contamination, infection, and
decay, it becomes necessary to remove or destroy them
from materials and areas. In the dental clinics, any
infection present is a significant hazard to the health.
Both patients and dental health care personnel can be
exposed to pathogens.13 Contact with blood, oral and
respiratory secretions, and contaminated equipment
occurs. Proper procedures can prevent transmission of
infections among patients and dental health care
personnel. Hence it is important to achieve the highest
level of infection control and practice sterile techniques
in order to prevent cross infection.12, 14
Dentist during their daily practice face issues regarding
legal aspects and standards of care while rendering dental
care to the patients. The requirements needed to practice
dentistry are defined by the dental act given. The dental
care standards may arise from the statutory and common
law which enacted by the legislative body and judicial
decisions. In addition, the dentist is governed by the
ethical principles that are developed and implemented by
the professionals itself. For the protection and safety of
the patients and society, both voluntary and legal
requirements must be implemented according to legal
standards. The administrative assistant working in the
dental clinic needs to have an understanding of the effect
of the law on the dental practice, along with the
awareness of its importance on performance of daily
duties. Furthermore, the professionally working person
should be known with the code of ethics for its
professional workgroup.15
CONCLUSION
Success is an ongoing process but to achieve success is
not an easy task in this competitive world. Though the
complete implementation of an ideal dental practice is not
possible to attain, day by day improvement is necessary
for betterment. For effective dental practice management,
55
 Das M et al.: Dental Practice Management
it is necessary that the complete dental team works in an
efficient manner and follow the correct rules and laws.
AREFERENCES
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Community-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences; 2005 Mar
1.
2. Peter S. Essentials of preventive and community dentistry.
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3. Finkbeiner BL, Finkbeiner CA. Practice Management for
the Dental Team-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences; 2015
Jan 29.
4. Bridges G. Dental reception and practice management.
Ames, IA: Blackwell Munksgaard. 2006.
5. Levin RP. How to build a better team. The Journal of the
American Dental Association. 2006 Jun 1;137(6):896-7.
6. Kalenderian E, Skoulas A, Timothe P, Friedland B.
Integrating leadership into a practice management
curriculum for dental students. Journal of dental education.
2010 May 1;74(5):464-71.
7. Dunning DG, Qu W, Lange BM. An update on practice
management instruction in US Dental Schools. Dental
Hypotheses. 2012;3.
8. Manakil J, Rihani S, George R. Preparedness and practice
management skills of graduating dental students entering
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View publication stats
REVIEW ARTICLE
the work force. Education Research International.
2015;2015.
9. Willis DO. Using competencies to improve dental practice
management education. Journal of dental education. 2009
Oct 1;73(10):1144-52.
10. Levin RP. Think Like a CEO. Inside dentistry. 2012;
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11. Dickey KW. What are my ethical obligations when a
treatment plan goes wrong?. The Journal of the American
Dental Association. 2007;5(138):668-9.
12. Kohn WG, Harte JA, Malvitz DM, Collins AS, Cleveland
JL, Eklund KJ. Cover Story: Guidelines for infection
control in dental health care settings-2003. The Journal of
the American dental association. 2004 Jan 1;135(1):33-47.
13. Kohli A, Puttaiah R. Dental Infection Control &
Occupational Safety for Oral Health Professionals. Dental
Council of India; 2008 Sep 28.
14. From Policy to Practice: OSAP's Interactive Guide to the
CDC. OSAP. [Online] Available from: http://www.osap.
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15. Katz B, Sokol DJ. Legal implications and considerations in
dental practice management. Dental clinics of North
America. 1988 Jan;32(1):123-30.
Source of Support: Nil
Conflict of Interest: Nil
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