DT News - Nordic - Eleven tips for success in your dental clinic Part II: CAPS & CLIMB

Eleven tips for success in your dental clinic Part II: CAPS & CLIMB

Dr Anna Maria Yiannikos

Tue. 14 February 2017

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Today, I will share with you the knowledge I have gained within the past 25 years of managing and evolving my clinic so you can always be one step ahead and avoid mistakes I have made in the past. The third very important tip that I am going to share with you today in order to be and remain successful at your clinics is how to regain your power.

We learn a lot of things during our studies in the dental schools. We learn how to make the best fillings with great contours and biocompatible materials; how to treat a tooth that needs a root canal therapy, but do we really learn anything on how to find the best employee that will make our life and daily routine easier?

Firstly we should make a job analysis by listing the CAPS of the candidate. If we do not take the time to complete this process, we will not know from the beginning exactly what we are looking at and by this we will increase the risk of making the wrong choice.
If, for example, we go to the supermarket without our shopping list, what will we end up doing? We will most probably buy unnecessary things or even forget the things that we went in the beginning there for. My point here is that when we decide that we need to hire an employee we should know upfront what we are looking for, otherwise we might make mistakes that will cost us money and time!

Let’s have a look now what does CAPS stand for:
– Capacities: The mental and physical abilities required to do the job. How smart and how strong (physically capable) must the successful applicant be?
– Attitudes: such as customer service, orientation, team player, reliability, honesty, willingness to follow rules, problem-solving, loyalty, safety-consciousness, ability to follow through—Imagine having a receptionist who, although she is doing the job without a mistake, complains about everything all the time. Is that a person that you would love to have as part of your team?
– Personality: traits such as competitiveness, assertiveness, attention to detail and sociability—Also search whether the person will manage his or her personality to get the job done, since as social scientists declare about 60 per cent of our personality traits are inherited and most of them are set by age nine. In other words: personality can’t be taught and it doesn’t change much over time.
– Skills: Expertise required to do the job—Skills are the easiest job requirements to identify. We could do that by asking the candidate to perform certain tests. For example, if we are trying to find a receptionist we could ask her to translate an article, or through role playing to check how she responds in certain scenarios.

Have always in mind the quote ‘we hire them for the skills but we fire them for their attitudes’!

So finally we found our A-star employees and now what do we have to do in order to keep them?
The fourth very essential tip of today’s article that I would love to share with you is the different ways that we can use to retain our A-star employees.

Apply CLIMB to retain your team!

Now let’s explain a little what does exactly the acronym CLIMB stands for:
– Challenge: Studies have shown that the main reason that our employees resign is that they are dissatisfied with their tasks. That’s why we should give them challenging duties to accomplish. And what will the result be? They will feel useful and they will find it difficult to leave from a job that offers them different and unique experiences.
– Loyalty: Be human with your employees and do not be afraid that you will lose your power. Show interest in their problems and lay back in times that they cannot handle any more pressure.
– Investment: Invest time and money to them so they will feel appreciated. During my lectures I get regularly the question that we reward them by giving them bonus and still they are not motivated enough, what shall we do? My answer here is that you must renew your reward system regularly.

Sometimes you can give them cash (as bonuses) or maybe you can offer them other kind of incentives, like buying them a free trip for vacation on Christmas, for example. Research has proven that the more powerful and effective incentives are the ones that are specific, tangible and non-cash.

Also please remember to ‘Reward not the best in sales but the best’ A major mistake that we usually do is to only reward the ones that bring money to our clinics. Instead we should reward the best in our practices, the ones that are completing their tasks in excellence unconditionally to what this task is.
– Measurement: Conduct a fair performance appraisal every six months.
– Building: Demonstrate your commitment to them by showing them opportunities of career development.

During the next issue we will analyse two new tips that will reveal new opportunities and potential of our dental clinics. Till then, remember that not only are you the dentist in your clinic, but you are also the manager and the leader.

You can always send me your questions and request for more information and guidance at:
dba@yiannikosdental.com or via our Facebook account.

Looking forward to our next trip of business growth and educational development!

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KUOPIO, Finland: A large Finnish population-based study has assessed periodontitis using salivary biomarkers—rather than clinical and radiographic oral examination—and found that it is associated with both existing and future risk of metabolic syndrome. The findings strengthen the evidence that systemic inflammation linked to oral disease may play a contributory role in metabolic dysfunction.

In the study, researchers from the University of Eastern Finland and collaborating institutions examined data from more than 4,000 adults in the Dietary, lifestyle and genetic determinants of obesity and metabolic syndrome study. Periodontal status was assessed using a validated cumulative risk score derived from three salivary biomarkers—Porphyromonas gingivalis, interleukin-1β and matrix metalloproteinase-8—representing microbial burden, inflammation and tissue destruction.

At baseline, nearly half of the participants met diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome based on International Diabetes Federation standards. Individuals classified in the highest periodontitis risk group had a significantly higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components, specifically abdominal obesity, hyperglycaemia and elevated blood pressure. After adjustment for confounding factors, individuals with the highest periodontitis biomarker scores were more frequently found to have metabolic syndrome than those with the lowest scores—indicating a strong association between periodontitis markers and systemic metabolic imbalance.

During seven-year follow-up of 618 participants who did not have metabolic syndrome, just over one-fifth developed the condition. While the overall association between periodontitis and incident metabolic syndrome was not statistically significant overall, the association was significant among the women and non-smoker subgroups. Further analysis indicated that systemic inflammation, as reflected by C-reactive protein levels, partly explained the observed relationship.

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The use of salivary biomarkers to track oral health issues is a burgeoning field of dental research. For example, as reported on by Dental Tribune International, a team of US researchers is using salivary biomarkers to predict the development of periodontitis.

The study’s population-based design, biomarker approach and extended follow-up provide robust evidence linking oral and systemic health. However, further research is needed to confirm causality and evaluate whether periodontal therapy can modify metabolic outcomes, the researchers said.

The study, titled “The association of periodontitis with risk of prevalent and incident metabolic syndrome”, was published on 23 September 2025 in Journal of Clinical Periodontology ahead of inclusion in an issue.