The Compliance Divas Podcast
Our podcast covers current topics such as infection prevention and control, OSHA and HIPAA compliance for dentistry. We discuss the latest regulatory information, answer frequently asked questions and give suggestions for dental practices to make compliance easy and sustainable. The Compliance Divas are a trusted source for consistent, accurate information based upon current guidelines, standards, science, and recommendations.
The Compliance Divas Podcast
Episode #129 Catching Up with Our Good Friend Kevin Henry, Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Bicuspid
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Dr. Bicuspid https://www.drbicuspid.com/
Dental Assistant Nation Podcast https://soundcloud.com/user-649058115
Welcome. I'm Leslie Cannon. I'm Mary Gavoni.
SPEAKER_04I'm Linda Harvey. I'm Olivia Juan. And together we are the Compliance Divas.
SPEAKER_03Welcome to the Compliance Divas podcast. I'm Mary Gavoni. I'll be your moderator for this episode with a very special guest, Kevin Henry. The Compliance Divas bring clarity and simplicity to compliance by navigating the regulatory world to keep you on course. You can subscribe to the Compliance Divas podcast through your favorite podcast channel or on our website, thecompliancedevas.com. Any resources that we mentioned during the podcast can be found on thecompliancedivas.com or the show notes on your podcast app. If you have questions, you can submit them to us by email at support at thecompliancedivas.com. Kevin Henry, welcome back. You were our first guest on our inaugural episode two and some odd months ago, and you have been one of our biggest cheerleaders and supporters. And we thank you for your support. We also thank you for being this really passionate advocate for dental assisting. Um, Kevin, you can talk a little bit in a in a second. I promise I'll give you the microphone about your new position as editor-in-chief of Dr. by Cuspid. We're very excited for you. And Kevin is also a podcaster, very, very popular podcast, DA Nation. And so tell us a little bit about your new position and tell us what's going on at DA Nation.
SPEAKER_00Well, I mean, first off, I'm just excited to be back with the Divas. I mean, not only do you all do such great work in the world of fesh control and making sure that people have the correct information, you know, I consider each of you friends. So I'm very honored to be back here and get to hang out with you all for a little bit. And yes, I'm very honored to be back as uh editor-in-chief for Doctor by Cuspid. That's an that's a publication that I ran for a couple of years. We took a little sabbatical and now we are back, and I'm very excited to see what we can do there, uh, not only in terms of making sure that people have the right and fresh control information, but also bringing on so many of my friends who are legends and voices in this industry, much like all of you. So uh good things lie ahead, and I'm very excited about that.
SPEAKER_03Great. We just are so thrilled again that that we have, as you said, those friendships with you and that we can all coordinate things together. Um, Divas, do you have questions that you burning questions for Kevin? Linda.
SPEAKER_05Well, Kevin, one of the things that I've always admired about you uh is the fact that you're just so passionate about the dental assisting members on our team. As as as you know, many of the divas have had experience of being as a dental assistant since we got started. Mine was the shortest experience of everybody, but I have a wee bit back in the dark ages. Uh, but tell us what's new in the world of dental assisting. Where do you see where do you see the profession going? What do you see some of the needs and challenges are given you know the staffing issues that are happening today?
SPEAKER_00There are a lot of needs and challenges. I mean, there's no doubt about it. I think anybody who is in the dental dental space right now knows that we are trying to figure out what's coming next. And, you know, there's a report out there from the American Dental Association that says we're certainly not through the worst of this. In fact, uh, according to the ADA Health Policy Institute, over the next five years, we're going to lose a third of the dental assistants that we currently have working. And so there is a lot that is getting ready to happen in terms of turnover, in terms of new faces, in terms of not only dental assisting, having these young new voices come in, but but all aspects of dentistry, hygiene, dentists, you know, every everything, office uh managers. So, what I see really happening with dental assisting is that we as an industry have to prepare for this new generation that is coming in. And some of us who have, let's just say, different color hair, maybe than some of those who are coming in, we have to be prepared to teach the way that they learn. We have to be prepared to understand what it is that is important to them and to keep them passionate about dentistry. And if we're talking about infection control, if we're talking about patient communication, all these different things where dental assistants, for example, really play such a key role, we have to understand what is important to them and what their key triggers are whenever it comes to learning. And then, you know, we always expect others to adapt, but I really think that this is a situation where those of us who have been in the industry for so long, we're going to need to adapt a little bit as well to make sure that this current generation understands just how valuable they are to the future of our profession.
