Hello everyone! This is Bluegrass Dental, and I wanted to take a moment to address an issue that many of you may have experienced recently – our scheduling challenges, particularly for dental cleanings. We’re incredibly grateful for your trust in us and feel it’s important to be open about why we’re currently unable to accommodate as many cleaning appointments as we’d like.
Our practice has grown in popularity beyond anything we expected, which is wonderful – but it has also led to some difficulties in keeping up with demand. We’ve been fully booked for cleanings 6 months out, and we’ve been seeing extra patients every day just to try and catch up. However, with more new patients joining us all the time and a high number of missed appointments, we’re at a crossroads.
We originally had three hygienists, but with one relocating and another feeling overworked and stepping away, we’re now down to only one dental hygienist. Unfortunately, this means we’ve had to make the difficult decision to cancel some future cleaning appointments until we can find additional help. And we are currently hiring aggressively.
I want to emphasize that this issue only affects routine cleaning appointments with our hygienists. We still have two doctors working full-time, and we’re here for you if you need any other type of dental work – whether it’s addressing toothaches, emergencies, or necessary dental treatments.
We’re actively searching for qualified hygienists and are committed to hiring one, possibly two, more team dental hygienists so we can return to regular scheduling as soon as possible. However, there is currently a massive hygienist shortage in this market. Therefore, we do not know when the new hygienists will start.
I want to share that this situation isn’t unique to us. Many dental offices in our area are facing similar challenges, with a backlog for hygiene appointments and even for other types of dental work in some cases. Demand for quality dental care is high, and practices like ours are working hard to meet that need.
Additionally, this challenge isn’t unique to just our market, but we hear the same issues in the Evansville market where we operate another office. The American Dental Association has even released a press release this week acknowledging the issue nationwide, urging lawmakers and insurance companies to develop solutions. So we are far from alone with this problem.
The reality is, our success and growth stem from the approach we take with our patients. Unlike many practices, we accept a wide range of insurances that aren’t commonly accepted by other dental offices in our area. Additionally, our dedication to quality dentistry, our friendly staff, and our commitment to working with each patient individually have set us apart.
We believe in taking the time to educate you about your treatment options, work with your insurance, and help you understand your costs upfront; no surprises! This approach has resonated with so many of you, leading to our growth, recognition as one of Owensboro’s best dental offices for three years running, and over 600 five-star reviews.
One more factor we want to address is the role of dental insurance. Dental insurance providers set the rates they reimburse us for treatments. In 2004, the average allowable cost for a cleaning was around $48. Twenty years later, it’s barely increased, now averaging just $54. As costs of everything else have risen, it’s become harder to pay our hardworking team fairly based on these outdated reimbursement rates, which is definitely a factor in many hygiensit’s decisions to no longer work in the field.
When we asked the insurance companies how to make this model work, they suggested that we reduce cleaning appointments to 20 minutes per patient, eliminate the doctor exam, and focus on high-volume, quicker appointments. We found this advice offensive and completely at odds with our values. We refuse to compromise on quality or rush through your care.
To all of our current and future patients: We appreciate your understanding and patience during this time. Our commitment to you remains the same – to offer high-quality, personalized care and to do everything we can to restore availability for hygiene appointments.
If you or anyone you know is a licensed hygienist, please reach out! We’re actively hiring and would love to grow our team so we can serve you better.
Thank you for being part of our dental family and for supporting us as we work through these growing pains together. We look forward to continuing to take care of your dental needs with the same dedication and care you’ve come to expect from us.