By Chris Barrow on 25 June 2009
My thanks to John Davies for bringing this to my attention
Smile Pod appears to be a walk-in hygiene practice which wants to franchise.
I’m confused at the term “walk-in hygienist” and then the reference that all treatment is provided by professional dentists (are there some unprofessional ones?).
Of particular interest to me is the price list CLICK HERE which has de-commoditised their services into experiences – very clever.
At first glance the web site looks very primitive but it’s a fascinating concept and I wish them well.
Posted in Dentistry |
About the Author
25 June 2009 by Chris Barrow
Chris Barrow is co-founder of Barrow Kwong Hing Group of Companies, a private dental corporate active in independent and retail dentistry and post-graduate dental education, operating in the UK and Canada.
Chris has been active as a consultant, trainer and coach to the UK dental profession for over 15 years. As a speaker he is dynamic, energetic and charismatic. In 1993 Chris moved into business coaching and became one of the first UK students at Coach University, from where he graduated as a certified coach. In 1997, he created The Dental Business School (DBS) and the development of a 12-month business coaching programme for dental practice owners and their teams, delivered to over 400 UK dental practices in the following 10 years.
In the last 5 years Chris has acted as a Non-Executive Director, Director and Consultant to a number of dental corporates, whilst maintaining his freelance activity as a dental business coach for independent practice owners. BKH is the culmination of his past experience in the business of UK dentistry
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Chris Barrow said 
dave mantle said 
Premident (@Premident) said 
(@ChrisBKH) (@ChrisBKH) said 
Dental Practices For Sale said
Primitive Chris
So was my Garden Shed !!!!
But it worked well
If you are ever in Covent Garden do pop in
Harvey
Touche!
I’d love to.
cb
Is it me? There appear to be no hygienists listed in the staff / who-are-we area!!
Hmmm…..I see no Hygienists either …..
I do hope that dentists are not carrying out dental treatments and pertaining to be Hygienists, I’m sure that I don’t have to remind anyone that the Title ‘Dental Hygienist’ is a protected title to be used by HYGIENISTS , not sure how the GDC would see that….
The walk -in hygienist line cannot be exactly true can it? as the patient would always have to been seen by and referred on to the Hygienist by a Dentist under current regulations.
However, I think the concept is great, and roll on the day when we can truly be walk in Hygienists (and yes I am one ! )
It appears to me that they are (at face value) using the term Hygienist illegally. Its a protected title, I can’t use the term dentist, neither can they use the term hygienist!
it is odd that no Hygienists are listed as staff but their services advertised throughout the site. Although a Dentist can do the same work as a Hygienist s/he cannot claim to be a Hygienist or work under their title it is ilegal.
I am the clinical director at smile pod and would like to reply to the above comments. First and most importantly we make it totaly clear to all our patients who they are seeing and what their qualifications are.. All our practioneres are GDC recognised . Every practioner has their practising certificate, a mini cv and qualifications framed on the wall. Our web site makes it clear that we employ Dentists and Hygienists. No one EVER claims to be something they are not.
Due to the GDC regulations we cannot employ hygienists to work without a prescription from a dentist. However we are about to recruit two hygienists to carry out tooth whitening ( after a dentist has seen the patient). We are activly seeking ways to work with more hygienists, including even using digital photographs with a remote dentist to make the diagnosis( this was not satisfactory). Our plans are to support your profession, and we are in the process of developing a product that WILL allow hygienists to become truly self employed and independant,.
(some how that got posted without me finishing)This product that will make it possible for Hygienists to run their own business employing dentists ( yes employing dentists) so that hygienists who want to be independent can truly work for themselves. Watch this space for me details or if you are interested you can email us at Smile pod.
Have already sent email to Harvey along the same lines as otheres here.
This quote from the website goes to the nub of my concern………..
Perhaps they do find out they’re seeing a dentist but I would suggest that’s perhaps not what got them there in the first place. The above quote and the logo strapline serves to confuse enough in my book.
Hygienists do not need a prescription since registration – a referral will suffice. Harvey is correct in that hygienists cannot yet see self referring patients as yet. That is supposedly under consideration but don’t hold your breath. Even though physiotherapists already enjoy a similar arrangement. Harvey says he’d like to work with more hygienists but unfortunately appears to have alienated at least some of us for now.
