Dental News - Eleven tips for success in your dental clinic Part II: CAPS & CLIMB

Eleven tips for success in your dental clinic Part II: CAPS & CLIMB

Dr Anna Maria Yiannikos

Tue. 14. February 2017

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Today, I will share with you the knowledge I have gained within the past 25 years of managing and evolving my clinic so you can always be one step ahead and avoid mistakes I have made in the past. The third very important tip that I am going to share with you today in order to be and remain successful at your clinics is how to regain your power.

We learn a lot of things during our studies in the dental schools. We learn how to make the best fillings with great contours and biocompatible materials; how to treat a tooth that needs a root canal therapy, but do we really learn anything on how to find the best employee that will make our life and daily routine easier?

Firstly we should make a job analysis by listing the CAPS of the candidate. If we do not take the time to complete this process, we will not know from the beginning exactly what we are looking at and by this we will increase the risk of making the wrong choice.
If, for example, we go to the supermarket without our shopping list, what will we end up doing? We will most probably buy unnecessary things or even forget the things that we went in the beginning there for. My point here is that when we decide that we need to hire an employee we should know upfront what we are looking for, otherwise we might make mistakes that will cost us money and time!

Let’s have a look now what does CAPS stand for:
– Capacities: The mental and physical abilities required to do the job. How smart and how strong (physically capable) must the successful applicant be?
– Attitudes: such as customer service, orientation, team player, reliability, honesty, willingness to follow rules, problem-solving, loyalty, safety-consciousness, ability to follow through—Imagine having a receptionist who, although she is doing the job without a mistake, complains about everything all the time. Is that a person that you would love to have as part of your team?
– Personality: traits such as competitiveness, assertiveness, attention to detail and sociability—Also search whether the person will manage his or her personality to get the job done, since as social scientists declare about 60 per cent of our personality traits are inherited and most of them are set by age nine. In other words: personality can’t be taught and it doesn’t change much over time.
– Skills: Expertise required to do the job—Skills are the easiest job requirements to identify. We could do that by asking the candidate to perform certain tests. For example, if we are trying to find a receptionist we could ask her to translate an article, or through role playing to check how she responds in certain scenarios.

Have always in mind the quote ‘we hire them for the skills but we fire them for their attitudes’!

So finally we found our A-star employees and now what do we have to do in order to keep them?
The fourth very essential tip of today’s article that I would love to share with you is the different ways that we can use to retain our A-star employees.

Apply CLIMB to retain your team!

Now let’s explain a little what does exactly the acronym CLIMB stands for:
– Challenge: Studies have shown that the main reason that our employees resign is that they are dissatisfied with their tasks. That’s why we should give them challenging duties to accomplish. And what will the result be? They will feel useful and they will find it difficult to leave from a job that offers them different and unique experiences.
– Loyalty: Be human with your employees and do not be afraid that you will lose your power. Show interest in their problems and lay back in times that they cannot handle any more pressure.
– Investment: Invest time and money to them so they will feel appreciated. During my lectures I get regularly the question that we reward them by giving them bonus and still they are not motivated enough, what shall we do? My answer here is that you must renew your reward system regularly.

Sometimes you can give them cash (as bonuses) or maybe you can offer them other kind of incentives, like buying them a free trip for vacation on Christmas, for example. Research has proven that the more powerful and effective incentives are the ones that are specific, tangible and non-cash.

Also please remember to ‘Reward not the best in sales but the best’ A major mistake that we usually do is to only reward the ones that bring money to our clinics. Instead we should reward the best in our practices, the ones that are completing their tasks in excellence unconditionally to what this task is.
– Measurement: Conduct a fair performance appraisal every six months.
– Building: Demonstrate your commitment to them by showing them opportunities of career development.

During the next issue we will analyse two new tips that will reveal new opportunities and potential of our dental clinics. Till then, remember that not only are you the dentist in your clinic, but you are also the manager and the leader.

You can always send me your questions and request for more information and guidance at:
dba@yiannikosdental.com or via our Facebook account.

Looking forward to our next trip of business growth and educational development!

