Collaboration with colleagues is essential at every stage of your career – Straumann describes the benefits of mentorship and multi-disciplinary collaboration in practices.
Whether asking mentors for advice with decision making, communicating with your dental team to help manage workload, or working with specialists to offer multidisciplinary care, collaboration is a valuable tool.
Because of this, it is important to understand the ways in which collaboration can be helpful when providing clear aligner treatment, and the benefits it offers to both you and your patients.
Collaboration as a new dentist
Research suggests that mentorship and clinical support are essential for the development of new skills, such as clear aligner therapy. This is why the GDC recommends mentoring as a post-training support system.¹ Mentoring is thought to counteract the mentee’s stress levels, inspire confidence, and enable them to reflect on and understand their abilities.²
As you carry out your first clear aligner cases, it may be beneficial to collaborate with a mentor to ensure that you feel comfortable and confident at each stage, and that you are supported in your decision making throughout the procedure.
For instance, patient compliance is key when it comes to clear aligner therapy. So, if this requires improvement, it may be necessary to amend the treatment plan. This will allow you the chance to iron out any issues, and get your patient’s progress back on track.
If this should happen in your earlier cases, it may feel overwhelming, so it is important to seek advice if you are unsure about the best way to proceed. By collaborating with a mentor, you will be able to meet the main goals of treatment, and minimise any risks. This will allow you to enhance treatment results, and keep you in control.
Offering multidisciplinary care
Collaboration is not only recommended for new dentists, or those new to providing clear aligners, but also for those who wish to utilise a multidisciplinary treatment approach.
Research suggests that by evaluating treatment possibilities from the point of view of a single field may limit the options for the patient, when compared to treatment planned by professionals representing more than one dental specialty. This is because working with another dentist can offer a new perspective, and therefore expand the options available for treatment.
When multidisciplinary care is coordinated properly, clinicians are able to improve patients’ dental aesthetics, function, and long-term health. By cooperating with clinicians from different specialities or backgrounds, you are also able to observe treatment progression from different perspectives, and can therefore more confidently monitor for any clinical issues.
This also enables you to better understand the way that different treatment options may impact the patient’s oral health. A good example of this is the relationship between orthodontics and periodontics. Collaborating with a periodontics expert while providing clear aligner therapy – or any other orthodontic treatment – could help you to ensure that patients’ perio health is maintained.
Collaboration within the practice
You should also consider the benefits of collaborating with your dental practice team. This is a fantastic way to help you manage your workload. By sharing your treatment plans with your practice manager and dental nurses. For example, you are able to allocate practice time more efficiently, helping to maximise chair time and streamline workflows throughout the entire practice.
When you provide ClearCorrect clear aligners, you gain access to the ClearCorrect Collaborator Suite. Once you have gained the proper consent from your patients, this feature allows you to share cases with your colleagues including your treatment coordinator, dental nurse, and reception team, for all the support that you could need.
This feature is particularly useful for those who are new to providing clear aligners, or who have a busy workload. Sharing with the dental team allows them to track when the case is back for review, and plan their next visit. This shortens the time from consultation to treatment.
It is also a fantastic way to delegate case management to your team, and optimise chair time.
Additionally, for those looking to build confidence and knowledge in safely providing ClearCorrect aligners, consider the ClearCorrect Level 1 Accreditation Course. The course offers hands-on elements, virtual modules, and clinical mentoring over a 90-day period.
By sharing case details with other dental professionals, you are able to gain the benefits of experienced colleagues and provide your patients with the high-quality treatment they need. Whether you are a new dentist and have just begun providing clear aligner therapy, or would like to expand your treatment options to offer your patients the benefits of multidisciplinary treatment, collaboration is a valuable tool which you should consider utilising in your day-to-day cases.
References
- Aulakh, Raman. “Making an IMPACTT: A framework for developing a dentist’s ability to provide comprehensive dental care.” BDJ In Practice 35.9 (2022): 32-35
- Aulakh, Raman. “Making an IMPACTT: A framework for developing a dentist’s ability to provide comprehensive dental care.” BDJ In Practice 35.9 (2022): 32-35
- Gorbunkova, Angelina, et al. “Impact of orthodontic treatment on periodontal tissues: a narrative review of multidisciplinary literature.” International journal of dentistry 2016 (2016)
- Gorbunkova, Angelina, et al. “Impact of orthodontic treatment on periodontal tissues: a narrative review of multidisciplinary literature.” International journal of dentistry 2016 (2016)
- Gorbunkova, Angelina, et al. “Impact of orthodontic treatment on periodontal tissues: a narrative review of multidisciplinary literature.” International journal of dentistry 2016 (2016).
For more information on ClearCorrect, visit: https://www.straumann.com/clearcorrect/en/home.html
