Most Dentists I know do amazing dentistry and love what they do. I think they are all brilliant!

One of the biggest challenges I see Dentists facing, is having the communication skills to match the dentistry they offer their patients.

Being a successful dentist is not only about the hands on skills of dentistry, it is also about how well you can interact with your patients.

If your patients don’t get what you want to do for them, you will not get the opportunity to help them with your amazing dentistry!

Communicating with your patients is a skill that needs to be worked on continually by the entire team.

The first step in successfully communicating with your patients, is to find out what makes your patient’s tick.

Why do you patients respond the way they do and how should you respond to them?

Human behaviour is fascinating.

How your patients behave is driven by their thoughts and feelings. Your patients then develop attitudes and values.

Over the years working in the dental profession I have worked out that you can influence the behaviour of your patients just by how you communicate and interact with them.

You have the ability to influence the behaviour of your patients by changing how they think and respond.

One way to change the behaviour of your patients is to set very clear expectations for your patients when it comes to Appointment Scheduling.

When your patients are clear about the next step and what they need to do, they will be more likely to do it.

What I often see is a series of fluffy next steps which does not impart confidence in your patient.

An example is a prospective New Patient calling a dental practice and the team member answering the call is unsure and lacks confidence when making and confirming the appointment.

“When would you like to come in?” “What time suits you best?”

“Do you want to make an appointment?”

“Do you want to call me when you are ready?”

When you are making and confirming an appointment on the phone, you want the steps to be easy for the caller. Finding an appointment should not be complicated and drawn out.

“Would you prefer morning or afternoon?” “I have an appointment on Wednesday 12th May at 10am or Friday 15th May at 9.30am?”

The appointment should be confirmed at the time of making the appointment. The patient will now believe the appointment is set and they are more committed to the appointment time for treatment and care.

Can you see how you can influence how your patient thinks and feels about their appointment by how you communicate with them on that very first phone call?

If you have a big problem with cancellations it is worth looking closely at how the appointments are set up in the first place.

Have you communicated to your patients that their appointment is definite or did you send the message that the appointment can be changed or cancelled at any point?

There is a direct relationship with how you communicate with your patients and the response you get from them.

When you understand this you soon work out you can influence your patients and better help them.

So the next time you are wondering why your patients don’t seem to be committed to their treatment and care and cancel appointments all the time, have a close look at how you are communicating and interacting with your patients.

Small changes in how you communicate with your patients WILL change their responses.

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