Dr. Peter Then has been in private practice limited to periodontics and dental implants since 1995. Throughout his career, Dr. Then has championed excellence in interdisciplinary care to achieve optimal results in the area of perio-prosthetics and implantology. When he joined Spear in April of 2020, it took Dr. Then no time at all to recognize the extraordinary potential in Spear Patient Education.

But he just as quickly realized he'd need to get his entire team on board to be successful. Thankfully, both Dr. Then and his treatment coordinator, Sydney Hall, shared a vision for their patients.

“ Sydney shares my vision for the practice. She often says 'every patient deserves the same experience,' and I believe that's what Patient Education allows us to provide," says Dr. Then. "She's hard-working, socially smart, and she connects well with referring practices and our team. If she weren't on the same page and not willing or able to get the message [about Patient Education] across to the other members of the team, I think it would be an uphill battle. Ultimately, I don't have time to do it all!

Sydney would ultimately prove instrumental in helping the team see the benefits of using Patient Education - for themselves and for the patients. Over time, individual members of the practice team began suggesting new ways to utilize chairside videos to enhance the patient experience in the operatory and well beyond it. This was Dr. Then's intention from the beginning and the hard work paid off.

"I think practice team members must have a big part in implementing Patient Education because they can create some of their own ideas, run with many of the videos, and hopefully say, 'I found this exciting video, why don't we use this?" says Dr. Then. "Patient Education allows team members to have a bigger impact on practice goals. They have more skin in the game. These systems allow a practice owner to be better prepared to provide great service anywhere in the practice."

Together the team developed an approach that would require careful coordination between the front and back office as well as referring offices. To make it happen, the process of broken up into three meetings with specific referring practices and their clinical teams.

In each meeting, the interdisciplinary group would collaboratively select, bookmark and discuss applications for the chairside videos most relevant to their patients. The meeting would culminate in a collective agreement on next steps and a follow-up meeting to address challenges. The goal was to establish continuity of care and develop systems that would allow both teams to combine efforts effectively.

“ This three-step process helps our referring doctors stay accountable, because we see them back in a month for a conversation and feedback. This helps us improve our systems, but most importantly it demonstrates that we care about our referring offices and their patients.

This process required more energy and time upfront, Dr. Then felt strongly that if his practice was going to adopt Patient Education, they would do it right. "If you're not using [Patient Education] consistently, especially with your referring offices, I think that's a major hurdle. When implementing these videos, I believe it simply doesn't work unless dentists are committed to establishing a system and continuously using it," he says. 

Today, the practice continues to create, manage, and edit customized chairside playlists in collaboration with their referring practices.

"We're a busy office. In a busy practice, I think you have to have a consistent message and a reliable system [for that message to reach patients effectively]," Dr. Then says. "Sure, we could live without these videos - but I think our referring practices and our patients would lose out in the long run."

Dr. Adam Saltz is under no illusion that his patients are particularly excited to see him when they walk into his operatory for the first time.

"In general, people don't like visiting the dentist - and they especially don't enjoy visiting a dental surgeon," he says. "Patients come to the practice with a diminished outlook and it's up to us to make sure they see the value of care for their oral and overall health." This has been Dr. Saltz' guiding philosophy since the earliest days of his career. It's also what's led him to become so intimately involved with the implementation of Patient Education videos at Corey + Then Prosthodontics.

As an associate practitioner, Dr. Saltz is in a unique position to serve as a patient communication "ambassador" for the referral community. In addition to using chairside videos and playlists to enhance his own case presentation, Dr. Saltz has also spearheaded the practice's initiative to onboard referring offices with Patient Education. The opportunity has allowed him to apply his passion for patient education and continuity of care in a meaningful way.

“ Patients feel enabled and educated throughout the process - especially when the referring practice is also using Patient Education videos to talk about their treatment options. There's no sense of 'why am I here?' or 'is this really needed?' since it's already been established by the referring doctor and reinforced with the chairside videos.

Beyond just facilitating the implementation of Patient Education in the operatory and with referring practices, Dr. Saltz also utilizes chairside videos to align, cross-train, and empower the team to confidently (and accurately) discuss treatment with patients. It's allowed him to have real conversations with team members about how they can be more involved in practice growth - even if they're new to dentistry entirely.

"I think Patient Education resources are very empowering. Some practice team members initially have no background [in dentistry] and others may have an assistant or hygiene background," he says. "Patient Education videos level the playing field and empowers everyone on the team because they're more prepared and aware of how to educate patients."

Dr. Saltz' efforts have led to a tangible improvement in how the team communicates with referring offices and how well they can deliver a seamless experience for patients. For Dr. Saltz, however, the experience has also positioned him to foster meaningful partnerships with clinicians in his community. 

“ As an associate, this is another way for me to demonstrate that the practice can provide more value to them on an on-going basis. I think that's important because for a new doctor in their referral base, you need to demonstrate this value more immediately. This is a way to grow the office culture beyond the walls of the actual practice.

Dr. Saltz continues to work closely with clinical team members and referral practices to integrate new videos into custom chairside playlists for referring doctors.