SPEAKER_05Oh, Kevin, I couldn't agree more when you're talking about adapting from both ends because we're all senior veterans, you know, in the dental profession and in one way or another. And it's not our way or the highway. Dentistry has changed significantly. And we were just talking among ourselves a few minutes ago about how technology has just totally transformed a dental practice. It's transformed the delivery of dental care and it's transformed the quality of the outcomes that can be provided. So if we can all stay passionate to where I think dentistry is going, then it becomes, you know, what's the best practices for everybody, not Mary's best practices and Linda's best practices or Olivia's. It's not, it's not individually one. It's it's we're all together and we're moving forward as a team and as a profession.
SPEAKER_00And, you know, there's I I'm blessed to have a 25-year-old daughter. She is one of my best friends. I mean, and and I we have such a great relationship. And, you know, you so many of you have seen her grow up uh in this industry, you know, and now she's married, she's starting her physical therapy career, you know, and so I kind of love to talk to her about how she learns and about the things whenever she goes into a workplace, what she faces on a daily basis from those who are already established. And that really gives me a good idea on what we need to be doing in dentistry, a little bit of that. And so I think honestly, there's times that we just need to sit down and talk with this next generation. And and like you said, the technology, you know, my gosh, I learned so much from her. Uh, I'm still not a TikToker or anything like that, but I know that there's so many things that I can just learn from her in terms of ways that I can be more productive and streamline the things that I do every day. And I think that's what we've got to do is just open up those lines of communication.
SPEAKER_03Olivia, you had your hand raised. What is your question for Kevin?
SPEAKER_04Well, maybe not so much a question, but Kevin, I know you alluded to it, but I want to highlight the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed the article, Dental Workforce Shortages, Data to Navigate Today's Labor Market. If our listeners have not read it, they need to read it. I actually downloaded it so I could read it on the plane when I was headed to San Diego last week. And I just want to let you know how much I appreciate the effort that you invested in that and coming up with the data. And I want to highlight approximately one-third of the dental assistants and dental hygienist workforce indicate they expect to retire in five years or less. So I think we have focused so much on the shortage as far as the great resignation is concerned, but we haven't focused on the great retirement. So can you elaborate on that, Kevin?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and and thank you for that because that was something I loved working with the ADAA, Danby, uh, you know, the some of the other dental assisting uh education platforms that are out there to talk about all this data. And it was an eye-opener for me. And you're exactly right. It's not that people are, you know, they're tired of dentistry, they're they're ready to leave. It's that we are hitting that retirement age. And so the question becomes not only how are we going to impact or how are we going to fill the positions from the great resignation, as you say, Olivia, but also the great retirement as well. And I think that dental practices have to be proactive. This is not something that you can just sit there and say, well, we'll deal with that one of these days. We'll deal with that eventually. This is something that you really need to be sitting down with your team now and talking to them about the next three, five years, what their career goals are. And not just those that you think may be inching toward retirement or thinking about it, but those 25, 30, 35-year-olds that are really in the prime of their career, make sure that they know that they're you are invested in them and you're invested in them being a part of your team. And so I think it's really important that we do those, you know, and I bang the drum all the time for things called stay interviews, you know, where we're talking at least once a year with every member of our team about what their goals are, what their hopes are, what they want to see improved in the workplace. You know, and I know that that's not always a comfortable conversation for a lot of folks who are dentists or office managers because that's not why you went to school. But it's something that the team members need to know that this is the spot for them and that you're watching out for them and wanting to keep them growing and moving forward.
