A hygiene department that offers nothing beyond tooth cleaning is neither productive nor profitable. For a hygiene department to become "the pulse of the practice," it has to generate quality dentistry that is far beyond the traditional scope -- and ahead of its competition. This book shows how to breathe new life into "the pulse of the practice" by motivating dental team members to create an environment that increases the hygiene department's production as much as 50% per month, boosts the number of hygiene appointments beyond your most optimistic estimates, and improves acceptance percentages for the entire practice. By reading this book you will: understand how empowering the dental hygiene department can positively impact production; discover optimal strategies for creating or improving a dental hygiene department through staffing, marketing, customer service, and ethics; develop creative strategies for resolving problems and concerns ranging from non-compliant patients and under-developed facility design to ineffective case presentation.