If you wish to view this growth diary in audio or video format , feel free to go there.
Video: Growth Diary 15
Audio: Growth Diaries Podcast 15
We have explored growth in so many forms in these diaries. We have discussed how it can enable you, enable your teams and enable your business. We have discussed how the GDC can use it to change the CPD we do. The potential is huge. We hope you have found value in the posts and are ready to join us on the 7th May for the TubulesLive. If you have still not signed up, please do find the link at the bottom of this email.
We now focus on growth for the team members.
We wanted to add some posts to the growth diaries, dedicated to the many dental nurses, DCPs and teams out there. We hope the previous posts resonated with you but these next ones are specific to you. The last growth diary was for the dental nurses. This one in particular is for the dental therapists.
Sometimes you may feel like you are sitting in surgery doing your utmost best. Yet you may feel like your patients don't value you. They seem to complain that you are expensive. Your teams don't take you seriously. They don't listen to your suggestions, they don't value you.
Sometimes you may feel stuck and disillusioned. You may go through days when you are seeing so many patients, one after the other, all on your own, trying your best, recording all the notes meticulously, and not having all the instruments available for you to use. Sometimes you may feel that your skills, that you have trained for, are not being utilised to their maximum. After all that, you hear demoralising words that make you feel down.
Let us tell you, dental therapists, that you are as important in the dental care machine as everyone else. You form that bedrock of patient trust and continuity. So many patients see you for more than just the one-off treatment. They regularly visit you knowing that you look after their health and they feel comfortable with you. Sometimes you know you can do something as well as other team members.
If you are a dental therapist, growth can also serve you. Growth can help you tap into your potential and help you discover your abilities in dentistry, around dentistry and out of dentistry.
You see, CPD is a list of tick boxes that you do as they have been prescribed to you. CPD keeps you on the treadmill. On the other hand, growth is a set of wider skills you can achieve to make yourself more valuable. You can take these skills anywhere and do things that are beyond your day to day job.
Take the story of Mel Prebble, who gained skills in business and understood how to make the business side of hygiene and therapy profitable and impactful for dental practices. She now helps dental practices achieve this.
The story of Cat Edney, a dental therapist, who just wanted to show that she was worth more than those around her believed. Well those around her now believe she is worth more and the practice she is in value her more. Cat embraced growth to run courses and empower others.
Take the story of Benji Blum, who fell into dentistry as a dental receptionist. He embraced his journey into dentistry. He started with dental nursing and fought the stigma that dental nursing was not a normal career for a male. He went on to to do dental hygiene, inspired and encouraged by his tutor Bal Chana. He didn't stop. He embraced growth to become a dental therapist, and an orthodontic therapist. The journey from being a dental nurse to becoming an orthodontic therapist was riddled with challenges, but he embraced growth. Growth even gave him the ability to create PGDs to help therapists work under Direct Access.
There are many stories for those who took the step to move outside their comfort zone and embrace growth. You can do it through growth. You know the dental care world and patient empathy so well. You understand how the patients feel when they come into surgery (after all patients feel so much more comfortable speaking to you then the dentists). You understand the processes of care so well. You see things from a perspective that no other dental professional can. You could use growth to power up solutions that can be valuable to your practices, or even other practices, like Mel, Cat and Benji did. You have potential and options.
The options for your growth are limitless. Embrace growth and reach your potential.
To help you, at Dentinal Tubules we have a special rate for dental hygienists and therapists, so do check in. It is cheaper than most CPD providers and you get growth as part of your membership. Check it out.
How can you use growth for all of this. Here is a potential way to do it.
1. Use your experience to identify other gaps in the patient journey
2. Think of potential ways you can solve those gaps
3. Use your growth platform like DentinalTubules to learn about those gaps
4. Make a solution that you can present to your practice team
5. If they like it, make an implementation plan and see how it works.
The options are limitless and so is your potential. Go embrace it.
When you do not engage in growth, and instead engaged in CPD, you are likely to overcome the 15 challenges.
If you want to rise above those 15 challenges and become a powerhouse in this rapidly changing world, join us at the TubulesLive on the 7th May 2025 as we unravel further.
It also has a list of the 15 common challenges – how many of these do you face?
Have a look and if the questions resonate, sign up for the TubulesLive at https://www.dentinaltubules.co..