How to get your dental team using a CRM
By Oral Connect
Quick answer
Start with one part of the working day that your team wants to improve. Agree who checks the worklist, who speaks to the patient and who records the next step. Practise together, including what happens when someone is away. Then check whether the agreed work is getting done and use your support reviews to work through questions.
Choose one task to start with
Trying to change everything at once can make it hard for the team to know where to begin. Choose a specific task: following up new enquiries, finding an unbooked next treatment visit or working through due recalls. A CRM is a tool for organising that work, not a substitute for deciding who will do it.
Ask the people doing the job where it gets difficult. The receptionist may be waiting for an answer, while the treatment coordinator is relying on a separate list. Write down where the task starts, what needs to happen and where the team records the result.
Practical checks
- Choose one task and describe the problem in everyday language.
- Involve the colleagues who will use the process.
Agree who does what
For each task, agree who checks the record, who handles the conversation and who follows up anything left open. Make sure the person has time to do the work. Putting their name beside a task will not help if nobody has agreed when they can act.
Keep the practice's responsibilities separate from the supplier's. The supplier can help with the agreed setup and training. Your team still handles patient conversations, checks the current situation and passes clinical questions to the treating team.
Practical checks
- Name the person responsible for the next action and their cover.
- Agree how the team raises a missing detail or a setup problem.
Practise a normal day and a difficult handover
Use made-up details to practise the task from beginning to end. For an unbooked treatment visit, check the available record and appointment details before deciding what needs attention. Record the agreed next step, then ask another colleague to find it without help from the trainer.
The exercise is complete when the team can explain who will act and what still needs checking. It does not need to end in a booking. Note anything that was hard to find so it can be addressed before the team relies on the process.
Practical checks
- Practise with made-up records, not patient details in a training handout.
- Test a handover without the usual colleague present.
Build the task into the working day
Agree when the team checks replies and work that is due. Choose a routine that fits your staffing and opening hours. A short team catch-up can help identify unanswered questions, callbacks needing cover and tasks that should go to another colleague.
Record the next action where the team has agreed to work, rather than keeping the only copy in a private notebook. Keep a patient's requested date and contact preferences visible. Review unanswered follow-up rather than leaving it to run indefinitely.
Practical checks
- Agree where staff look for work that needs attention.
- Keep unresolved questions and future callbacks visible.
Check what happened, not just who logged in
A login shows that someone opened the system. It does not show that a reply was answered or a promised callback happened. Pick a small set of agreed actions that were due and check what the records show. Keep future actions separate from work that should already have been done.
If something was missed, ask why. Was the task hard to find, did a colleague need help, or was there no time available? Fix the specific problem rather than assuming more training is always the answer. Review bookings and attendance separately; a request for more time can still be a clear and appropriate next step.
Practical checks
- Check completion against the action and date the team agreed.
- Record the reason for unfinished work and who will address it.
Bring useful questions to your support review
Before a review, ask the receptionist, treatment coordinator and practice or operations manager what is working and what still gets in the way. Bring a short list of questions. Describe the task you want to improve, rather than asking for a tour of every feature.
Leave with a clear next step, the person responsible and a point at which you will check it. You might need to adjust the setup, practise a handover or give someone time to complete the work. Keep the focus on what will make the team's day easier to manage.
Practical checks
- Bring examples of unclear tasks without including patient information in an ordinary email or form.
- Agree one practical change and how you will check it.
How Oral Connect supports the workflow
Oral Connect connects Sales, Open Treatment, Recall and Re-engage workflows alongside your practice management system. Explore the four connected workflows
The Open Treatment Hub uses a two-way Dentally connection to support systematic follow-up of open courses of treatment. Confirm available fields and sync behaviour during onboarding. Explore open-treatment follow-up
Every practice receives white-glove onboarding: help to agree the setup, learn the tools and put the workflows into the team's working day. We check in every three months to review how your team is using Oral Connect, work through questions and agree useful next steps. Supported records, appointment actions and phone arrangements are confirmed during setup. Explore the workflow
Questions practice owners ask
Should we start using every part of the CRM at once?
Start with work your team can explain and manage. Agree the setup, practise it and check what still needs attention before adding more. The right starting point depends on your practice.
What if staff keep using their own lists?
Ask what those lists make easier. They may reveal a missing field, an unclear responsibility or a task that is hard to find. Agree where the shared record should be kept and check that colleagues can use it.
Who should take part in a review?
Include the people doing the work and someone who can agree changes. Depending on the practice, that may be a receptionist, treatment coordinator, practice manager, dentist or operations manager.
Operational guidance, not clinical or legal advice. Your practice remains responsible for appropriate patient care and communications.
Explore the next step for your practice.
Use your own figures, or see how the team works through an opportunity in a demo.