I watch many Dental Offices on social media and watch how they communicate and send messages to their patients and potential patients.

There is one particular question asked on social media pages that has left me somewhat intrigued.

“Due for your checkup and clean?”

The patient is then meant to click on the link and go straight to the dental website showing then how to book online.

But they still don’t really know if they are really due….

Nothing hurts them and their teeth feel OK to them.

And they have been cleaning their teeth OK all by themselves so they’re probably thinking that they don’t need a checkup and clean.

The word due makes me think of overdue.

My library book is due or overdue.

My bill is overdue.

To people in the dental profession it is a sensible and reasonable question to ask patients.

But it just does not make any sense to patients or potential patients because they have no measure of whether or not they are due.

Can you see now how this is really not the best way to get patients or potential patients to come back for their dental checkup and cleaning appointment.

I believe the word “due” should be one of those words we remove from our Dental Vocabulary.

We need to start training our patients to know why they are coming back for their next preventive care appointment in 3 months or 6 months.

Yes the next appointment is about preventing oral disease and problems but there needs to be a reason why our patients are coming back.

A reason that gives our patients a real sense of urgency, concern and importance.

A reason that reduces patient cancellations and patient follow up so there is no need to ever mention to our patients that they are “due”.

Our potential patients reading our social media posts need to be alerted to what might be going on in their mouth and then they will start thinking about if they are need to or should come in and see you, rather than if they are “due”.

You want the messages that you communicate to patients and potential patients to get them thinking about their oral health. Once they start to become concerned then they will call your office to make their appointment.

Then they will know they need to come in and see you.

Rather than for your reasons…. that they are DUE…..

 

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On Friday August 19 and Saturday August 20 I will be co-presenting Dental Phone Excellence in London England at Dr. David Moffet’s Ultimate Patient Experience Workshop.
Click here for details and Early Bird Registration.
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This blog will feature simple practical ideas that are easy to implement tomorrow in your Dental Office, impacting immediately on your Patients’ Dental  Phone Experiences, and ultimately, improving your practice profitability.

At present I have availability for four new private clients. For more information on how I can improve your Dental Office’s Phone Numbers contact me, Jayne Bandy at  jayne@theDPE.com