Sadly over the last few months as dental practices reopen since COVID, relationships between dentists and hygienists have been struggling. We are seeing a lack of trust, disappointment worry and stress occuring in our own practices. It could be that we have some work to do in regards to fixing these issues.

It may be the dentist and the hygienist are at odds. It could also be, the business team and the clinical team are at odds. Certainly we've seen challenges within team members, because team members are thinking it's all about the money.

Well, we know, and having a foot in both sides that in many practices, it's not about the money. It's about literal survival, and being able to keep the practice afloat and take better care of our patients. But nonetheless, the culture has taken a serious hit. So how do we begin to repair the damage?

Each practice needs a visible and present leader. There must be clear communication from the top. We know that in times of stress, there's a communication cascade and we've seen the message change as it moves from on person to another. It's important as the leader, to be able to communicate directly

there are hard decisions that we're going to have to be made, right? Do we keep everybody on the payroll? Do we furlough people? Do we lay off people? Those were tough decisions.

The best leaders were able to relate those, those decisions to the core values. And most people, their mission and vision, at least for a short period of time changed.  Did you communicate that to your team?  Over communicating to the team and to patients is really how you kept the culture alive.

Our teams expect us to be confident and to be positive, even if we don't really feel that way inside.

Remember that COVID is temporary. Life will get back to normal. We just have to look at the end of the tunnel and see that the sun is shining and the birds are sining. 

Don't let your worries consume you and prevent you from guiding your team and practice to success.