Strategic Advantage for Sustainable Success in Orthodontics
Abstract
Background: The greatest challenge facing us as Orthodontists is living the new normal life post–COVID-19. How do we
deal with our own safety and patient safety? How do we handle possibly low patient load due to economic downturn and the
fear of contracting infection in clinics? The cost of using PPE and redesigning our clinics, who bears them?
Orthodontic services is almost nonexistent in primary health care and very low in secondary health care facilities in Nigeria.
There is also inadequate financing of quality health services and inefficiencies abound in the provision of health care services,
particularly in the public sector; paucity of local / international Orthodontic grants. Generally low quality of health services
still abound in both public and private health facilities, low coverage and gross inefficiencies in the national health care
delivery system. To achieve increasing coverage of Orthodontic services, there is the need to employ improvement planning
tools for a turnaround in the next couple of years. These tools are discussed in this review.
Methods: Useful tools for improvement planning discussed in this review include SWOT Analysis, Gap Analysis, Goal
setting, Paradigm shift and Six Sigma.
Results anticipated: We expect a shift from Face mask/ Gown to full Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), from Analog
record keeping services to Digital services, from long treatment time to contracted treatment time, from low aligner patient
load to high aligner patient load and from waiting for Patients to come to us in the hospital to going to them in the
communities. A shift is also expected from contracted training programmes to liberalised training, from 'out of pocket'
financing to National Health Insurance Scheme, from limited coverage to universal coverage and radical shifts from face-toface
consultation to Tele-Orthodontics.
Conclusion: It is concluded that by employing appropriate tools, Orthodontic practices can be well-positioned now and
higher coverage achieved in the immediate future.
