Rohini Bansal explains how dentistry is continuing to evolve in the corporate world as flexible working becomes more common.
As the economy attempts to regain some normality after the pandemic, the dental world is following close behind.
Dental services are provided nationally within the UK to ensure good quality oral health care for society, both on the NHS and privately. This in turn can add beneficial value to the overall health of an individual.
Some corporate companies and many in the financial sectors provide an added incentive for their employees – such as an in-house dental surgery. Here, a surgery is set up within a floor of the company to allow their employees to access dental services during/after or before working hours.
The company hires clinicians and a team through a client or privately to provide dental services.
Generally this service is effective from both a business and health perspective.
But as these big corporates are now working from home, with little interaction and movement over going into the office, has this all now come to an end?
Working from home
I work at a big corporate company within the city that employs over 2,000 employees. Within the firm there is a gym, GP, physiotherapist and dental team onsite.
These services add positive value to both the company and individuals. Speaking to the employees during this time it is uncertain whether they will return to a five-day week. Currently the flexibility of coming into the office three times a week remains.
After liaising with some of the patients whom I’ve gained a good rapport with, it’s difficult to assess how busy I will be in the coming months.
The pandemic has led to many employees showing high productivity when working from home. This is putting some of the in-house services in the office at a standstill.
Corporate benefits
The positive benefits of still accessing these services post Covid can include
- Flexibility in work lifestyle
- Receiving professional care from the same clinician
- Having more mobility and staying fit (general and overall health)
- Managing time effectively as the on-site clinics are at the working place
- Having the option of seeing a clinician quickly in case of an emergency
- Social interaction
- Can help up sell the company when discussing the benefits it provides to new clients.
As we reflect back to the beginning of the pandemic and the severity of the different Covid variants, it is clear that things are now moving in a positive direction.
I hope as the workforce starts to employ similar methods back into place, our dental services are again as busy as ever.
I believe, as a whole, the dental sector is genuinely on a good path. As PPE normalises and patients are comfortable with accessing routine care, we shall we be on a good stride.
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