Ep 14: Hygiene Wages, Assisted Hygiene, Scaling Assistants, and the Future of Dental Teams

In this episode of Straight Up With Steph, I sit down with a fellow dental hygienist and entrepreneur Rachel Wall, who has built her own company dedicated to elevating hygiene teams and systems in dental practices.

We dive into the importance of understanding the business side of dentistry, resolving the rising tension between practice owners and hygienists over wage increases, and how implementing new systems can be the solution both sides need.

We also discuss the growing trend of assisted hygiene and the potential for dental assistants to be trained in scaling, along with how hygienists can stay curious, embrace change, and overcome resistance when introducing new protocols.

As an international speaker, coach and owner of Inspired Hygiene, Rachel
has guided thousands of dental professionals to elevate their hygiene
services and systems while driving profits to the bottom line and developing
empowered, engaged hygienists.

Rachel draws from 30 years of experience as a hygiene profitability coach and clinical hygienist to deliver to-the-point interactive workshops and coaching programs.

She is a past recipient of the Dental Excellence Award from DrBicuspid.com for “Most Effective Dental Hygienist Educator” and has been named one of the Top 25 Women in Dentistry by Dental Products Report.

Her book “Return on Hygiene” has been called the Hygiene Benchmark Bible and used by dentists all over North America to uncover the true potential of their hygiene teams.

To watch on YouTube, click here

To connect with Rachel:

Website
Instagram
Facebook
Email

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction 
2:18 - The Importance of Business Metrics & Hygiene Wages 
5:24 - Increased Hygiene Wages Drives Conflict 
8:10 - How Hygienists Can Be Part of the Solution 
11:22 - Changing the Way We Think About Perio 
16:29 - How to Fit It All In 
19:13 - Starting New Systems 
24:20 - Assisted Hygiene and Training Programs 
29:53 - Training Assistants as Hygienists? 
34:24 - How Hygienists Can Be Open to Change 
36:16 - How to Overcome Resistance 
42:54 - How to Connect with Rachel 

To connect with me:

➡️Instagram
💻My Website
📨Email: stephanie@polishedposture.net
💌Newsletter signup

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 2:18 The Importance of Business Metrics & Hygiene Wages
• 5:24 Increased Hygiene Wages Drives Conflict
• 8:10 How Hygienists Can Be Part of the Solution
• 11:22 Changing the Way We Think About Perio
• 16:29 How to Fit It All In
• 19:13 Starting New Systems
• 24:20 Assisted Hygiene and Training Programs
• 29:53 Training Assistants as Hygienists?
• 34:24 How Hygienists Can Be Open to Change
• 36:16 How to Overcome Resistance
• 42:54 How to Connect with Rachel