Orthotown May 2024 - 31

2. Write out your treatment protocols, when
you like to see your patients and what the
next procedure in the series is. A generic
treatment plan, for example:
a. Bonding appointment, with 0.014-inch
nickel titanium (NiTi) wires.
b. Reposition appointment, with 0.016inch
NiTi wires.
c. Reposition appointment, with 0.018inch
NiTi wires.
d. Reposition appointment, with 0.018-by0.025
NiTi wires. Start elastics.
e. Reposition appointment, with 0.018by-0.025
stainless steel wires. Continue
elastics.
f. Start fi nishing bends.
g. Evaluate fi nish.
h. Deband.
Always write the next procedure notes in
this chart so your team members know how
long to schedule appointments. For example,
if your fi rst appointment is to bond upper
and lower brackets and place a 0.014-inch
NiTi wire, write what you want to do next
into the chart. " Next visit, reposition brackets,
0.016 or 0.018 NiTi wire, 30 minutes. "
3. Set the monitoring goals you want to see
before the patient's next appointment, and
an interval for when you think that might
happen. For example, " Goal: wire passivity
of 0.014-inch NiTi wire. 8-12 weeks. " You can
also set goals for other metrics, like:
* Class I canine or molar.
* Midline, normal overbite or overjet.
* Anterior space closure.
* Extraction space closure.
* Correction of crossbite.
* Loss of deciduous teeth.
4. Pre-set your " 90-day notifi cations " -alerts
that auto-activate in case you or your
team forget to set patient goals. You will be
reminded to check in on your patients every
90 days no matter what, to ensure treatment
is going as expected.
5. Let your patients know that you:
MAY 2024 | 31 | ORTHOTOWN.COM
* Are investing in the latest technology to
improve their treatment outcome.
* Expect a scan once a week. Missing a
scan is like missing an appointment.
* Will review the scan once a week to
coordinate and plan future treatment.
* Are available through the messaging
app, but if they want to schedule or
reschedule an appointment, it will be
faster to call the front desk.
* Are scheduling all future appointments
around the progress of their teeth and
their needs.
6. After a month or two of onboarding patients,
implement dynamic scheduling. Don't schedule
their next appointments; let them know
you'll monitor them through the app and will
call them when it's time to come in. Within a
few weeks, your schedule will empty, leaving
large holes in the late morning and early
afternoon (the least desirable appointments).
Use this time to have assistants with few
patients review the app for patients who
have " goals due " (need to come in) or broken
brackets/wires. Have them write down the
amount of time needed for each patient, then
have them or the front desk call or text the
patient to schedule these appointments.
The specifi cs in my practice
We've found that our schedule now doesn't completely
fi ll until about 48 hours before the patient
day. Early morning and late afternoon appointments
are available in less than a week's notice
because patients are no longer " appointment
camping " -clogging the schedule with appointments
they can't make or intend to reschedule at
the last minute.
Learn more about Dr. Jason Battle's practice!
We profiled Dr. Jason Battle's Florida practice in an
Off ice Visit Q&A in late 2023. To read the feature and
discover more about the doctor and his practice, go to
orthotown.com/battle-ov.
http://www.orthotown.com/battle-ov http://www.ORTHOTOWN.COM
Orthotown May 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown May 2024