SPEAKER_04Great information, Kevin. And I want to point out something else that you helped the ADA compile is that you know, people are looking for those benefits: health insurance, paid sick leave, paid time, CE that's paid for. So even if we get these positions filled, unless we have this, it's going to be hard to retain them. Is that right, Kevin?
SPEAKER_00It it is, you know, and and I I always tell the story about a dear friend of mine who's uh who was a dental assistant, was being the keyword in Austin, Texas. Great dental assistant. She did wonderful work at a dental practice down there, and she's now a barista at Starbucks. You know, and it's something that unfortunately, like you said, there was 401k options, there was health insurance options, there was better schedule for her. And so she left dentistry, loved dentistry, loved what she did as an assistant, but still she had to think about what was best for her and what was best for her family. And I think that we in dentistry need to realize that it's not while we can always talk about yes, you're doing things to help people, you're doing things to help them smile again. You know, all the altruistic things about dentistry, we've got to also be thinking about our employees as people and employees that that need insurance, that need to bonuses, that need all these things. And if you don't give it to them, they are going to find it in other fields. And that's going to be an even bigger concern for us, I think, if we don't address this.
SPEAKER_03I so agree, Kevin, because the number one cause of bankruptcy now for families in America is medical debt. And so where many dentist employers feel the pinch of the premiums, um, the employees certainly feel the pinch in their pocketbooks if they don't have that resource to uh to fall back on. And we are going to, for our listeners, we are going to um put a link to that article so that they can read it, perhaps share it with their um employers if they haven't read that article. And Leslie, you wanted to uh mention something.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, and Kevin, I 100% agree with your conversation with Olivia. Olivia and I were both in San Diego this past week speaking for the American Association of Oral and Maxwell Facial Surgeons. And when I was talking to people at that meeting, one of the big things was uh work culture, the work culture environment. And uh I understand I'm extremely sensitive to the how the economy is making it so tough for dental practices and employers to really come up to a level of the higher pay and the and the better benefits. And I understand all of that is difficult, but it doesn't cost much to have a work culture where people feel valued, they feel appreciated that we do a few fun things, whether it's something as simple as a once-a-month lunch with the team to um a spa day. I mean, even men like to have that nanny pedicure once in a while. And and uh, you know, a group picnic. I know up here where I live in Calaveras County, we have lots of fun recreation things, skiing, and we have boats. And I remember my boss rented a houseboat and he invited the entire team to come with their spouses and their families or kids on that houseboat. It was just the greatest team building. And it felt like he cared about each and every one of us beyond our faces besides him at the chair side. He cared about our families, he cared about us having fun and what great memories we made. So, work culture is something that doesn't cost a lot, but means a lot to team members.
SPEAKER_00Uh I I think you hit it on the head, Leslie. I really do. Because in a lot of times, uh, you know, you all may talk to Don Praxis and they say, oh, we've got to do these big Christmas dinners or holiday dinners or summer outings. And and I always say that it's something that you don't need to blow the budget to do something that big. But like you said, small incremental things along a year, I think really matter. And I will tell you, I talk to so many assistants, and I'm sure you all hear this as well. So many assistants tell me that they would be happy working somewhere that didn't have drama. That they would be more than happy to come in every day and not worry about what's gonna blow up that day. You know, and I think whenever we talk about how do we make the workplace better for this next generation, a lot of times we have to think about how do we make it less toxic? How do we make it somewhere that people want to stay and they don't hit that alarm or that snooze button 17 times because they don't want to come in because they know that something's something's gonna go awry during the day.
SPEAKER_05Kevin, to to piggyback off that, the whole toxic environment is so important to do away with the drama and eliminate the toxicity. And I think it really starts with the head of the practice. The doctor has to figure out how to be a leader. And sometimes that's not a place where he or she is comfortable being. And if they can just recognize that and maybe hire a coach for themselves and look for other alternatives to work around something that they're not comfortable with to develop that strength or work on other strengths they have to keep that going, because that's so very important because that leader sets the pace, you know, and if they don't care about themselves wearing PPE like they should be, they're not gonna encourage and require their team members to sit next to them as a dental assistant and wear the proper PPE.
