The Explorer Winter 2018 Explorer Winter 2018 | Page 9

ARE YOU ASKING THE RIGHT
QUESTIONS TO GROW YOUR
DENTAL PRACTICE?
By Danya Montoya
Reprinted with permission from DentistryIQ.
Dentists often believe they need more
patients, so they ask how to get them.
But the more appropriate questions
should be about how to get the patients
they already have to accept treatment.
WE HAVE AN ISSUE IN OUR
PROFESSION that is seldom
discussed—we’re not asking the right
questions. There are a lot of things that
we do well in dentistry—we’re caring,
compassionate, and dedicated. However,
sometimes we’re not able to think
outside the box.
Dentists want to know, “How can I get
more new patients?” I want to know,
“Why do you want more new patients,
and what is happening with the patients
you do have?
The real question dentists should be
asking is, “What can I do with my
existing patients to increase my
productivity and meet the goals I’ve set
with my team?”
There’s a good chance that you have all
of the opportunities you need right in
your own practice. I’d like to help you
identify your opportunities today and
share three questions you can use in
your practice to help you meet your
needs with your existing patients.
1. ARE YOU SURE THAT THE BACK
DOOR IS CLOSED?
If you have an abundance of patients in
the office, you may not notice that it’s
wide open!
• Do you monitor your active patient
count monthly?
• Do you monitor your hygiene
retention monthly?
Los Angeles Dental Society Explorer
• Do you know how many patients are
due this month but are not being
seen?
If you’re not monitoring these key
performance indicators, you may not
realize how many patients are coming to
your office once and then not returning.
2. WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO KEEP
THE PATIENTS YOU CURRENTLY
HAVE HAPPY IN THE PRACTICE?
Patients expect more with every visit.
• Are you keeping up with technology
and techniques?
• Do you have affordable financing
options or an in-office membership
plan to help your patients say yes to
treatment?
• Are you engaging your patients on
their own terms with your social
media presence?
Look around your practice. Can you do
more to keep your patients happy?
3. WHAT ARE YOU AND YOUR TEAM
DOING TO GET THE DENTISTRY OUT
OF THE CHARTS AND INTO THE
MOUTHS OF YOUR PATIENTS?
You already have an advantage with your
existing patients. You have established the
first of six steps in case acceptance—you
have built the relationship. Patients are
more likely to follow through with your
recommended treatment if they trust you.
Many times, the failure comes from not
creating the urgency or providing the
risks and benefits of treatment in a way in
which patients can relate.
A couple of weeks ago, I asked an
arborist to come to my house and trim
the limb of my neighbor’s sweetgum tree
because it was hanging over my fence
and dropping sweetgums balls in my
yard. It’s on a hill and my storage shed is
at the bottom of the hill, so I was always
afraid someone would “Charlie Brown”
it down that hill on a sweetgum ball. I
was told it would cost $200 to trim the
limb. When the arborist evaluated the
tree in person, he realized that the tree
was on a hill, and that the root system
was close to our pool plumbing and
sprinkler system. Because of these risks,
he changed his recommendation from
trimming the limb to removing the tree.
Now the cost was $1,800, but the way he
presented the risks and benefits made it
difficult for me to say no. It was good for
him and good for me.
The proposed dentis try you have in your
charts is the same thing. It’s there! How
are you explaining the risks and benefits
of the treatment and creating urgency to
have it completed? I would encourage
you to talk at your morning huddle
about what is already diagnosed. What
can you do or say differently to
encourage your patients to move
forward with treatment? That will make
it good for you and good for them.
The bottom line is this: we need to
know what questions to ask.
• Is the back door open?
• What are you doing to keep your
patients happy?
• What are you doing to get the
dentistry out of the charts and into
the mouths of the patients who
already trust you?
If you need help with answers, you might
want to turn to outside resources that
can help you get where you want to go. 䡲