Continuous improvement transforms dental office efficiency and patient care
Most dental offices operate in a structured environment carrying out sequenced and time-bound services. Time is a highly valued resource that requires diligent prioritization to complete tasks for the dentist, hygienist, assistant, or administrative staff.
How a dental office runs depends on the leadership of the practice, although the entire team determines their own way of doing things to create a culture that is unique to that office. While established practices and norms are vital, particularly when it comes to adhering to a schedule, stringent rules can prevent creativity, growth, and improvement.
Consider the Japanese word "kaizen"—"kai" means change and "zen" means good.1 Kaizen is a popular Japanese philosophy for continuous improvement, where small, incremental, and ongoing changes in systems and processes amount to significant and positive change for an organization and its people.2
This system “involves everyone—from upper management to the cleaning team.”2 Everyone should make improvements in their daily tasks and operations to not only benefit them, but also the team and patients.
Rigid thinking is evident when “this is how things are done” is the response to the introduction of new ideas; ideas that could provide better care for patients, ease the flow of operations, and save resources. Such resistance to change is too common and should instead be met with an open mind that’s devoted to continuous learning and growth.
A fishy story about change
The fish baking story, attributed to Ack M. Hamanova, is about a little girl who asks her mother why she cut off the head and tail of the fish before baking it. Her mother responded, “I’ve always done it that way, and that’s how babicka (Czech for grandma) did it.” Not satisfied with her mother’s answer, the little girl asked her grandma, who said her mother did it that way, but she didn’t know why.
The little girl asked her great grandmother why she cut off the head and tail before baking the fish, and the great grandmother responded, “Because my baking pan was too small to fit the whole fish.”3
This story is the perfect illustration of the importance of critical thinking and questioning ingrained practices and traditions for their usefulness, significance, and impact.
Dental teams must critically examine their practices, decide if they save time and resources, increase efficiency, and improve care, and then continually search for new and innovative ways of doing things. Every single team member should make incremental changes on an ongoing basis for the overall success of the practice and everyone involved, particularly the patients.
References
1. Wright M. Kaizen: the Japanese management style to continuous improvement. Accessed June 23, 2025. https://blog.kainexus.com/improvement-discipline/kaizen/japanese-management-style-kaizen
2. Lina LR, Ullah H. The concept and implementation of Kaizen in an organization. Global J Mgmt Bus Res. 2019;19(1):9-17.
3. Washington E. The fish baking story: beliefs behind your practice. Accessed June 23, 2025. https://thespoke.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/fish-baking-story-beliefs-behind-practice/
About the Author
Rada Kerimova, PhD, MBA, BSDH, RDH
Rada Kerimova, PhD, MBA, BSDH, RDH, has been a practicing dental hygienist since 2004. She obtained her AS in dental hygiene from Shoreline Community College, her BSDH from Eastern Washington University, and her MBA and PhD in organizational leadership and business consulting from Northwest University. When not serving and caring for her patients, she values continuous learning and personal development.