SPEAKER_00Completely agree. And, you know, we know all of us know that that often dentists aren't comfortable tackling an issue, tackling something that may be going on in the practice. But I will tell you, we are coming to the point in our industry where you can either choose one of two things. You can choose to ignore it and let it fester and then try to figure out how to fill one of those positions, or you can tackle it and make sure that your team understands that you're all about unity, all about harmony. And I think that that's really the choice that we have come to since COVID is what do which direction do you want to go? And and you know, it's a choice, but there are with choices come consequences.
SPEAKER_05And I think the doctors need to be thinking perhaps two steps down the line, Kevin, when you mentioned that, because when they choose to do nothing, that is choosing to foster whatever's going on or wrong, you could say, in the practice. And then they wonder why they can't recruit anybody because the word's already out in the community. And so it's it's their reputation that's at stake. And eventually the patients realize this. And so it really just snowballs to the negativity and the negative impact on our practice, would you say?
SPEAKER_00Dentistry is a small industry. Uh, you know, it doesn't matter whether it's those of us who are consultants and we all know each other and work together, or it's a dental practice in Denver or Atlanta or wherever. Word travels fast. If there's somewhere you want to avoid, trust me, people will be more than happy to say, yeah, you don't want to go interview there because dot dot dot.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. You know, it's interesting, Kevin. Um, we'll use it, we'll use terminology that the dentist will understand completely. It's called supervised neglect. So when we have a patient that's not willing to follow the program and you want to continue, that's, but I want to also mention that the complaints division have a great podcast, um, podcast episode number 119, where we learn from Catherine Itel Belt, the great communicator, how to have courageous conversations. And that would be a good one for dental teams to listen to so that they can confront team members that are uh creating chaos and drama and uh have the conversations about bringing that uh to a head and not having that continue.
SPEAKER_00It's a great point, Leslie. And one thing that I think so many people think is that they have to reinvent the wheel, that they have to come up with everything and how do I tackle this? And you don't have to tackle it alone. You know, as was mentioned earlier, you know, find a consultant, find a coach, find somebody like Catherine who specializes in this and lean on their expertise to help get you through this trouble that you're going through.
SPEAKER_03And it's as simple as you know, saying thank you or good job or letting the team know, hey, today was a great day because that means everything. Usually they only discuss it when it's all going down the toilet and patients are unhappy and they're unhappy. Hey, let's celebrate. We had a great day today. Um, and thank you for coming in early, saying like whatever it is, it doesn't cost anything to do those very simple things.
SPEAKER_00You know, and and we always hear about the patient who gripes about the injection or, you know, uh says, I don't want to be here. You know, we always hear those things. How often are we sharing in those morning huddles about the patient that you know was so thankful that you caught oral cancer early or whatever it might be? You know, share the good things, foster positivity in those team huddles rather than, oh boy, Mrs. Jones is coming in at 11 and we know she's a gagger, you know, and all these type of things that they might dread. Give them something to look forward to and something to shoot for as a team together. Absolutely. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03Any final thoughts, Kevin, that you want to share with us?
SPEAKER_00You know, I I know we are coming up on the fourth quarter, the end of the year. A lot of people are going to start talking about New Year's resolutions. And I know we we shouldn't even talk about the holidays and anything like that, but I will tell you, this is the time of year that everybody starts planning ahead for next year. And one of the biggest hopes that I have for every dental practice is that they include how to keep their team members happy in their plans for 2024. You know, make that a part of your team planning is having those courageous conversations, having those moments where you can sit down and say, what'd we do good this year and what could we improve upon? And I think that just wording like that is key because you know, you can always say, well, what did we fall short on? What did we do badly? No, what can we improve upon? You know, you've got a foundation there, but how are you gonna build that house to make sure that everybody feels comfortable? And I think if you make that part of your 2024 plans, that goes just as far as financial planning or anything else that you're gonna do to prep for the new year.
