Like every profession, dentistry is becoming increasingly digitised. While this brings many benefits to the industry, such as increased efficiency for patients, better quality of treatments, and time-saving opportunities for dentists, there are also drawbacks to this trend.
One of these challenges comes when young dentists first enter the profession. The proliferation of digital learning opportunities, video learning, and remote-first working environments might mean cost savings, but clinical support is lost.
So, what can be done to mitigate these challenges? It’s crucial that young dentists have first-hand experience in clinics. It is through experience and mistakes that we learn the most. However, in a dental practice, making mistakes is not a viable option. In this blog, our expert team dives into what clinical support is, and the top three reasons why this kind of teaching is critical for young dentists.
What is Clinical Support?
Clinical support is where a team of master-level clinicians provide dentists of all ages and experience with ongoing support and guidance. This in turn allows dentists to develop and advance their own skills and knowledge.
With the gradual digitisation of the dental industry, the crucial first-hand clinical support young dentists receive, and the number of opportunities for young dentists to learn in person from their superiors, is slowly diminishing. Fortunately, there are ever-burgeoning solutions to this digital conundrum.
More and more online platforms are providing young, and experienced, dentists with clinical support from afar. Worldwide, teams of experienced working professionals in dentistry with boundless levels of skills and knowledge are providing mentorship, and online support through troubleshooting forums.
Three Reasons Young Dentists Need Expert Clinical Support
The benefits of expert clinical support are endless, but let us explore the top three reasons.
- Improve confidence
Starting your first job out of university can be daunting, especially when you deal with patients and offer treatments that impact people’s lives.
Expert clinical support can boost morale and confidence in young dentists, and in your practice, and foster the professional development of yourself and your team. This in turn can improve the quality of care patients’ receive.
- Improve patient quality of care patients’ health and wellbeing
With the help of clinical support, young dentists have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to perform a procedure, therefore improving the patient outcomes.
Without any expert clinical support, young dentists may make preventable errors, leading to distrust, lack of confidence, and in the worst cases, health concerns to their patients. However, with access to clinical support these mistakes can be mitigated and the quality of care and wellbeing patients receive will rise.
- Reduce cost: benefit ratio
Expert clinical support can offer young dentists the opportunity to verify the dental plan for their clients before carrying out any treatment that would incur costs.
Not only will the young dentist save money from the potential outcome of undertaking multiple procedures to remedy avoidable mistakes, but it also saves time. Moreover, it continues to boost the client’s faith in the dentist’s abilities, securing loyal customers.
The benefits of accessing expert clinical support as a young dentist far outweighs the costs.
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Our Clinical Case Forum
With the increasing number of options to access online clinical support, it can be hard to know where to look, and who to trust.
At LDi, all students on our accredited postgraduate dental courses have access to the Clinical Case Forum. This is a space designed solely for LDi members to upload their clinical cases, receive advice and mentoring from our expert faculty, and review existing cases from your colleagues and peers.
By submitting as much detail and evidence as possible into the Forum, members can interact with personalised feedback and support directly from their tutors, who are also busy practising clinicians. This first-hand feedback can prove invaluable as you embark, or expand, on your clinical journey.
Final Thoughts
Clinical support is an important factor for anyone working in the dental care environment. What was once a learning tool in propria persona is now becoming increasingly digitalised and accessible online.
Despite young dentists not having as many opportunities to learn from in person clinical support, it is still essential for young dentists to utilise one of the many online expert clinical support platforms offered. Not only will expert clinical support boost the confidence of young dentists, it will improve the patients’ quality of care, health and wellbeing, all whilst maintaining a reduced cost: benefit ratio.
By becoming a member of LDi, you will have access to a forum monitored and executed by some of the world’s greatest clinicians. Through our Clinical Case Forum, you can receive expert clinical support whether you are at the beginning of your clinical career, or years down the line. This in turn will provide you with the support and confidence you need to excel in your work.
