Do you scratch your head trying to work out why patients say “No” to their necessary dental treatment?
The problem might be that your patient did not understand the importance and urgency of their treatment.
The problem could actually be you!
The words you choose when explaining treatment to patients can often be the difference between the patient saying “Yes” or “No”.
So choose your words carefully.
The first step when you and your team are communicating with patients, is to ensure that the patient fully understands the message.
The one thing I see missing when team members communicate with patients, is checking that the patient has understood everything that has been discussed with them.
Don’t ever presume your patient is clear and fully informed about the dental treatment and care that they will need.
Your job is to check that they have understood.
The best way to check for understanding is to ask your patient if they have any questions.
“Do you have any questions before we make your appointment to start your dental treatment?”
(It is important to presume the next step is making the appointment.)
Patients can become embarrassed when they have not understood something and rather than ask you for clarification they may simply say “No” to treatment.
Give your patients an opportunity to ask questions during the conversation.
The questions the patient will ask tell you what is important to them.
You can then check their understanding by also asking your own questions.
I have written previously about what happens when a patient is unclear and confused.
The answer is, you now have a confused patient who is unsure and does not make an appointment for their treatment.
Keep your conversation with the patient simple and use language they will understand.
Very often the patient becomes confused by dental clinical jargon that can easily be replaced with words the patient does understand.
When you discuss treatment with patients don’t fall into the trap of giving a lecture.
Design the discussion around asking questions and giving answers.
The outcome of the discussion will be much more positive because your patient will be a decision maker with you during the discussion.
It will also give you an opportunity to remove any concerns the patient has that might be in the way of them going ahead with treatment e.g. financial, time constraints, fear and doubt.
Choose your words carefully when communicating with your patients.
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My next public speaking event is my live full day Master Class “How to Turn Every Dental Phone Call Into A Valued and Kept Appointment” and is being held in Melbourne on Friday March 2nd 2018.
Click here on this link to register.
Click here for information on Sydney, Gold Coast and Brisbane.
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Dental Phone Excellence is a simple to implement complete Phone Answering system I developed that helped me to build an extraordinary dental practice in the heart of working class western Sydney.
If you’d like to know more, download my sixteen page FREE special report “How I Quickly and Easily Went From 35% to 77% New Patient Telephone Conversions, and Doubled The Size of my Dental Practice Along the Way” and discover some of the many costly mistakes being made on your phone…..
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At present I have availability for THREE 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