SPEAKER_03Awesome, awesome thought. And part of being happy at work is feeling safe. So to tie it back into compliance, then if um practices can simply, you know, decide that that's part of their culture that that Leslie was talking about. Our work culture is the safest, uh to quote OSAP, the safest dental visit, the safest visit for patients, the safest place to work for employees, then they will be happy and or happier, and hopefully they will stay and and make it a career. Leslie.
SPEAKER_01I also wanted to make uh mention since we have uh Kevin Back is editor of Dr. by Cuspid, that that's a good place to get information on safety and compliance. And I know that when Dr. by Cuspid uh newsletters come through on my email, I see something like that, I open it immediately. And I'm not like that. I've normally save my reading and and just uh you know, nice to know things uh till I have time to read them. But with Dr. by Cuspid, a lot of times it need to know information and impacts me. And I wanted to compliment Kevin on that particular publication is that they're always um up to the minute, uh cutting-edge information. When I open Dr. Pike by Cuspid, I have that information first, unless someone else has read Dr. by Cuspid. And I wanted to just ask for our listeners how people could subscribe so they can be notified of Dr. by Cuspid's fantastic newsletters, just like I am.
SPEAKER_00I've got to take Leslie around as my hype person now the whole time. I tell you what, that's awesome. Thank you. That's that's very sweet. And I'm gonna tell you that I have a great editorial team, and and my team is the one that really watches for those types of articles. So I'm definitely gonna pass along what you just said because that'll make their day. And thank you. Absolutely. It is drbycuspid.com. Uh, certainly you can go on there, you can log in, uh, sign up, everything is free. Uh, we have all sorts of newsletters, including our daily newsletter that comes out every afternoon. And we try to find things that not only will educate you, but also uh make you shake your head a little bit. Because trust me, whenever I hear about a dentist uh office that was open in the back of a 7-Eleven in Florida, well, you know, I just gotta write about that. So uh that I don't think they were probably very compliant, just a guess. But anyway. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03And also, Kevin, how can they subscribe to DA Nation?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Dental Assistant Nation, we come out weekly. Uh, you know, uh so many of you have been a part of that, and I appreciate that. Uh, we are longest running dental assistant focused podcast. I love uh speaking every week to those dental assistants out there. So if you find dental assistant nation, much like the compliance divas out there on every podcast channel, make sure you subscribe and we'll make sure that you give something that if you're not a dental assistant, you can pass along to them to make sure that they know there's a resource available for them.
SPEAKER_02And I think you also have authored a book or two, perhaps. Would you like to plug those as well?
SPEAKER_00You know, uh, if if you want to battle and beat those demons of dental assisting, absolutely. You man, I'm I tell you what, I'm gonna need to start sharing some of my uh uh funds with you guys. You all are doing hyping me up here. Uh, yes, Amazon uh battling and beating the demons of dental assisting. I wrote that book, and it it's really that's my signature course that I do at a lot of meetings. Uh I love to talk to those dental assistants because we know that they fight demons every day. And as we've talked about throughout this podcast, we want to keep them in this industry. So we've all got to be aware of what those are and what we can do to help them battle them.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. We'll put a link to that in our resources for the show notes and uh on our website. So, Kevin, Henry, thank you so much for giving us your time today on this episode. You know that we love you and um we appreciate your support and we appreciate all of the collaboration that we can do together to help dental assistants, help dental practices, and increase safety.
SPEAKER_00Well, the feeling is mutual. You all are among my dearest friends, and and I love that you all are out there spreading the good word as well. So let's just present it together. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03All right, thank you. In closing, we hope that you join us for our next episode. Remember that the compliance divas navigate the regulatory world to keep you on course for compliance. You can ask questions by email at support at the compliance divas.com. The resources will be included on the show notes and on our website, thecompliancedivas.com, and we hope to see you again on another episode.