Whether it’s for you or another member of your team, continued education and ongoing professional development are important for staying current with the dental industry’s newest developments. From conferences to webinars, workshops, and dedicated coursework, finding ways to develop you and your team is usually money well invested.

Technology and demographics are always changing.

In dentistry, the tools and technologies available to your practice change almost as quickly as your patients do. It’s up to you to make sure you are up to speed on what technological investments would be right for your specific practice. Learning how to best attract and retain younger patients is an ongoing need. What worked with baby boomers and Gen X may not work so well with Millennials and Gen Z. Attending conferences is a good way to stay in the loop.

Improving your leadership acumen

Learning leadership skills that may not have been covered in dental school may help with some issues affecting your practice. Some skills that can be learned include:

• Learning to delegate tasks and responsibilities more effectively
• Improving your ability to hire and train employees.
• Improving your motivational skills
• Providing better feedback to your team

Improve patient outcomes.

New techniques and technologies don’t just improve practice efficiency. Keeping abreast of current trends in treatment approaches can improve patient outcomes and enhance the patient experience.

Stay compliant

Keeping up with regulatory changes is very important. Avoid costly legal concerns by staying current on licensing, insurance, patient privacy and other regulations.

Set up a professional development action plan.

Set specific professional development goals you wish to achieve (for you or an employee) and then carefully choose courses, conferences, books, etc. that best match that goal.

Networking is developing.

Connecting with other dental professionals is a great way to become acquainted with new trends, techniques and technologies. Broaden your professional circle by joining industry organizations and participating in networking events.