Hygienists and therapists have some of the busiest chairs in the practice. In a short slot you assess, treat, explain, advise and write it all up, often without a nurse and sometimes at a practice you only visit once a fortnight. The notes still matter just as much as they do in any other appointment.
Here are the challenges we hear about most, and how hygienists and therapists using Kiroku deal with each.
Appointments That Overrun
In a hygiene slot, the write-up often gets squeezed to the end. In a short window between patients, the clinician has to write up clinical notes, decontaminate the surgery and instruments, and set up for the next patient. All three tasks matter, and they all compete for the same few minutes.
If treatment takes longer or the patient has questions, your notes either eat into the next appointment or get finished at lunch or after work. Kiroku helps you get the note done while the patient is still in the chair, in whichever way suits the appointment.
For example, you can use either of our voice note features to listen in to your appointment and write the notes for you. Co-Pilot is useful if you want to have a template up on the screen as a prompt for what you need to cover. As your discussion continues, it starts to click buttons and populate your template for you.
With Co-Pilot, you can always just click through elements of the template while Kiroku is listening to the conversation. That way, you can record things that you haven’t necessarily said out loud, but still need to note. If you’d rather not use voice at all, you can simply click through the template.
If you don’t feel the need to have the template up on the screen, or you’re not sure what your patient is attending for, then Freestyle might work better for you. It will transcribe the discussion and use this to write your structured note once you end the recording.
Having the choice matters. One user who had tried other dental note-taking voice tools said she prefers Kiroku “because it gives you a choice between typing and voice”.
For Gemma O’Callaghan, a dental hygienist, the difference shows in her timekeeping and her evenings:
“My timekeeping and the quality of my notes have vastly improved. Now I can be assured that my notes are accurate and include everything that is essential. I also don’t have to spend hours after work making sure I’m up to date!”
Bradley Walsh, a dental therapist, puts it simply:
“Kiroku helps me to create clear and concise clinical notes in an efficient way, no matter how busy the day gets.”
Working Without a Nurse
A dentist often has a nurse to help write up the appointment notes. When it is just you and the patient, every note comes out of your appointment time, and stopping to type mid-treatment slows you down and breaks your focus. When attention moves from the patient to the screen, the conversation loses momentum, and the rapport that makes advice stick is harder to keep.
With voice notes, your notes get written while you work. You keep your hands and focus on your patient, and you don’t have to touch a keyboard between instruments, which is also more hygienic. All you need to do is clip a microphone to your scrub pocket, start Co-Pilot or Freestyle, and talk through what you find as you normally would.
We and NHS England recommend asking patients as a courtesy, for example: “Can I use technology to help with note-taking? No audio is stored.” If a patient says no, you can click through your template as usual.
You review every note before it goes in the record, because Kiroku is an assistant and your clinical judgement stays with you.
Dental therapist Cat Edney was surprised by how much Kiroku’s voice notes picked up relevant details:
“I was really impressed by how well Kiroku’s AI captured all the relevant, crucial details of conversations I’m having with patients. It left me with so much more personalised details in my notes. Kiroku didn’t miss a beat!”
Bradley found it picks up more than he expected:
“The AI features are standout. It captures information that I wouldn’t necessarily include, but in hindsight, it creates a clearer picture of my patient’s background and their needs.”
With no second pair of hands to catch what you miss, your template also works as a checklist. Mariela Rodriguez, a dental therapist, wrote in a Google review:
“It has streamlined my note-taking process, allowing me to customise notes efficiently and ensuring that I never overlook any important details.”
Patients Who Nod and Then Forget
Explaining gum health is hard even when you do it well. Show & Tell helps by giving patients something to see. This is a library of short animated explainers that opens from your notes editor.
You play one while the patient is in the room, with collections including Prevention, Gum Disease, Tooth Decay and Tooth Wear. The explainer text can go into the Discussion section of your note, so your record shows what the patient was shown.
Jessica Goldspink, a hygienist, said about Show & Tell:
“Although I verbally explain things to patients, demonstrate brushing techniques in their mouths or on a model and use a perio chart to explain their gum health, it doesn’t always seem to fully register. I use Show & Tell whenever I can, and I feel it’s made a difference. It seems like things really click for patients and they have a much better understanding of what I was explaining.”
Advice That Does Not Leave the Room
Brushing technique, interdental cleaning and recall intervals are easy to forget by the time the patient reaches the car park.
Kiroku Docs turns your note into a patient letter in one click, so the advice you gave is already in it. You can send it as a PDF or as a Tracked Doc, which shows whether it has been delivered, opened or signed.
Add as many Show & Tell videos to the letter as you need, and your patient can rewatch the animations at home, with subtitles. This gives them time to process the advice or treatment options presented. Your patients will be better informed and able to ask relevant questions where needed.
Starting as a New Graduate or Student
Learning to document well is one of the harder parts of qualifying. At university you get extra time to write up each patient. In practice, that time disappears, and the note has to fit inside the appointment.
Luciana Escobar, a dental hygiene student, wrote on Trustpilot that Kiroku’s templates and prompts “guide you step-by-step, helping you create clear, professional clinical notes without missing important details”. Lynn Chen, a student hygienist, said in a Google review that it let her put “more focus on patient care”.
Offers for Hygienists and Therapists
None of these problems has to eat into your day.
Wherever you are in your career, there’s a way to try Kiroku:
- Students: You can get free access while studying for your undergraduate degree. Contact us with proof of your student status.
- New graduates: If you’ve just graduated in the UK or Ireland, you can get free access to Kiroku for your first year in practice, with 50% off for the following year. See the current offers on our New Grads page.
- BSDHT members: You can get a 14-day free trial and 50% off your first 12 months of subscription. Email BSDHT to get your sign-up code.
If you belong to a different organisation, check our partners page to see if you're affiliated with any of these, as there may be an offer for you.
Not covered by an offer? Start a 14-day free trial and try every feature mentioned above in your next clinic.
