12,000 Steps at Work? Your Dental Practice Has a Problem

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00:00:15: Hello!

00:00:16: I'm Dr.

00:00:16: Martin Baxman.

00:00:17: You know, we've all had that moment.

00:00:18: you're right in the middle of a critical procedure.

00:00:20: everything is flowing perfectly and then your assistant has to leave the room.

00:00:23: Maybe it's for specific tool maybe its for clinical camera.

00:00:25: It doesn't matter.

00:00:26: In that instant Its not just about lost time.

00:00:28: You have broken professional flow of entire practice.

00:00:30: Today were going dive into this hidden inefficiency And more importantly how you can eliminate good.

00:00:35: So here our game plan First will uncover the hidden costs of chaos.

00:00:39: Then i'll show you a surprisingly simple tool To actually see wasted movement.

00:00:43: After that, we'll challenge a common myth about productivity.

00:00:45: We will wrap up with two concrete steps you can take right away and finally look at what it feels like to achieve the perfect SwissWatch rhythm!

00:00:51: This right here gets into the absolute heart of it.

00:00:54: That moment an assistant leaves chair side isn't just small delay It's fracture, breaks your concentration, stalls team momentum And also subtly changes patient perception But has some pretty significant ripple effects.

00:01:07: Ok let jump in our first section.

00:01:10: The real problem is often hiding on plain sight.

00:01:13: We're talking about unnecessary movement, probably one of the most overlooked and costly forms of waste we deal with every single day.

00:01:19: You see what were all striving for is on left – a swiss watch rhythm!

00:01:22: Every moving is deliberate efficient & purposeful but reality so many us if being honest looks more like right chaotic mess people rushing back and forth constantly reacting instead prepared that gap between ideal and realty?

00:01:34: That's where our efficiency goes to die.

00:01:36: And this core concept… every extra step your team takes everytime they have search first supply it adds up.

00:01:41: And this isn't just about losing a few seconds here and there.

00:01:43: It's a constant drain on your team's energy, both physical and mental.

00:01:46: When they're drained you patient flow inevitably slows down.

00:01:49: The good news?

00:01:50: This is something we can actually measure!

00:01:51: Because we can measure it... We can fix it.

00:01:53: So how do we begin to fix it?

00:01:54: Well..we start by making the invisible visible You really cant' fix problem that you cannot see.

00:01:58: Let us talk of powerful but incredibly simple tool That will make all these hidden waste crystal clear.

00:02:09: Well, the answer is you have to map it out.

00:02:12: And the tool for that is believe or not very low-tech.

00:02:15: It's called a spaghetti diagram.

00:02:16: as simple as this sounds You take floor plan of your practice and just trace path.

00:02:19: team member takes over couple hours.

00:02:21: Follow them with pen from treatment room to sterilization area front desk back another room.

00:02:25: Just draw lines.

00:02:26: Let me tell you its call spaghetti diagram Because when you're done, the result often looks like a tangled mess of pasta on a plate.

00:02:33: But within that mess?

00:02:33: The problems become immediately obvious!

00:02:35: You see repeated trips, inefficient office layout and supplies stored in the wrong place... It all just pops right off page.

00:02:41: And these are movements to create this tangled mess.

00:02:44: We talk about big things short Like an assistant walking into reception back five times.

00:02:48: but it's also micro-movements Constantly reaching three different drawers for one procedure Getting up down from chair because something isn't within arm reach.

00:02:55: Every single one is another strand spaghetti draining your practice time energy.

00:02:58: All right, now I wanna talk about a really crucial mindset shift.

00:03:02: We have this tendency to think that being busy or physically active means we're being productive.

00:03:06: but i'm gonna argue in clinical setting the exact opposite is often true and here's an interesting way of thinking about it.

00:03:12: A tool most us has-a simple fitness tracker can actually tell powerful story.

00:03:16: Your team might be proud hitting their ten thousand steps during work day But our environment?

00:03:19: That high step count could actually be massive red flag.

00:03:22: Think like this Let say you see thirty patients at afternoon And your tracker shows twelve thousand steps.

00:03:27: That doesn't mean you had a highly productive session.

00:03:29: It probably means that you were disorganized, it means running back and forth chasing down supplies or working inefficiently – its sign of chaos!

00:03:35: Now contrast with this… What if we see the same thirty patients?

00:03:39: But at end-of-the day your tracker only shows fifteen hundred steps.

00:03:42: What does that tell us?

00:03:43: That tells everything was prepared to extreme discipline excellent systems an state of true uninterrupted professional flow And that's the key takeaway here.

00:03:51: We need to completely reframe what productive looks like in The confined space of our practices.

00:03:56: efficiency isn't about covering more ground.

00:03:57: It's about making every single movement count and our world.

00:04:00: less is definitely More okay, so we've identified the problem.

00:04:03: We know how to measure it a new way.

00:04:05: So What do we actually?

00:04:06: Do?

00:04:06: let's get practical.

00:04:07: Here are two actionable steps you and your team can implement literally tomorrow To start untangling Your workflow.

00:04:12: the action plan Is beautifully simple Two parts.

00:04:15: Step one is diagnosis, you have to visualize the problem.

00:04:17: that means getting The team together and drawing That spaghetti diagram.

00:04:20: step two Is the intervention?

00:04:22: You use that activity data We talked about not as a punishment but has A new kind of Team challenge for step One.

00:04:27: I really encourage you To make this a team exercise.

00:04:30: it's Not About being perfect It's about starting a conversation.

00:04:32: once you Have that visual mop you'll immediately See the low hanging fruit the routes you can shorten Just by reorganizing a single supply cabinet.

00:04:38: then Come step two.

00:04:39: turn it into a positive game.

00:04:41: The goal is not to stand perfectly still, of course.

00:04:43: the Goal Is To Work Smarter.

00:04:45: When you challenge your team to complete their work with fewer steps it forces better planning.

00:04:49: It forces everyone to think ahead and make sure each room is fully prepared before patient even sits down.

00:04:53: So let's wrap this up by focusing on why Why should we go through this effort?

00:04:57: Because making these changes isn't just about saving a few minutes here or there.

00:04:59: its fundamentally transforming an entire feeling in environment for practice For You!

00:05:04: For Your Team And Absolutely For Your Patience.

00:05:06: And you see, when you eliminate all that physical static —all of the wasted movement—you preserve your single most valuable resource.

00:05:12: Your team's cognitive energy!

00:05:13: This means everyone can direct their focus where it truly matters on complex clinical thinking and decision-making that leads to excellent patient outcomes.

00:05:20: And this?

00:05:21: THIS is ultimate payoff.

00:05:22: When finally untangle that spaghetti The whole practice takes a deep breath.

00:05:26: The atmosphere just gets calmer.

00:05:27: You're team isn't completely exhausted at end day.

00:05:29: Believe me patients feel this.

00:05:31: They sense calm professional flow.

00:05:32: It gives them much higher confidence in care they are receiving.

00:05:35: So I'll leave you with a question to think about tonight.

00:05:37: What does the spaghetti in your practice look like?

00:05:40: Can you picture those tangled lines, and more importantly what do you think YOU & YOUR TEAM could really achieve if you finally decided to untangle

00:05:49: it?!