The brand is great but better clarity please.
Quote missed for some reason!
For too many people, finding a dentist and overcoming personal fears are big barriers to achieving a healthy mouth.
That’s why we’re bringing high-quality professional dental care to the high street in the form of a walk-in hygienist.
It is good that you are planning to support our profession, how are you doing this?
Are you consulting with other active hygienists who are supporting change if so who are they?
As a fully qualified registered dental hygienist I just want to lend my support to the growing number of people who think that the smilepod website is VERY misleading. Also when I saw a picture of a review of your practice on the mail on sunday website I was disturbed to see that ultrasonic scaling was being carried out by a person using no finger rests, in essence “freehand”, simply not acceptable, also the caption that accompanied the picture said this was being carried out by a “dental hygienist”, this of course was not true, it was a dentist. Please make swift changes to your website so it is no longer mis-leading.
“This product that will make it possible for Hygienists to run their own business employing dentists ( yes employing dentists) so that hygienists who want to be independent can truly work for themselves. Watch this space for me details or if you are interested you can email us at Smile pod”
Mr Grahame. This has been possible for some time circa 2006, and for you to suggest it’s a new concept baffles me.
There are quite a few DCP’s employing dentists already!
I would love to know a way to become truly inependent. Ie set up a practice do the job i am trained to do, without having to pay a dentist to write referrals.
maybe i could just have a signed pad of referrals from a dentist. since it seem the dentist at the smile pod dont do an exam or diagnose they just scale polish and whiten teeth. (we dont need a prescription just a referral!) I can do that, after all it what i do everyday
This business is a very interesting idea. As a young dentist I would like to make 3 points.
Firstly who is better at giving RSI and OHI; a dentist or a hygienist? As I often tell my patients the answer is a hygienist. They do it more often have had more specialist training in this area; they are the hygiene experts. Smile pod are missing a trick by not employing them.
Second. What is the unique selling point of this business. They make going to the dentist easier by not doing any dentistry? They mislead patients with prices for almost exactly the same treatment which is banded for no apparent reason? I always thought the aim of any dental treatment is to diagnose and treat dental problems whilst improving OH and the oral environment. The aim is not just to give people a high polish on damaged and decaying teeth. Futhermore all dentists should, and largely do, provide acclimatisation treatments to help nervous patients. However they have the advantage in that they can also offer sedation, hypnosis or other important adjuncts and can begin to do the necessary dental work once a trust has been established.
Thirdly, the days of dentists (or hygienists) working alone in little rooms is surely at an end. We should be working towards an integrated team approach to dentistry where everyone in the surgery does the work they are most qualified to do and delegate the other work accordingly. For example a surgery could have a endodontist, restorative dentist, hygienist etc all working in harmony under one trusted brand. This would surely be a more attractive business for a patient (I’m certain it would provide a better overall dental service to a patient). For me a hygienist only practice is a significant step back from this.
Yet having said all that I have a feeling this business will succeed because it is very well marketed. It focusses on the areas of dentistry that appeal to most patients. White teeth and fresh breath. To me this just highlights how important it is for dentists to market their services better. Smile pod can and will only succeed because the brand of dentist is so mistrusted and people are not educated enough about the importance of dental health (not just dental aesthetics).
So in conclusion I would say that we (as dentists) need to find a way to market dental health better whether that is by marketing the systemic problems associated with bad oral health, the negative effect in quality of lifecaused by loosing posterior function or becoming edentulous, or the large contibution to halitosis that dental decay makes (just a few ideas).
The hygienists are right to want to protect their brand from dentists misusing it, but it says a lot about the dentist brand that some of us feel the need use it in the first place.
.-= Chris O’Connor´s last blog ..Coronal Coverage For Root Filled Teeth Part 1 =-.
In my honest opinion the idea of the smile pod is great, as it may well bring in part of the 50% of the population that never attend. Chris made a good point about dentist having to use the brand of hygienist to build up trust. Like him I think hygienist and dentists should work as part of a team but not as master and slave but as equals both being able to accept patient as direct self referral and being able to generate an independent income not reliant on referral. This would remove the perceived barriers to dental care by allowing choice for the patient.
