Friday, September 14, 2018
I have been practicing dentistry now for more than 30 years. It’s been fun, challenging, rewarding, frustrating, demanding, and sometimes just plain work. Those three decades are filled with many different types of experiences. I have seen changes in procedures, equipment, materials, technology, and even changes in the dental patient.
Nothing in this world stays stagnant. Yet, over the years I have met many dental professionals doing things the same way since they graduated from dental school. Whether they don’t want to learn new things, don’t want to spend money they might not have, or are just lazy, their dental practices stay stationary while the world around them changes.
These colleagues offer many explanations as to why they don’t invest in their practices, which is also investing in their patients. They say, “It works the way I do it now, why change?” or, “I would rather buy a new car than spend money for a new laser. It’s too hard to learn how to use it. It’s just a fad and that piece of equipment will just go away and be a waste of money.”
We all know we can make up excuses for anything we don’t want to do. I know finding time to exercise is impossible. (So, I tell myself). But sometimes we need to throw away the excuses and make a commitment for change. It’s time to understand how investing in your patients will be both monetary and emotionally rewarding to you and your practice.
For 30 years I built my practice on being at the cutting edge of technology. Some of this technology does not seem so cutting edge now, but patients were in awe of the difference between my office and the practice they were going to previously. I developed a reputation for being the technology dentist. Patients would refer their friends and families because I came across as being more advanced than other options. It was expected that my practice would have the best and the greatest, so I made sure to keep up and over the years I invested in what I felt was newest and the best in technology.
This is what I have learned from three decades on the cutting edge. I hope others can use my experiences and incorporate my advice them into their day-to-day practices for the benefit of patients and those practices.
Showing and Telling
Whatever technology you bought as an investment in your practice does nothing to help build your reputation unless your patients know about it. You and your staff need to talk about what’s new and make it a habit to show everyone. This extends not just the patients in your chairs, but also to the prospective patients in your waiting room.
You and your staff need to toot your own horn. You have probably heard this before, but every patient should get a tour of your office. They should understand the philosophy of your practice and see firsthand the investments you make to improve their comfort and the quality of care you provide.
Sharing the True Benefits
Perception is important but creating true benefits and adding value to your patients’ care is more important. With most things, people want faster, better, and easier, and dentistry is no different. (Often they want cheaper too, but that rarely goes along with better.) Let’s go over each one of these benefits.
Faster: With CAD/CAM dentistry restorations can be started and finished in one single appointment. Yet over the years, I have tried to market my CEREC externally with very little success. The concept of making a restoration in one visit is so foreign to a patient there is little incentive present to drive external referrals. But, internally within your practice, the CAD/CAM investment can give a tremendous return.
Providing single appointment restorations not only saves patients from getting numb again, but it eliminates a whole dental visit which often means reducing the amount of time a patient needs to miss work. This is often a missed benefit of using chairside CAD/CAM technology. Leaving work to go to the dentist can be a hardship. Sick time or vacation time might be used to get their dental work completed. If you can cut down on those visits then you are able to reduce the time, money, and stress costs felt by your patients.
We need to tell our patients we have invested in this expensive equipment, so they can spend less time in our office and more time enjoying being with their family and friends. Let everyone who walks into your practice know about this capability, and how an office that doesn’t have this equipment would require them to make multiple visits for the same treatment.
It is the job of the dentist and staff to educate our patients. I am not talking about explaining their root canal. I want every patient in the office to know what a special place they are coming to. I want them to know the new equipment is not there just to look pretty. It is there to make their visits easier and better. You need to stand out from the rest. Not everyone is willing to invest in his or her practice. Let your patients know that.
Better: What makes your office better than the rest. You can be better in many ways. The appearance of your office reflects the quality of what they perceive will be done. Did you ever go to a restaurant restroom that was dirty and in disrepair and try to imagine what their kitchen looks like? Your practice works the same way.
The waiting room, carpet, beverage station, marketing material, and every other thing a patient sees and touches reflect on your image and the perceived quality of your care. Your patients have no idea if your crown margins are perfect. They don’t have a clue if your bevel is ideal or if the anatomy you sculpt on their posterior resin restoration has the cusp of Carrabelle present. Patients only know whether it looks good, feels good, and when it doesn’t hurt. That’s it. The rest you need to tell them.
Let them know that you use premier dental laboratories located in the United States to fabricate restorations you don’t create chairside. A lot of people want to know that their work is not sent out of the country. Tell them about the partners you choose to help you provide their care and make them as confident in those partners as they are in you.
Did you know that there is a gray market for dental materials that some dentists buy to save money? That this gray market consists of expired and possibly fake materials. Let your patients know that you care about what is put into their mouths and you can assure them you only purchase and use the best materials to restore their teeth.
While talking about your practice and all you do is important, talking with your patients is about them as well. A little concern and empathy can always make a person’s experience better. Spend a few minutes with your patients developing a rapport and a relationship. A dental practice run like a production mill just doesn’t have the time to spend with getting to know their patients. They are more concerned with working three rooms and churning out production. Make each patient’s experience better and you will earn a patient for life.
Easier: This is where technology is the winner. Investments in new technology should not be a rash decision. CAD/CAM systems can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cone Beam CT scanners also are big investments. These purchases must be weighed with their cost along with their benefits to your practice. If you are not willing to learn how to maximize your new equipment and learn the techniques necessary to be proficient with them – well, don’t buy them.
Growing a practice is not for everyone. Some people just don’t like change. But, if you feel you owe your patients the best quality of care and want to give them the best experience possible with their visits, then dive right in and make some changes in your office.
One-visit crowns with CAD/CAM is a game changer. After receiving a one-visit crown some patients ask me why anybody would do it any other way. I don’t have an answer for them other than offices don’t want to make a big investment for their patients or don’t want to learn something new. The technology is now predictable. Not only is CAD/CAM accepted, but also the majority of laboratories make their restorations the same way I now make them in the office. The materials are the same. The design is the same. There is no difference. So why not just make them in the office?
Not only is one-visit dentistry easier for the patient, it is easier for the doctor. No second visit. Filling all those non-billable second visits with new patients and additional production for the practice can increase your productivity. You don’t have to worry about recementing temporaries that have fallen out. There are no temporaries. I can go on and on, but this technology is here to stay, and it is great for growing your practice.
Dentistry and the business of dentistry have become a new animal recently. With the increased competition of corporate entities, the increased demand for insurance coverage and the new millennial patients, we are embarking into a new phase for our profession. More patients want their insurance to cover everything and are not willing to take any money out of their pocket. It is our job as professionals to show our patients the value of coming to our office over another’s and allowing them to decide if it is worth investing in themselves by choosing a dentist who has already invested in them.