Great clinical care goes hand-in-hand with effective leadership, communication, and teamwork. That’s why Polaris is thrilled to introduce our Clinical Coaching program. Polaris Clinical Coaching enhances clinical skills, strengthens leadership, and improves operational protocols for a high-performing team.
Polaris offers Clinical Coaching for two specialties: Orthodontics and General & Specialty Dentistry. Here are some things to know about Clinical Coaching as it applies to Orthodontics, featuring a Q&A with Dr. Steve Giannoutsos, Clinical Director, Cleft/Craniofacial Orthodontist.
Why is clinical efficiency important in orthodontics?
Despite advancements in technology in dental and orthodontic groups, inefficiencies in treatment processes persist. These inefficiencies impact productivity, patient satisfaction, and even the overall growth potential of practices. That’s why I’m excited to be at Polaris, leading a specialized Clinical Coaching offering uniquely designed to tackle these pain points head-on and drive meaningful, measurable results that can improve the overall business.
What are common challenges orthodontic practices face?
Orthodontic practices face unique challenges that set them apart from other specialties. Unlike other areas of dentistry, orthodontics involves long-term patient care, taking several months at a minimum and, more often, years to appropriately support a patient through their clinical life cycle. This creates significant operational complexities, from ensuring timely case completion to maintaining patient satisfaction. Common issues like over-treatment, low case acceptance, and stagnation in practice growth often result in:
- Lower morale for both staff and doctors.
- Compromised profitability, with EBITDA dragged down by inefficient processes.
- Patient dissatisfaction, leading to increased risk of hygiene-related issues or treatment fatigue.
- Bottlenecks that hinder scaling operations or adding new doctors.
What can a standardized approach to clinical excellence do for practice?
Polaris’ Clinical Coaching program was born from firsthand experience in tackling these challenges. By diving deep into treatment protocols and identifying innovative ways to optimize processes, we’ve developed a framework that delivers real results. Our coaching helps deliver:
- Increase Case Acceptance: By refining case presentation strategies, we empower Treatment Coordinators (TCs) and doctors to secure greater patient buy-in for cases ready to start.
- Streamline Clinical Efficiency: From patient chair time to treatment completion, we help practices implement systems that maximize every contact point, ensuring cases finish on time with high satisfaction rates.
- Enable Sustainable Growth: Whether you’re looking to add new doctors, scale your practice group, or transition from a hands-on role to a CEO-level perspective, our coaching helps lay the foundation for growth without compromising care quality.
When is the right time to start Clinical Coaching?
Yesterday! The orthodontic landscape is at a crossroads. Consolidation and private equity interest have reshaped the industry, creating opportunities for practices to scale—but also amplifying the risks of inefficiency. Many group leaders are finding themselves overwhelmed, trying to grow by simply acquiring more revenue without fixing their underlying systems. This leads to stagnation, lost opportunities, and frustration. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. Improving your clinical efficiencies is the key to success.
Ready to unlock your practice’s full potential? Let’s start the conversation – contact us.
