Courtney Wager, RDH : Dentistry Uncensored w/ Howard Farran #1747

In this episode, Howard Farran sits down with Courtney Wager, RDH, a registered dental hygienist with 20 years of clinical experience and the founder of Wager Practice Systems, a consulting company focused on improving the efficiency, productivity, and profitability of hygiene departments. For her entire career, Courtney has practiced in a two-column assisted hygiene model, consistently seeing 12 to 14 patients a day while maintaining a strong emphasis on comprehensive care and clinical outcomes. She has also lectured nationally and internationally on dental hygiene and myofunctional therapy, served on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Orofacial Myology, and co-chaired the Southeastern Component of the Massachusetts Dental Hygienists' Association.

The conversation tackles assisted hygiene head-on — why the topic remains so controversial, what a genuinely successful model actually looks like in practice, and whether comprehensive care is realistically possible in a 30-minute appointment. Courtney and Howard dig into whether assisted hygiene can be both clinically excellent and financially successful, how a practice owner can tell if their office is even a good candidate for it, and what separates high-performing hygiene departments from merely average ones. They also address the pressures facing hygiene right now, including staffing shortages, burnout, and scheduling inefficiencies, along with the practical question of how hygienists and hygiene assistants should be compensated. The episode closes on a thoughtful note: the one thing Courtney wishes every dentist understood about hygienists, and the one thing she wishes every hygienist understood about practice ownership.

Episode #1747 : Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran, Howard sits down with Courtney Wager, RDH — 20-year hygienist and founder of Wager Practice Systems — to tackle one of dentistry's most divisive topics: assisted hygiene.

She's practiced in a two-column assisted model her entire career, seeing 12–14 patients a day without sacrificing comprehensive care. So why does the topic still spark so much debate?

From whether you can truly deliver quality care in 30 minutes, to how hygienists and assistants should be compensated, to what separates high-performing hygiene departments from average ones — this is an honest look at the department that quietly makes or breaks a practice.

🎧 A must-listen for hygienists and practice owners alike.

#DentistryUncensored #DentalHygiene #AssistedHygiene #HygieneDepartment #PracticeManagement #RDH

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