- Originally sent on October 5, 2026 -
I’m back from New Zealand.
And with me comes your trusty Tip of the Week.
This week’s one starts with a little joke…
We are not thieves. We are dental assistants.
We just seem to occasionally go home with microbrushes, cotton rolls, articulating paper, a random wedge… and somehow the pen everyone has been looking for.
But jokes aside, this actually leads into something I hear about all the time in clinics:
lost instruments and equipment.
Usually not stolen.
Usually not deliberate.
Usually just accidentally thrown away during a rushed changeover, lost between the treatment room and steri, or binned because someone didn’t realise it was reusable.
One clinic told me they had replaced around $4,000 worth of equipment.
And that’s where this week’s tip comes in:
Better systems prevent expensive mistakes.
Upcoming Events
I’ll also be at ADX later this week, so if you’re attending, come and say hello.
On Thursday, I’ll be speaking about staff retention and how we can better support, train and retain our dental teams.
Then on Saturday, I’ll be at the Women in Dentistry Breakfast, as well as spending time around the exhibition. If you’re there, drop me a text or email — I’d love to catch up.
We’re also in the process of updating the DAB Events page, with more training dates being added.
Coming up in November, we currently have A Day for DAs planned in:
- South Australia
- Melbourne
- Northern Territory
And we’ll be bringing A Day for DAs to more cities early next year.
Keep an eye on the Events page for new dates — and if you see me at ADX this week, please come and say hi.
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Tip of the Week
The full tip and this week's free cheat sheet are subscriber-only. It's free to join, sign up now.
So how do we reduce the risk?
It usually comes down to better training and better systems.
See my 6 key steps and a printable clinic check sheet PDF.
