Remove Friction – Unlock Consistency
By: Candy Velez, CRDH, BSDH, IgniteDDS Dental Hygiene Coach
The Question That Changes Everything
How Are We Making It Easy?
Most dental teams want to do excellent work. They want to accurately diagnose, thoroughly document, and provide care that truly supports long-term health.
Yet despite good intentions, consistency often slips. Not because teams don’t care—but because the environment makes excellence harder than it needs to be.
Before we ask why something isn’t happening, we need to ask a more powerful question: How are we making this easy?
Here’s a reflection to consider:
What small barriers have you faced today that made you think twice about completing a task?
How many steps does it take before something simply isn’t worth the effort?
- One extra task
- One more screen to click through
- One tool you have to hunt down
- One more interruption
- One more time to de-glove just to do one small thing
At some point, even the most motivated person will think, “I’ll just skip that today.” Not because they don’t care—but because the system made it harder than it needed to be. This is about friction in the system, not laziness.
Ease is not about lowering standards or expecting less from your team. It’s about designing systems that allow people to meet those standards without friction, frustration, or burnout.
The Atomic Habits Connection: Behavior Follows Design
In Atomic Habits, James Clear reminds us:
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
In dentistry, this couldn’t be more true. We can set expectations all day long:
- Complete full perio charting on every patient
- Provide thorough documentation
- Deliver clear patient education
- Maintain consistent diagnosis
But if the system doesn’t support those behaviors, they will eventually erode—not because people don’t care, but because the system makes it hard.
Great practices don’t rely on motivation. They rely on design.
When Good Intentions Meet Poor Systems
Many practices unintentionally create friction through things like:
- One intraoral camera shared across multiple rooms
- Computers that lag or are awkwardly positioned make charting and documentation difficult
- No clear time is built into the schedule for critical assessments
- Charting that requires turning away from the patient
- Teams are being told to “do the best you can.”
Over time, this creates cognitive overload.
When people are forced to multitask constantly, without natural breaks to reset or refocus, something eventually gives—and it’s often accuracy, consistency, or the ability to stay truly present with the patient.
Perio as the Perfect Example
Periodontal care is one of the clearest places where systems either support excellence—or sabotage it.
If we truly value:
- Accurate diagnosis
- Consistent full perio charting
- Clear documentation
- Confident patient conversations
Then we must design systems that make those things easy.
Standardization Is the Starting Point
- One probe
- One language
- One expectation
Using the same probe across providers removes variability. Everyone reads the same measurements, speaks the same clinical language, and documents consistently.
Every Kit Includes a Probe
- No searching
- No borrowing
- No “I’ll chart it next time”
When the tool is always present, the behavior follows.
Know the Patient’s Needs Before the Appointment
If a patient is due for probing, the team should know in advance. This allows for:
- Time allocation
- Support planning
- Proper setup
Preparation removes pressure.
Support the Clinician During Probing
If assistance is available, great—someone can help call out or enter numbers. If not, technology can help:
- Bluetooth keypads on the tray
- Voice-assisted charting
- AI-supported perio tools
These aren’t luxuries—they’re workflow solutions.
Design for Completion, Not Catch-Up
The goal is not “I’ll finish this later.” The goal is done, accurately, in real time. That’s how stress decreases and quality rises.
Why This Matters
When systems work:
- Documentation improves
- Diagnosis becomes more consistent
- Team confidence increases
- Patient trust grows
- Burnout decreases
When systems don’t work, even the best clinicians feel like they’re constantly behind. This isn’t a people problem. It’s a design problem.
A Simple System Checklist (For Leaders)
Use this as a starting point:
✔ Perio Workflow Check
- Do all providers use the same probe?
- Is a probe included in every setup?
- Are perio needs identified before the appointment?
- Is time built in for charting?
- Is support available (assistant or technology)?
- Is documentation expected to be completed in real time?
- Are you asking to see this documentation?
If the answer to several of these is “no,” the issue isn’t effort—it’s structure.
Leadership Reflection
Great leaders don’t ask their teams to push harder inside broken systems.
They become barrier-removers.
They ask:
- “What’s making this harder than it needs to be?”
- “What barriers can we remove?”
- “How can we support excellence?”
When you design for ease, consistency becomes natural—not forced.
Closing Thought: Designing for Ease and Excellence
You don’t need perfection to create progress. You need intentional systems that make the right behaviors the easiest ones to choose.
Because when we make it easy to do the right thing, great care becomes the standard—not the exception.
Candy Velez, CRDH, BSDH
📧 candy.velez@ignitedds.com
