The story behind Perio Therapeutics and Beyond's consulting kit [VIDEO]

An interview with Colleen Rutledge, RDH, on her “Do-It-Yourself” Dental Hygiene Department Consulting Kit.

Not every dentist is ready for the financial commitment necessary to hire a consultant, or is comfortable bringing someone in to help fix a problem in their practice.

That’s why Colleen Rutledge, RDH, hygiene consultant and owner of Perio Therapeutics and Beyond, came up with a way to bring dentists the information they need to improve their hygiene departments, with a minimal upfront investment. 

She created a six-hour, seven DVD video/PowerPoint training series, the “Do-It-Yourself” Dental Hygiene Department Consulting Kit-covering topics ranging from treatment planning non-surgical cases with locally-applied antimicrobials to communication skills to enhance patient compliance-that dentists and their teams can watch at their own pace.

Here, she describes the kit and how it can improve your hygiene department.

Q: What was the idea behind these DVDs?

A: My in-office, three-day dental hygiene consulting program has fabulous results, with ROI being double or even triple the initial investment in the first six months (visit PerioAndBeyond.com for case studies).

However, with the downturn of the economy, I noticed more dentists were interested in my services, but fewer actually scheduled a consultation. It was apparent many still wanted and needed my services, but hesitated to make the financial commitment.

The “Do-It-Yourself” Dental Hygiene Department Consulting Kit addresses this problem by making all my consulting material available to those dentists who find booking an in-office consultation cost prohibitive. 

Q: What was the development process like?A: A videographer captured video footage from an all-day hands-on course I presented. After editing the footage, a graphic designer inserted PowerPoint slides and “break slides” to enhance the learning experience.

The seventh disc includes a training manual and items necessary to build a successful and profitable perio program including: a detailed periodontal protocol, rational and technique tips for Arestin®, Atridox® and PerioChip®, tongue disinfection protocol, scripted “key words” to increase patient compliance, sample hygiene procedure schedules, non-surgical periodontal therapy consent forms, insurance codes and narratives / letters and more.

It also comes with training videos for tongue disinfection, ultrasonic instrumentation technique and the option of earning continuing education credits.

Q: What kind of feedback have you received since you released this last year?

A: Wonderful!  The “Do-it-Yourself” Dental Hygiene Consulting Kit is only $595, which is a great value when you consider the ROI. As one N.Y. dentist said: “If your DVD series helps my hygienist to treat just one non-surgical case that otherwise would be missed, then I’ve doubled my initial investment!” 

There also are several reasonably priced 2 hour DVDs and CDs ($59-79) that appeal to hygienists seeking to enhance their value as an employee on various topics including ultrasonics, locally-applied antimicrobials, and treatment planning non-surgical cases.

The “Do-it-Yourself” Dental Hygiene Consulting Kit is a sought-after product for dentists who are interested in increasing the variety of hygiene services as well as increasing production and positively affecting treatment outcomes.

Q: How can dentists and their team members get the most out of these DVDs?

A: The consulting kit consolidates more than 30 years of clinical experience in both fee-for-service and insurance-driven practices into six 60-90 minute segments on each DVD. 

My recommendation is devote one full day with the entire dental team to view the DVDs and follow the manual and review sessions. This yields the best results because all material is covered at once making for a better learning experience and faster increase in production and quality of services.

Q: Why would you encourage dentists to try this consulting kit in their practice?

A: Many dentists are looking for ways to increase hygiene production, but are too busy keeping current with advances in restorative dentistry in addition to managing their employees and running a business.

This kit is a valuable timesaver, putting all the information into one package. When practices implement the information, hygiene production skyrockets!

It’s also a great value as it’s a fraction of the cost of an in-office consultation and gives dentists all the tools needed to implement a solid non-surgical perio program. It comes with a complimentary hygiene department analysis and 30 minute conference call to discuss the findings.

Dentists who decide to schedule an in-office consult within one year can apply the entire cost of the kit toward an in–office consultation.

Want more great advice? Watch this Morning Huddle video with Jameson Management for 6 tips to make your hygiene department more profitable: