A fast track welcome to dentistry

There can be no doubt that the skills mix needed to create a thriving, contemporary dental business is diverse. Once the right skills mix has been created, teams of motivated professionals can cooperate to achieve agreed goals. This represents a huge shift in the culture of dental businesses, characterised by the need to create an inclusive team in which the nonclinical members contribute business management and customer care skills to deliver an excellent patient experience. Some of these skills are integral to traditional dental team skills, whereas others are new; practices may well opt to employ new staff to expand their skills mix, fully aware of the need to train their new recruit(s) in the culture and practicalities of working as part of a dental team. When blended with clinical excellence, this new mix creates dynamic dental services that meet the needs and expectations of patients and dental professionals.