Each day spent in your dental office is a day full of opportunities for teamwork – starting from your daily morning huddle, to preparing things out for patients, during procedures, and even up to closing out time. Although it is highly unlikely that your practice would function without teamwork, it is probable that your team rarely think about teamwork itself, and what each person’s contribution actually means. At the basic sense of the word, teamwork is how people work together to achieve common goals.  In a dental practice teamwork means being able to create a very professional environment that can also be fun to deliver top notch patient care.

True teamwork is founded on mutual respect. It also means putting aside any differences and personal priorities, focusing mainly on what’s good for the practice and of course, its patients. Teamwork is not achieved in an instant, it takes time, practice, and more importantly the willingness of everyone to commit to a specific set of ethics and goals.

Respect and trust go hand in hand of course. As a member of a dental practice you trust that everyone in the team knows how to do their jobs and that they’ll do it with as much dedication as you do. Everybody should be comfortable to ask for help when needed, if not, then that’s a sure-fire sign that your team lacks trust. If you cannot trust someone enough to be sure that you can count on them, then you’ll soon lose your respect for them pretty soon, too.

For both managers and doctors, teamwork primarily means easing up and letting go, allowing team members to perform tasks that you assign to them. If you do not know this already, trying to control how everything works does not necessarily mean you get more things done. It also does not mean there will be fewer mistakes in the system. In fact, having a control freak in the practice can get in the way of achieving a smooth and productive operation. Putting your trust in the people you work with give them the confidence that they are doing well, thus enabling them to focus on their tasks and areas of expertise.

Teamwork in a practice helps ensure success for every case, because every stage of the process is performed in the standard that you have set. Additionally, it makes gaining your patient’s confidence. Patients can sense when they are handled by a team that works exceptionally well together. This puts them at ease, so they in turn trust you to do your job too.

So why is teamwork necessary for a successful case?  Simple! Let’s just say, how can there ever be a case without teamwork?