Lidocaine, check. Probe, check. Suction, check. If you’re lucky, you may be hearing this refrain in your dentist’s office one day soon. Research done at the University of Michigan by three dentists, two of whom are pilots, found that two hallmarks of airline safety can increase the safety and success of dental procedures. Here's how these often underused resources can help your dentist help you.
Pilot Tool No. 1: The Checklist
Using a checklist is one of the best ways to mitigate human error, according to Russell Taichman, a doctor of dental medicine and co-author of the study. “A checklist is a backstop,” he says. “It allows you to concentrate on the task at hand, knowing that the basic details have been attended to.”
Checking off items like the following can help your dentist make dental checkups more efficient:
- Has your medical history been updated?
- Have potential drug interactions been checked?
- Have you been taking the proper medication before dental surgery?
- Have all contaminated materials been cleared away between patients?
Pilot Tool No. 2: Teamwork
Crew resource management (CRM) is another great tool borrowed from pilots. It’s a safety protocol that defines “how you work as a team,” says study co-author Harold Mark Pinsky, doctor of dental surgery, who flies for a major airline.
In commercial aviation, CRM encourages other members of the flight crew to speak up and even question the captain when they see something going wrong. Airlines implemented CRM three decades ago to address human error, a contributing factor in many airplane accidents. The new research suggests that dentists should take a page from airline pilots’ playbook and use CRM in their own offices.
Dentists should encourage their staff to feel empowered, says Pinsky: “If the dentist is too authoritarian, the assistant won’t speak up when she sees something is wrong."
What You Can Do
Consider yourself part of the crew: If you suspect your dentist is making an error, speak up. “If you catch a mistake when it’s happening, it can be addressed before it becomes unmanageable,” says Taichman.
Taichman adds that adopting the pilot mindset is a cultural shift for dentists: It won't happen overnight, but it can happen step-by-step. You can help speed along the process: Before your next checkup, print out this article and show it to your dentist. He may be surprised by your initiative, but in the long run, he’ll thank you.
Photo: @iStockphoto.com/blackred
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