By Chris Salierno, DDS
Imagine your hygienist walking into the office bright-eyed, energized, and ready to take patient care up a notch. Later in the day you walk by the hygiene operatory and overhear your hygienist offering new adjunctive services to your patients and giving more enthusiastic case presentations. What gave your hygienist the boost, and how do you capture it in a bottle?
There's no great secret. As I said in my Editor's Note this month, attending conferences is the most effective way for us to learn how to be better. We become better when we understand new technology that will broaden the list of services we can provide. We become better when we interact with colleagues to learn best practices for our patients.
Hygienists benefit from attending our regional and national dental conventions. Many of those meetings offer hygiene courses, and the trade show floor will be a hotbed of activity for them. However, I want to tell you about a special conference that was created just for hygienists.
RDH magazine is our sister publication for hygienists that is as well read as Dental Economics. In 2001, RDH created Under One Roof, a conference and trade show dedicated to hygiene. This past year, RDH Under One Roof grew to over 1,100 attendees and three days packed with up to 19 hours of CE. Next year it will take place July 15 -17 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
I think you should pay for your hygienist to attend. The registration is $325, and three nights' stay at the hotel will run you about $630. Grand total, you can reward and inspire your hygienist for as much as your office collects for a single crown.
Having been to Under One Roof myself a few times, I can say that I have never seen a more engaged group of attendees. Hygienists run from course to course, devouring the contents. They're also an incredibly social bunch when you get them together. Over the three days of this year's conference in Chicago, RDH Under One Roof posts on Facebook got over 1,000 clicks, and the total number of likes for the event page grew to over 8,400. By the way, the Facebook page for RDH magazine has over 35,000 likes. Like I said, they're a social bunch.
Having a motivated hygiene team who is up-to-date on technologies and therapies not only helps your bottom line, it also breathes fresh air into your practice.
Patients can smell success. Send your hygienist to RDH Under One Roof. You'll thank me for it.
Photos from the event:
