Louise Bone has more than 17 years’ experience in dentistry including in NHS and private practices, hospital and training settings. Particularly passionate about compliance, delivering training, team motivation and the patient journey, Louise has been a Business Development Consultant at DPAS for the last six of those years.
Below she talks about her experience working for NHS Education for Scotland, the joy of transforming smiles at a specialist practice, and her advice on business planning and achieving your vision…
What is the most challenging experience you faced while working in dentistry?
During my time working as part of the NHS Education for Scotland Decontamination Team we delivered mandatory in-practice decontamination training to practices in accordance with the new guidance that was published. This was a particularly difficult time for principals and their teams as they often had to invest a lot of money into new equipment and/or change the layout of their practices to be compliant.
It was a little like playing devil’s advocate and initially it wasn’t well received. The practices also thought that the guidance would only be in force for a year or so, however, almost ten years down the line, it’s still there.
What has been your most memorable experience whilst working in a practice?
When you can literally change someone’s life in a day…Working as a patient care coordinator in a specialist practice we would see patients who were at their wits’ end with their teeth, embarrassed, unable to eat, anxious, sometimes a mixture of all these things!
These patients would often come in one morning, have their teeth extracted, implants placed or a new bridge fitted by the end of the day, and seeing their reaction to their new and improved smiles was absolutely priceless and often resulted in hugs and lots of tears. It’s something that will never get old!
What are the biggest issues facing practice teams today, and how can they deal with them?
The pressures of the NHS – dentists often feel forced to work harder for less return, I am having this conversation with practices every week, that’s why you need a dental plan!
Compliance – keeping up to date is a full-time job for one person, never mind for someone who is also trying to do their other duties. Don’t be afraid to delegate, ask for help and consider external support.
Mental Health – realising it’s OK not to be OK and being able to ask for help, I’m always here to lend a non-judgemental ear.
What advice do you have for practices looking to grow their business?
Build your business plan for the short and the long term. Where do you want to be in six months, one year, three years? It’s wise to have a picture of where you want to be and then you can plan ahead to make sure you achieve what you want. However, try not to attempt to do everything at once, make small changes gradually – baby steps!
If you need support with the business side of running a practice, access courses and seek advice where you can. Some good places to start are local networking groups, Google Garage, and, of course, your DPAS BDC – we aren’t just about the dental plans
If you could only pick one thing that practices should be doing in order to succeed what would it be?
Involve the whole team in what’s happening and what the principal’s vision is for the future – often the team will have golden nuggets and ideas hidden in their tunic pockets.
What three key business lessons have you learned from your time in dentistry?
Don’t try to change the world in one day and by yourself – take small steps with your team behind you.
Ask the ‘experts’ for help – if you try to wing it more often than not, it will catch up with you.
Build a supportive community – get involved with local events and networking opportunities within your area.
What do you enjoy most about working in dentistry?
I love teeth! I also love that every day is different, my territory is fabulous and I can use all of my experience, whether it be clinical or non-clinical to help my practices. If I make a tiny difference to every person that I see daily, then I’ve done my job.
