Health of Your Hygiene Department Test

 Answer "yes," "no," or "don't know" to the following questions.

 Give yourself one point for each "yes" answer.

1. I use the code 4910 for my 3-or-4 month periodontal maintenance patients.
2. Regardless of insurance constraints, I diagnose the periodontal health of my patients.
3. My patients are informed and understand their periodontal status.
4. My team has the verbal skills to prevent cancellations and failures.
5. My hygiene schedule is overwhelmingly full.
6. We do not have a problem with cancellations or broken appointments,
7. My hygiene department produces 50% of the total office revenue.
8. Our patients are rarely kept waiting for their scheduled visit.
9. 60% of our hygiene schedule consists of perio related procedures.
10. Each of my hygienist produces an average of $1000 - $1200 per day.
11. Our case acceptance for periodontal treatment is 90%.
12. My hygienists’ generates four times their salaries in revenue.
13. Are all hygienists' treatment guidelines consistent?
14. Are your protocols reproducible?
15. My team understands periodontal disease and the office treatment philosophy.
16. We have a written guideline for Standard Operating Procedures for new or temporary hygienists to treat all of our patients consistently.
17. When my patients have periodontal disease, they understand its treatment fee and their estimated co-payment.
18. My documentation will protect me in the event of a lawsuit.
19. I plan my hygiene schedule to meet production goals and provide efficiency.
20. My hygienists are all on the same page with office philosophy.
21. My continuing-care patients receive comprehensive update exams.
22. I measure and evaluate the productivity and profitability  of my hygiene dept.
23. I use an intraoral camera regularly.
24. During restorative exams, I'm effective and comfortable telling my patients about their prioritized needs on a tooth-by-tooth basis and about their elective and cosmetic options.

Scoring

• 24 points - You are doing an excellent job of managing your hygiene department.
• 19-23 points - You are doing a good job but there are one or two areas to focus on that will make a tremendous difference in your productivity.
• 11-18 points - You probably haven't been analyzing your hygiene status for a while. There are several significant areas in your hygiene department that need to be addressed immediately in order to bring it back on track and make it profitable.
• 5-10 points - Your hygiene department is weak and needs a major "overhaul" in order to make it productive and efficient.
• 0-4 points - Your hygiene department is in crisis and you need a specialist post haste!