A few weeks ago, my son called in a panic. “Mom, I just went to the dentist and I need two crowns. Do you know how much two crowns cost!” My response: “A lot!” I then asked, “Do you keep routine hygiene appointments? How long has it been since you’ve seen the dentist?” And his not-surprising response was, “Several years. I haven’t had a reason to go until I started having pain.”
This is a perfect example of what is happening in dental offices every day with patient after patient. If you think about it, why would anyone spend several hundred dollars a year on something for no reason? We skip over the most convincing motivator that will continue to drive our patients back to us for their routine hygiene appointment—a good reason.
We live in a DIY society. And unless you demonstrate a reason why DIY dentistry is a bad idea, most will simply think they can do it themselves and get away with it. Dentrix makes it easy to give your patients a good reason by providing all the tools necessary to efficiently and thoroughly document a patient’s medical and clinical history. With that information, you can formulate and personalize a conversation to educate your patients on the reasons why they should keep routine hygiene appointments.
By educating your patients about oral health’s impact on systemic health — and the risks they are taking by not coming on a regular basis — you give them a reason to return. Good dental health has lasting effects on improving their overall health. It also can help avoid expensive dentistry due to neglect.
By the way, my son, who has no dental insurance and a very tight budget, bought the in-house dental plan from his dentist. He made his next hygiene appointment before leaving the office—along with appointments for his son and wife. Give them a reason, and they will come.
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If you found these ideas helpful, you may be interested in learning more about the Dentrix Profitability Coaching Program, where these, and many other great concepts, strategies and ideas are taught to you and your team by one of our highly skilled and experienced profitability coaches. To find out more about Dentrix Profitability Coaching, CLICK HERE.