Use It Before You Lose It

Are you one of the many dental practices experiencing the end of the year rush?

Does it seem like many of your patients delay their dental treatment until the end of the year? Meanwhile, your team has been contacting them since January. They finally return the phone call mid-November with a demand to have the crown completed before the holidays.

Collectively the team is left wondering why the patient chose to wait so long.

Does this sound familiar?

This causes me to reflect on my years in dentistry. I think about how some practices, especially early on in my career, experienced the end of the year scramble. It left us feeling like there wasn’t enough time in the month of December to complete the treatment our patients suddenly wanted done. I also think about others where we effectively replaced the end of the year rush with a year-round steadiness. Patients committed to their treatment when it was recommended, rather than leaving it until November or December when they suddenly realized their dental benefits might expire.

What is the difference between these two dental practices?

Would you believe that the practice with the higher case acceptance was a non-assignment practice and the one with lower case acceptance accepted assignment? The profound difference between the two practices was the treatment presentation process.

How do we create a patient base with higher case acceptance?

Ask yourself:

• Do we truly believe in the work we do?
• Do we feel confident in our role as the dental health professional?
• Do we have the patient’s best interest at heart?

If the answer to these questions is yes, then it’s simply how we talk about dental treatment with our patients that makes the difference.

It takes time to develop effective treatment planning and discussion skills.

 A few key points to remember:

1. Begin with a comprehensive exam and detailed treatment plan. Use the time during the exam to co-discover the patients needs and wants. Do they want to keep their teeth for life? Do they want to be free from dental disease? These seem like obvious answers to us, but they may not be for our patients. What is most important to them? Their time, money, function, aesthetics?
2. Use visual aids or photographs to engage and educate the patient on their oral health. Patients must understand the state of their oral health and how it affects their overall health to make an informed decision.
3. Surround yourself with an exceptional team that not only provides a high level of customer service but is also skilled in supporting diagnosis and treatment planning conversations.

These key points are a start. If you and your team are hungering for the skills to provide exceptional case presentations, contact our team to learn more!

 

Our team of Dental Consultants, at Tayden Consulting Inc., specialize in providing,
hands-on, on-site coaching on how to create the optimal experience for your patients.

 

Contact us today for a free consultation!

We look forward to meeting you.