Zirc Dental Products has partnered with Stonehaven Dental to implement Zirc’s signature color-coding system for instrument management, Color Method. With this system, practices simply choose one color for each procedure. Everything related to that procedure - from bur blocks to trays to tubs – matches that color, creating easy, grab and go setups. The Draper location was selected to be RESET with Color Method and implement the instrument and material management system. RESET is a service where the Zirc team comes out to the practice to train and educate the team about organization and efficiency, all while helping implement the system in person – making it a quick and easy process. As soon as I looked at Color Method, I saw that it was what we were looking for and a change that we could easily make. That’s what got us interested in it, Ian Draper, practice manager at Stonehaven Dental’s Draper office, shared.
Tina Punton, RDH and Zirc’s account executive for special markets, was soon in contact with Ian to learn more about Stonehaven Dental Draper’s day-to-day routines, challenges and goals as a practice. Our mission is really to find out what a practice’s goals for efficiency are and use our Color Method products to find solutions and make them a reality, Tina shared. This system offers a customized solution that can be scaled from just one practice to ten or even more. The beauty of Color Method and Zirc’s E-Z Jett Cassettes is that it’s a simple system that can easily be tailored and adapted from one organization to another without essentially having to stuff them each into the same box.
Ian described the experience similarly, I thought it was really awesome to see that it wasn’’ like, ‘Hey, here’s the one size of shoe that we have, and this is what you need.’ It was, ‘Hey, let’s get your shoe size and let’s find the shoe that fits you.’ It’s just been probably the best experience I’ve had with any one dental company. And then when you guys came out and helped us implement everything, it was out of this world.
Implementing instrument management with Zirc’s E-Z Jett Cassettes was a core focus of the Stonehaven Dental Draper RESET. E-Z Jett Cassettes are engineered to maximize flow around instruments during cleaning and sterilization. Using cassettes allows a practice to keep used instruments organized and secured throughout procedures and sterilization, as well as keeping patients and staff safe from accidental sticks. With 16 colors and a variety of sizes to choose from, choosing a cassette for each procedure is easy and fun!
Ian found that the colorful cassettes are especially helpful for training new team members. The biggest impact that Color Method system has had on me is with having to train people. It’s a tell-show-do type progression with training. And so I can tell them, ‘Hey, if you need to do this procedure, you’re going to grab this color of cassette,’ he shared. In the past, Ian had new employees take down notes about the specific instruments needed for each procedure, but he’s seen an improvement now that they simply refer to a color chart that’s always in the sterilization center, It’s really streamlined those first two steps in our training process, which has been incredibly valuable for us time management-wise, but also helping instill some confidence in our new team members.
Prior to implementing E-Z Jett Cassettes, the Stonehaven Dental Draper team would spend time each day cleaning, sorting, bagging and then sterilizing instruments. We easily fit the time that we need to work through sterilization between patients. It turns [reprocessing instruments] into a much smaller, much more manageable, less intimidating task,& Ian said. Safety has also played a factor in sterilization, We’ve now got our instruments in a cassette and they’re held in place. It’s just the little things that have really added up for us.
No stranger to cassettes, Ian had used stainless steel cassettes during his time as a dental assistant but found that they were less efficient for sterilization and expensive to replace when they rusted. He noted, Stainless steel cassettes are large and there’s a lot of wasted space in them. So you’re pretty much confined to only using the one autoclave – if you break it down procedure-to-procedure, you could really only fit about a half or a third of the amount of procedures worth of metal cassettes [in the autoclave] versus the Zirc cassettes. If I was to choose one cassette over the other, I think at this point – just from what I’ve seen and a direct comparison – I’d probably pick Zirc’s resin cassettes over the metal cassettes.
Zirc’s Color Method products not only make sterilization safer and more efficient, but makes appointments more inviting for patients. Having the bright colors – it just looks a lot less like surgical and feels a lot more personal. I think when our patients see not only that things are clearly laid out, but also sitting in a nice, bright color scheme, that helps them feel more comfortable, Ian shared. With the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s found that patients are especially nervous to come to their dental appointments, but because Stonehaven Dental Draper’s organization makes it clear that the team is taking safety and sanitization protocols seriously, patients feel more at ease.
Just instilling confidence [in our team members] is probably the biggest advantage that I’ve seen with Color Method and with instrument management in general, Ian said, It just elevates the whole experience for all team members and patients. Confidence goes a long way, in my opinion, to a team member’s performance. Having confident team members really just helps them to do their job better and to take better care of patients.
About Zirc Dental Products
Zirc Dental Products is a family-owned business with over 50 years of experience. Our corporate headquarters in Buffalo, Minnesota, houses everything from manufacturing to customer service. We’re proud to make high-quality, affordable products right here in the US. We also offer a variety of services, including Organization Conversations, ZOBE, & RESET, that connect you directly with our product consultants – each with over 20 years of clinical experience. We’re not only happy to help, but excited to be with you in every step to increase efficiency & safety, all while saving you money!