In every day practice I often see patients who require the attention of a dentist for broken or decayed teeth and I advice them accordingly. I will also sell (yes we are a point of sales) cosmetic treatment by advising them that the stained edge on a composite or poor margin of a crown or filling ect… can not be sorted by hygiene scaling polishing stain removal I would also explain that for some this has a tangible benefit to the holistic dental health This is what I would term a synergistic approach to dentistry.
A perfect practice would be when a patient journey starts with options. Which clinician they would like to see? Removing barriers, if the patient only wants smoking stain removed but has cavities they are unaware of, the hygienist could inform them of this they then have the option of informed choice. Ignore or treat. This natural team approach would help to build trust between patients and dental professionals by not forcing unwanted treatment whilst providing open access to the type of service a patient wants but providing access to a full dental service, if required
A lot of people object to paying £45 for a check up just to allow them to visit to a hygienist.@£35 In the same way as I would having to pay £55 for an MOT if I wanted to get an oil change on my car!!!
Referring to my previous post,
A) You have not consulted with other Dental Hygienists
B) Dental Hygienist have contacted you due to the incorrect information on your web site
C) Your web site is still misleading and therefore dishonest. (Though you could have changed this by now) but continue to mislead.
D) You say you offer ‘high-quality professional dental care to the high street in the form of a walk-in hygienist.’ This is more than misleading your web site implies that you only do scaling, whitening and tooth jewellery. High quality care to me would be to offer the services that your Dentist are qualified to do and not to just market the concept of ‘walk in hygienist’
Spot-on post, Chris.
Phil has encapsulated my position entirely.
This is what grips the most about the Smile-Pod concept – the ability to make a business out of the very thing hygienists are capable of but legally cannot as yet: Accept self referring patients in order to increase access to dental services generally and provide all clinicans with an additional opportunity to see the ‘lost’ 50%. Apparently misusing the trusted hygienist brand adds salt to the wound. I have received a reply to my email to Harvey but I remain unconvinced by his assertations.
Well said Phil. I think your right on this. For me the fustration of being a dentist is always the lack of percieved need for dental health checks and good dental health in general. I think this is far more of a problem in the Uk where people consider you get 3 sets of teeth (one being dentures). There is for instance a completey different attitude in North america; one which I think we should be trying to galvanise here.
I supose this fustration influenced my view on the smile pod business model. However if they can get more patients dentally aware then it is good for everyone (especially patients). The same goes for having hygienists who don’t need referals. We should use it to our advantage. How about a free 15 minute hygiene appointment to new patients and an offer to come back for dental assesment. Would you call that a Kedo Mr Barrow?
My one concern is that patients who leave these hygiene appointments would feel they have had a full dental check up. They would feel that the hygienist would surely have told them if there were any problems. I’m afraid that as far as I’m concerned this would not be the case. I would hope that we dentists are the experts in diagnosis and might be needed for this, as would radiographs and other diagnostic tools.
Finally an integrated team does not have a master or slave but it does have a boss. This could be a hygienist or dentist or other. It ensures that all employees are working for and protecting the company brand. I would rather see this model than two seperatly self employed hygieists and dentists who pass work to each other in the same building.
P.S. I’m enjoying this debate on this… but feel a bit sorry for smile pod. I think all the comments here are about the concept of a hygiene only practice not the business specifically. None of us have been to the practice so it’s not really fair to comment on smile pod as a business which I’m sure it is working well. looking back over the last comment I apologise if I caused any offence.
Chris
.-= Chris O’Connor´s last blog ..Technicians Tips =-.
I just came across this site, and I very much enjoy it.
I went to smilepod for a clean and never realised I was not seeing a hygienist. I was under the impression thats what they were.
I just came across Smilepod last night after searching for a dental hygienist in London ( just moved here ). I think it’s a fantastic concept..all I want is my teeth polished to look whiter. I don’t care about the regulations- IT’S POLISHING TEETH NOT KEYHOLE SURGERY!!!! I’ll be there on Saturday Smilepod really can’t wait!!!