🦷 Dentist Drills & Thrills
Open wide! Let’s examine our project’s health, polish our wins, and fill in the cavities of improvement, just like a routine checkup. Time for a sparkling team smile!
Template Columns
✨ Cavity-Free Moments
Celebrate the bright smiles and healthy habits who've made our project shine.
Base column: What Went Well🦷 Sour Spots
Identify the toothaches and plaque—pains or blockers that kept us from our best.
Base column: What Went Wrong🌟 Flossing for the Future
Suggest ways to strengthen our teamwork and routines for an even healthier project next time.
Base column: What We Want to ImproveAbout this template
The Dentist Drills & Thrills retrospective uses a dental checkup theme to help teams review strengths, address issues, and plan improvements for a healthier project workflow.
When to use this template
Use this template after projects or sprints when you want a creative, health-focused approach to identifying wins, pain points, and opportunities for better teamwork.
How to facilitate
Welcome the team and introduce the dental checkup theme to set a positive, energetic tone
Ask each team member to share highlights for Cavity-Free Moments, focusing on healthy habits and successes
Guide the group to reflect on Sour Spots, surfacing blockers, pain points, or recurring challenges
Collect actionable suggestions under Flossing for the Future, encouraging ideas for process improvement and team wellness
Review themes and discuss potential actions, emphasizing ownership and follow-through
Prioritize top improvements together and assign clear owners for each action
End with a quick reflection asking the team to rate project health or share one thing they’ll do differently next time
Pro Tips
Use playful analogies throughout to keep energy high and boost engagement
Prompt quieter team members by asking about specific processes or team routines
Encourage humor and fun, but make sure all pain points are taken seriously
Invite the team to follow up on agreed actions in future retros to reinforce accountability
FAQ
How do I keep the dental theme fun without making it distracting?
Embrace playful language, but always circle discussions back to the team’s real experiences and goals. The theme is a spark, not the main focus.
What if the team struggles to provide honest feedback in a themed retro?
Remind everyone that open, candid discussion helps the team—and that every project has both wins and sour spots. Facilitate gently to create a safe space for sharing.
How can we ensure action items aren’t forgotten after the retro?
Assign clear owners to each improvement and schedule regular check-ins to revisit action progress in future meetings.
At a glance
- Duration
40–55 min
- Team Size
4-10 people
- Columns
3 columns
- Base Format
What Went Well, What Went Wrong, What We Want to Improve
Tags
Ready to get started?
Use this template to run your next retrospective