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DentalSpots.com: New Solutions to Solving the Age-old Challenges of Finding Temporary Staffing for Dental Offices

The educated hiring of qualified dental assistants, hygienists and front office staff can help dentists prevent costly drops in production income.

by Feridoon Amini, founder of DentalSpots.com

Twenty years of managing people and dealing with HR issues for a number of large IT organizations prepared me for addressing some of the challenges of running a successful dental practice.

Prime among these challenges is the never-ending quest to fill vacant office positions. Complicating this issue is the increasing reliance on part-time and temporary help, and the difficulty in identifying truly qualified candidates.

"In six years I've had employees quit suddenly, not show up and embezzle funds, but it happens to all dentists I talk to," says Mojan Safavi, DDS, who practices in McKinney, Texas. "My colleagues and I struggle with these issues on a regular basis, hoping to find a solution so our practices aren't hijacked by our staff."

However, there is hope. By applying successful strategies from the corporate world and harnessing the power of the Internet, practitioners can regain control of their office to prevent devastating drops in productivity caused by employee vacancies.

One thing I've noticed in the dental industry, especially in smaller offices, is too great of a reliance on individuals. "I've had days where I'm fully booked with patients, but five minutes before the day begins, the dental assistant calls in sick," says Safavi. "What do you do? Without them, it's hard to do procedures like veneers. You aren't even sure where some of the dental products are, so you have to cancel most of your patients. All that potential income vanishes."

The absence of a hygienist proves equally as costly. "For the lack of a hygienist, the doctor can lose around $20,000 to 30,000 a month," says Fariba Dadgostar, general manager for the Dossett Dental chain located in Dallas, Texas. "A delay in securing a dental insurance specialist can be equally as financially devastating."

In contrast, large organizations will require employees to document their processes so that others can take over, in their absence. These should be written so that anyone can follow those steps.

Also critical to the success of a dental practice is the ability to identify qualified temporary workers, yet many dentists still rely on traditional temporary agencies with no way of knowing whether a person is qualified. "I used to call a temporary agency to send me people who were supposed to be the best," recalls Safavi. "But they'd come to my office without knowing how to take film X-rays, let alone digital."

Given the inexpensive resources found on the Internet, it is now hard to justify calling on costly brick and mortar temporary agencies, which charge $30 to $50 a day in addition to the worker's hourly rate. Using a Web site that allows you to post temporary jobs and screen candidates based on skills and ratings for free, paying a nominal fee only when you choose to use the person, and then nothing else if you do hire him or her permanently, can literally save thousands.

DentalSpots.com has built into its portal a means to allow dentists or office managers to rate recently acquired temporary help that other offices can review to determine a good hire. While seemingly a benefit only to employers, such practices also benefit well-performing employees in their job searches.
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For more information, contact: DentalSpots.com at 972-325-4295, info@DentalSpots.com or visit www.dentalspots.com
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