I’m sure you’ve seen the stock photo of the dental team posed in the operatory with masks under their chins, long hair hanging down around face and arms folded with gloved hands. How about the dentist holding the hand piece about to place it in patient’s mouth, but neither the dentist nor the patient are wearing eye protection? Did you ever think to yourself, “That’s breaking personal protective equipment (PPE) protocol?” How about the photo of a patient standing at the front office desk next to a hygienist who is wearing a mask under her chin and holding a clipboard with gloved hands? As a career dental professional, I know these photos portray a scene that’s breaking PPE protocol and should not represent the dental team at work. It’s a challenge to find more than a few stock photos depicting what a working dental office team should look like.
After years of working in the dental industry, I’m keenly aware of PPE and what the dental professional should look like in the operatory and while working in different areas throughout the office. Everyone in the dental industry knows that protocol is strict when it comes to using appropriate protection against health and safety hazards, but for years now, I’ve struggled when reviewing stock photos for our website, blogs and social media posts because I can rarely find accurate photos that include the proper standards.
Sifting through photos recently sparked my desire to write this blog because the selection made me angry. All I could see were PPE errors everywhere. Apparently, it’s more important to show pretty faces than to show a how a real dental team operates to protect the safety of their patients and themselves. We all know it’s not appropriate for dental professionals to walk around the office with their masks around their chins.
Do photographers simply find a dental space and use models for a photo shoot with no guidance from a dental professional? On medical television dramas, the writers and actors go as far as to work with real doctors to make sure everything in the show looks as close to real life as possible. Companies who produce dental stock photos should really consult a dentist before the photo shoot to find out what’s appropriate and what’s not. After all, we pay money to use their photos, and they should truly represent our work environment.
If these photos actually mirrored a day in a dental office, that dental team needs to brush up on its PPE and OSHA training! It is unsettling for those in the field to see PPE violations taking place in their marketing material. Companies that pay to use these graphics want patients to catch a glimpse into what they will actually see at their office, and they are not getting that from the choices. And you know what they say! A picture is worth a thousand words. Wouldn’t you agree?
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