Skip to content
Back to Blog

952: Metric Mondays: Fluoride Percentage – Miranda Beeson

Fluoride is a big deal — for your patients and your practice! But it’s common for this percentage to be lower than it should. In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Miranda Beeson, ACT’s director of education, to break down fluoride percentage, how it impacts your practice, and what you can do to improve your numbers. To learn how to successfully recommend fluoride so you can improve patient health and production, listen to Episode 952 of The Best Practices Show!

 

Learn More About Miranda:

Learn More About ACT Dental:

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

Episode Resources:

Main Takeaways:

  • If fluoride percentage is under 10%, patients are missing opportunities for prevention.
  • A low fluoride percentage also indicates missed opportunities for production.
  • High fluoride percentage reflects strong preventative care standards.
  • Create a caries risk assessment process as a team to be aligned.
  • Align your team’s mindset and verbal skills around the “why”.

Quotes:

“Commonly, what we see in private practice is that [fluoride percentage] is relatively low, and it corresponds pretty directly with patient count that has insurance coverage on fluoride. It's a lot easier to recommend fluoride on a patient who you know isn't going to have to pay for it than having conversations around the value of this preventative therapy.” (4:32—4:54) -Miranda

“I see numbers that are generally under 10%, 12% when it comes to fluoride percentage . . . Those lower percentages, which are really common, are likely missed opportunities not only for production because, yes, fluoride is a production booster in the practice, but it's a missed opportunity to highlight the importance of prevention with our patients. When we look at fluoride varnish, we're looking at a preventative measure that is easily applied. It's very cost-effective. It's a minimal cost investment for the patient when it comes to the comparison to dentistry, long term. The challenge becomes it’s often brought up in our world in the news and pop culture at different times. It ebbs and flows in terms of reports or things that pop out on the news . . . I always think it's a great thing when it's on the news, even if it is negative, because now your patient is wanting to talk about it, and you have this information that they don't have about topical versus systemic fluoride and how those things are different.” (5:13—6:37) -Miranda

“My patients, when I was a hygienist, 75% or more had fluoride varnish . . . If you're at 10% or 12%, it tells me that the majority of patients aren't receiving this opportunity. And the worst part would be if we're at that percentage because we're not even offering it, versus they're declining it. More often than not, it's not being offered if we see it's not a covered benefit.” (6:42—7:10) -Miranda

“If you have a higher fluoride percentage in your practice, that's going to reflect on stronger preventative care standards in your practice, better patient protection against decay and sensitivity, and minimizing the extent of the dental disease that they'll have in the future. It really drives long-term health for your patients. It also does provide a steady revenue to your practice. If you think about a practice, and let's just pick one day, one hygienist, and there are eight patients seen that day. Say your practice charges $50, which is pretty common for a preventative fluoride application. If one of those eight patients has fluoride, that's a 12% fluoride percentage for that day, and it's about $50 a day for the practice. Now, if five of those eight patients have fluoride provided, you're at a 62% fluoride percentage, and now you're at $250 for the day. If you work an average of 16 days a month, that's $3,200 in production that was added. That's over $38,000, annually, added to your production and correlating with an improved prevention strategy, and hopefully longer-term positive health outcomes for your patients.” (7:11—8:27) -Miranda

“I think the biggest factor is mindset, and getting really comfortable and understanding and aligning around why we recommend [fluoride], what purpose does it serve, how do we have these conversations, and how do we build value so that if it is $50 and it is out-of-pocket, we're totally comfortable having that conversation and we believe that the value is there behind it.” (8:28—8:49) -Miranda

“Any time a metric is improving, it means our patients’ health is improving. That's the most important thing that we can do, is to make a positive impact on our patients’ health. If we look at hygiene, we say we are prevention strategists. That's what we're here to do, is to help you prevent disease. Hopefully, we'll stay in that space. If we ever aren't, we can help you treat and manage disease that occurs. So, if our primary job is to prevent disease for our patients and help them in that capacity, then we have to look at all of the opportunities and options we have in our toolbox, and then allow the patient to decide if this is something that they want to utilize or not, versus being biased around it.” (11:08—11:51) -Miranda