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Friedemann Stang (left), supervisor for global customer support at exocad, and Raphael Remmert, application specialist at exocad. (All images: exocad)

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Since the feature release of DentalCAD 3.2 Elefsina, exocad has been providing users with a set number of free exocad credits each month, which can be used to access new services that employ exocad’s artificial intelligence (AI). In this interview, Friedemann Stang, supervisor global customer support at exocad, and Raphael Remmert, application specialist at exocad, share practical tips for using these credits straightaway—for example, to generate an AI-designed crown.

Mr Remmert and Mr Stang, which version of DentalCAD is required to use the new AI services?
Remmert: The new AI services are available to users of the DentalCAD 3.2 Elefsina feature release (Build 9036 or higher) in the EU and US. Requirements include either a Perpetual license with an active upgrade contract or a Flex license with an automatic upgrade contract.

Stang: Exocad credits are required to use the new AI services and allow access to AI Design, TruSmile Video and TruSmile Photo. TruSmile Video and TruSmile Photo are now available in the Smile Creator Module.

How can users check their DentalCAD version?
Remmert: When DentalDB is opened, the version number appears in the bottom right corner of the exocad screen. Users can also find the DentalCAD engine build number in the settings in the About section (Fig. 1).

Do users automatically receive exocad credits?
Stang: Yes. Anyone working with the specified software version receives a certain number of exocad credits included in an upgrade contract or Flex license. These can be viewed in the user’s my.exocad account.

Remmert: The number of monthly exocad credits depends on the licence model. A Perpetual license with an active upgrade contract includes ten credits per month. A Flex license with an automatic upgrade contract includes 30 credits per month.

Can unused credits be carried over, and what happens if the monthly limit is exceeded?
Remmert: Each month starts with a set number of licence credits—similar to a mobile phone plan where the monthly data allowance resets. Unused credits do not roll over. If fewer than the available exocad credits are used within a month, the following month starts again with ten or 30 exocad credits. To exceed the included amount, additional account credits can be purchased through my.exocad. My advice: Use them, don’t lose them.

How can users purchase account credits?
Remmert: Users can open the my.Credits section in my.exocad and select the Top up account button (Fig. 2) to proceed to the exocad webshop. Registration in the webshop is required beforehand to ensure the account is linked. The same email address should be used for both the my.exocad account and the webshop account. Purchased account credits are tied to the customer account and can be used by multiple licence holders within that account.

How much do the AI services cost?
Stang: One exocad credit costs €1. One credit buys an AI crown design; two credits buy a TruSmile Photo; and ten credits buy a TruSmile Video. A good starting point is the AI crown design proposal. A detailed record of exocad credit usage can be viewed in the my.exocad account under my.Credits (Fig. 3).

Fig. 1: The engine build is displayed in the About section and in the lower-right corner of the exocad screen.

Fig. 2: The Top up account button leads to the exocad webshop for purchasing exocad credits.

Fig. 3: The my.exocad portal provides a detailed record of past exocad credit transactions.

How do users start the AI services in DentalCAD?
Stang: For an initial trial of the AI crown, the option can be enabled once in DentalCAD within the Cloud settings (Fig. 4). At the start of each crown design, a prompt appears asking whether an AI crown should be generated for the selected tooth. Choosing the affirmative option launches AI mode; selecting the alternative continues with the conventional workflow.

When is it useful to use the AI crown option, and how long does it take to generate an AI crown?
Stang: The AI crown design proposal is especially helpful during high-demand production periods, since it can be generated in parallel with the conventional workflow. Single-crown design proposals are typically generated in less than 2 minutes.

How do users generate a single crown design proposal with AI Design?
Stang: A design proposal can be created if at least one neighbouring tooth and the antagonist are present. If the case is not suitable for an AI crown, the software notifies the user immediately. With DentalCAD 3.2 Elefsina, single crowns can be generated on stumps, abutments or post-and-core structures using AI Design. The process begins by selecting a crown style from one of many tooth libraries (Fig. 5). The AI calculates the proposal in the background while other work continues. Once the crown design proposal is ready (Fig. 6), the software requests feedback (Fig. 7). Star ratings and written comments help the development team improve the software.