Treatment planning: introducing the SCAMPI examination

Lucy Stock explains how the SCAMPI method for private dental examinations makes treatment planning effortless.

The question I get asked most often from dentists is: ‘How would you treatment plan this case?’ One of the most vital parts in dentistry is constructing a good treatment plan. Get it right and the patient journey is smoother, the dentistry lasts longer, there are less complications, less repairs and fewer complaints, which makes the life of a dentist a happy and more profitable one. Get it wrong and, well, it’s a very unforgiving path to keep staggering down. 

I’ve been a fully private dentist for 25 years and over that time I’ve watched the amazing advancements in every area in dentistry. The materials and procedures have developed to such a stage where many treatments are now predictable, and the dental educators are teaching supercool techniques. However, the secret is the ability to bring all this technical knowledge together to be able to confidently provide dentistry and communicate it clearly to the patient.

What does a private patient dental experience look like?

With the meteoric shift from NHS to private dentistry happening at such a pace, many dentists are finding themselves in an arena that’s brought to the fore countless questions like:

• What does a private patient dental experience look like?
• What should I include in the private exam?
• Which records should I collect?
• How do I structure my appointment schedule?
• When and how do I broach the subject of money with the patient?
• How do I discuss the pros and cons of each treatment in the best way?
• How do I deal with treatment objections?
• What’s the best way to format a private treatment letter?
• What’s involved in the private consent process?
• How do I maximise my treatment acceptance uptake?
• How do I bring my dental colleagues along with me?

Not to mention the awkward imposter syndrome thoughts (including questioning if our dental skills are good enough) that swirl around our heads.

In order to answer these questions, I’ve designed the SCAMPI private examination and treatment planning masterclass. 

Diving into SCAMPI 

SCAMPI (which stands for Spee, condyle, aesthetics, mandible, posterior support and incisal guidance) is a novel paint by numbers guide on how to deliver a private examination where the patient leaves the appointment saying: ‘That’s the most thorough exam I’ve ever had.’ It demonstrates how to construct a treatment plan that is clear to the patient and allows the dentist to provide treatments with more reliability.

The process is a step-by-step guide that leads the dentist through the private exam to capture the most pertinent information. The treatment plan is then formatted by ensuring that all the treatments either agree with or correct the findings in the SCAMPI exam structure. 

The importance of occlusion

Since the core of dentistry is based on occlusion so is the SCAMPI examination and treatment planning method. No matter which area of dentistry we focus on, it’s occlusion that makes our treatments work and last. 

The word occlusion can send shockwaves through dentists (much the same as the words ‘bone graft’ do to patients!), but you don’t need to be a master in occlusion to benefit from following the SCAMPI examination and treatment planning process. 

The SCAMPI process demystifies the overly complicated concepts of occlusion and incorporates the latest evidence from the research to maximise understanding and treatment predictability. 

The masterclass I run acts as a solid knowledge base on occlusion and is a springboard for deeper learning into the broad subject of occlusion.

Predictability and confidence

SCAMPI assesses the curve of Spee, weighs up which condylar position to utilise in treatment, considers the aesthetic requirements of the patient, evaluates the position that allows the mandible to sit in a neutral muscle balanced position and appraises posterior support and incisal guidance.

All these factors combined enable the dentist to create a predictable treatment plan that takes an overview of the entire patient’s oral system. 

By doing so, dentists can build predictability into treatments, and confidence in their treatment plans grows exponentially with time and practice. 

Furthermore, dentists learn to identify which cases are easy or moderate to those that require higher skills with a multidisciplinary team approach. Additionally, the SCAMPI exam allows the dentist to recognise which patients would require extensive treatments to rehabilitate their mouths properly. 

It avoids the temptation to embark on a reduced treatment plan, which would likely lead to complications. 

Learning new skills

Obtaining good quality, appropriate photographs can be beneficial to the practice and significantly improves your dentistry long term. Photographs can: 

• Aid treatment planning
• Help with professional case discussions with colleagues
• Be a fantastic communication tool to use with patients
• Improve practice promotion. 

To reflect this, part of the SCAMPI masterclass focuses on photography so that dentists discover how to take quality photographs and which photographs matter and why.

To be able to provide a quality private dentistry service, most of us need to try new things, which involves changing our habits. So, the SCAMPI private dentistry masterclass spends time not just discovering how to deliver a private exam and treatment plan but also importantly considers both the dentist’s mindset and the patient’s outlook.

Communication and consent

The heart of private dentistry is the ability to communicate well with patients. For some dentists, communication comes naturally, but everyone has the potential to improve how they communicate.

Improved communication starts with figuring out our own psychology – what motivating factors we have as dentists and what our personal inner blocks to implementing new ideas are. 

The more the dentist bonds with a patient and the clearer they can communicate their message, the more likely patients are going to accept and engage with the treatment plan and be able to ride the wave if a treatment wrinkle occurs. 

Great communication throughout the private patient experience involves the whole dental team. Bringing colleagues alongside enables everyone to deliver a harmonious message that is central to the method.

After discovering how to collect the correct and precise records, perform a beautifully communicated and executed SCAMPI examination, the masterclass then focuses attention on formatting a clear treatment plan and ensuring that the patient is properly consented. 

We want a treatment plan that is not too long as to be intimidatingly confusing or too succinct as to not impart enough information. The skill is to find the golden middle ground that informs the patient adequately about the individual treatments, the treatment sequence, timings and costings.

Patient understanding is the basis of a good consent process. The clearer the treatment is to a patient before starting, the smoother the road ahead and the more likely that patients are to pay on time so that bad debts are minimised as much as possible. 

Predictable dentistry

Dentistry is a demanding profession, and our careers are long therefore establishing advantageous protocols and systems can be invaluable to enjoying the work. 

For those that are disillusioned with dentistry and considering exiting left, adopting processes like the SCAMPI examination and treatment planning method can reignite faltering passions as the work ship is steadied with the confidence that practising predictable dentistry generates. 

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Gentle Dental Training’s Private Examination Masterclass takes place over 11-13 October in Belfast. For further information, visit gdconline.co.uk.