There was a time I used to work in 14 dental centers in different cities on different days and schedules. For example, I used to go to a province once a week 330km away from the main city Shiraz. In one day I had to be in 3 different centers with patients appointed back to back to the point I had to eat my lunch in cab, going to a private clinic from a public government clinic.
During those times aside from enhancing my skills, I tried to learn about different clinic management to be able to see the differences and also be able to apply the best ones in my personal private clinic. They were the best of my younger days where learning and experiencing was my priority.
There were 3 distinct differences between private clinics and government based dental clinics as follow (these are my personal experiences in the current country I am living now, Iran. The current health care system is poor due to much discrepancies, incongruences and lack of correct rules and regulations regarding gov. insurances and services shouldered by the government. Also to note the economic system is more towards capitalistic type of economy like United States rather than socialistic ones like Canada, Australia or Scandinavian countries, though the political government system is somehow far from what is supposedly be democratic.):
- Socio-Economic Types of Patients:
The patients who come and seek treatments in public clinics differ much from those who come to private clinics. In a sense those going to private ones have more expectations and since they pay more in comparison to public centers, the quality of the services is also different. Therefore, usually patients in upper class of economy visit private clinics. Now the private clinics have different levels as well. The higher the quality of equipment and materials used and the more up to date are the technologies applied in practice the higher is the cost of the treatments. For example, dental implants are mostly done in private clinics and if a clinic is using intraoral scanners, designs and prints surgical guides and perform the treatment digitally may charge the patients even more. Hence patients know they should pay more for such services.
2.Types of Services:
The patients who go to public clinic know they are offered limited dental services (for example dental implants, Root Canal Re-treatment, Esthetics Restorations are not offered). Also, the patient knows due to lack of high-quality materials they shouldn’t expect a very much high-quality service as well.
Services like Digital Dentistry, One-day Implantology, Esthetics and Smile Designs, Invisalign Orthodontics, Digital Implantology, etc. are mostly done private practices. Therefore, those looking for high end quality and use of modern technologies in their treatments know they should approach the private practice ones.
3.Types of Practitioners:
Due to low income and few percentage incentive payments in public practice, mostly the dentists practicing in those centers are younger ones who either newly graduated or about to graduate. Since dentists in private practice earn better and have freedom in their practice, they have a choice of enhancing their skills in a particular treatment (like Endo, or Smile Design, or Ortho or Implants, etc) they are more experienced and have the capital to equip their clinics with the needed materials and devices. Hence the dentists in private practice are more experienced and skilled.
The fun thing I have noticed is each dental center, no matter private or public, is managed differently. And the type of management is directly related to the manager and/or chief dentist. Also, another fun thing I have noticed is that the types of dental staffs and employees in a dental center also depends to the manager. The public clinic hires staffs based on recommendations and requirements of each dental section and mostly the attitude (specially in private clinic) the attitude and personality of the staffs is much similar to the manager. I remember I used to work in a private clinic whose manager was a playboy and it was funny how most of the staffs were showing the same attitude no matter boy or girl. On the other hand, a manager in a public clinic was a type who was skipping hours and didn’t have much sense of responsibility, the same would go with the staffs and even I had to wait for my assistant to arrive then I could start working. I also worked in another public clinic whose manager was bribed by a young maxillofacial surgeon for each dental implant patient (the manager who was not even a dentist, was a beneficiary), therefore the manager would lead all the patients for him. And other surgeons like us never had the chance to perform dental implant placement even when the patients would ask for us as their preferred surgeon, the manager would convince them that only the young maxillofacial surgeon does the implants in that center. Like was all the staffs and I remembered the assistance assigned to me would sometimes tell me, if I give a percentage of my income to her, she could filch some patients from other dentist for me. My practice there lasted only 6 months after I realized how mismanaged and toxic the place was.
I now apply the best of what I have learned and could apply – not all the good things I’ve learned could be applied – in my personal clinic. And I am so happy for all those experiences. Those time lasted for almost 3 years till I had put up my private practice and now have a bigger clinic, equipped with advanced technologies like dental microscope, intraoral scanners, printers, lasers etc.
One thing I kept in my mind all along the way in my personal dental journey:
Keep learning and move forward with growth.