“Most practices, kids always get fluoride. Then, as soon as we hit 18 and it's not a covered benefit anymore, a lot of times, we don't even offer it. I actually used to laugh with patients. They'd say, ‘Well, is my insurance going to cover this?’ I'd say, ‘It's so crazy. Your insurance plan thinks that once you turn 18, you don't get cavities anymore.’ They're like, ‘Ha, ha, ha. Whatever.’ You know who you can play with and who you can't when you're having those conversations. But I think there are a couple of really simple, easy things that practices can do to improve this metric and, in turn, improve your patients’ health. The very first thing is aligning. Like you said, how do we get our mindset aligned? I think the easiest way to do that is to create a caries risk assessment process in your practice.” (11:52—12:36) -Miranda

“It's happened to me where I finish a hygiene appointment, and the hygienist looks at me and says, ‘So, fluoride?’ I think to myself, is this how you recommend fluoride? Like, how would I know, other than probably to just say no? So, if instead we lead in with, ‘So that we can protect the restorations that you already have and help prevent you from having new decay in the future, the last step today is your preventative varnish. We'll finish with that before we reserve your next appointment.’ Or perhaps your patient has a lot of root surfaces exposed. ‘So that we can protect those root surfaces, you remember we were looking in the mirror together, Mrs. Jones, where you have recession? They were also sensitive while I was doing your hygiene visit today. We can protect those with a preventative varnish before you head out. So, that'll be our last step, and then we'll make sure we get you reserved for your next visit in three months.’ Now, the patient might ask you, ‘Is my insurance going to cover that?’ And again, depending on your patient, you can tell them, ‘The funny thing is, your policy thinks you don't get cavities once you turn 18.’ Or you can take a moment to explain that, ‘I'm actually not sure about your particular policy because, as your hygienist, my responsibility is to make health recommendations that are customized to you. But we can definitely make sure that our administrative team can go over that with you.’ Then, usually, what I would do is know how much it costs, and I'd say, ‘Worst case scenario, Mrs. Jones, it would be $50. But that's a lot cheaper than a crown.’ And then Mrs. Jones would say, ‘You're not wrong, Miranda.’” (14:34—16:06) -Miranda

“There's one other phrase that I love, which is, “if there were a way”. If you did have new decay diagnosed today in the chair during the exam, a great way to recommend fluoride and have a positive conversation around it is, ‘If there were a way to prevent future fillings from being needed or crowns from being replaced, would you be interested in learning about that?’ And now, you've opened the door to, ‘Hey, I have this product. We can do it every time you come in,’ and it gives them the opportunity to say yes or no.” (16:06—16:35) -Miranda

“[Bring] your whole team into this because, guess what? Your administrative team, they're going to get the objection once the price is in front of the patient. So, them being able to know and understand why we do this and how to conversate around it is really important too.” (17:41—17:53) -Miranda

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

3:00 Fluoride percentage, explained.

4:55 How this metric impacts the practice.

12:15 What you can do to impact this metric.

16:36 Final thoughts.

Miranda Beeson, MS, BSDH Bio:

Miranda Beeson has over 25 years of clinical dental hygiene, front office, practice administration, and speaking experience. She is enthusiastic about communication and loves helping others find the power that words can bring to their patient interactions and practice dynamics. As a Lead Practice Coach, she is driven to create opportunities to find value in experiences and cultivate new approaches.

Miranda graduated from Old Dominion University, and enjoys spending time with her husband, Chuck, and her children, Trent, Mallory, and Cassidy. Family time is the best time, and is often spent on a golf course, a volleyball court, or spending the day boating at the beach. 
ACT Dental Team

ACT Dental Team

    Subscribe to our newsletter