The key to improving patient satisfaction…… People are porous. They tend to absorb and reflect the atmosphere and motions around them. According to Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman, we experience approximately 20,000 individual moments in a waking day. Each moment may only last a few seconds, but each is important. Dr. John Gottman’s pioneer research … Read more
The March 3, 2016 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine has a provocative article called “Uber’s message for healthcare”. The thrust of this article is summarized below by the Kaiser Foundation: “Unreliable service, inconvenience, uncomfortable surroundings, and high prices make customers unhappy, and given the opportunity, they will go elsewhere. Uber, Silicon Valley’s … Read more
Very recently, there have been 2 announcements in the US about training physicians and nurse practitioners to look after oral health problems. The first announcement emanated from the University of California at San Francisco and the latter announcement from Harvard and Northeastern Universities. Serious stuff. The reasons behind this development appear to be twofold: (a) … Read more
Discover the power of the right words……. The vocabulary you use plays a powerful role in whether your patients choose to accept the treatment they need. In Transitions Group’s experience with coaching hundreds of dental practices across North America, we have found these key phrases to be very valuable: We now know … Latest research … Read more
A new study reports that among American individuals newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a periodontal intervention is associated with lower total healthcare costs (-$1799), lower total medical costs excluding pharmacy costs (-$1577), and lower total type 2 diabetes-related healthcare costs (-$408). The study will be published in the next quarter so details are not … Read more
A new report shows that more user-pay has little influence on comparison shopping for medical care. Even with “skin in the game” via high-deductible health plans, Americans did not normally seek out cheaper medical services.Instead, they simply avoided shopping for medical care altogether, and in many cases, failed to get preventive care. Canadian insurers and … Read more
Last month, I posted a blog entitled “How often for dental x-rays?” The thrust of the blog was a new study which showed that visual inspection of the teeth by the dentist was as accurate a method of determining caries as dental x-rays. This is also the position of the US Food and Drug Administration. … Read more
One silent issue in the dental industry is affordability. Surgical care is so expensive that it has restricted dental visits over the past few years and, in turn, driven down dental incomes by more than 20% since the start of the Great Recession (2008). Over the Holidays, there were more reports about this affordability problem … Read more
MDA to launch exciting, emotional campaign. Ever notice that expressions related to our mouth always seem to be negative? “Don’t be a big mouth”. “Stop being a loudmouth”. And never, ever “put your foot in your mouth”. But what if “being mouthy” wasn’t such a bad thing? We don’t think it should be. In fact, we think … Read more
As of 2015, for the first time, Canada has more people over the age of 65 than under 15. The age group that now encompasses the boomer generation – 50 to 69 – makes up 27 per cent of the population, compared with 18 per cent in that age group two decades ago. The number … Read more
Two new studies involving older people, show that the following chronic diseases significantly increase the odds of dental decay: cardiovascular disease, rheumatic disease, mood disorders and eating disorders. The connection between diseases, is four or more medications taken regularly; this level of polypharmacy is the threshold for poor salivary flow. Saliva is a preventive agent … Read more
Are you getting the sense like me, that the expectations for family dental care are changing? It seems every week we learn from good scientific studies that good oral health is an independent factor in good overall health. Today, for example, a Korean study found that poor gums were associated with hypertension, irregardless of other … Read more
Help patients say “yes” to the treatment they need…. How would it be if all our patients accepted our treatment recommendations without having to be pressured, without stress or rejection? Why do dental patients reject appropriate treatment? 85% of case acceptance is related to our social skills and ability to relate to people, 15% is … Read more
“People today are about 10 percent heavier than people were in the 1980s, even if they follow the exact same diet and exercise plans.” This was a disturbing conclusion of a recent study of American adults, which has also been reported in The Atlantic. What might be the reasons? First, people are exposed to more … Read more
As the population ages and science marches on, we are seeing significant connections between chronic diseases. One big one is diabetes and dental decay — diabetes increases the risk of having oral health problems two-fold. And another is chronic inflammatory bowel disease and dental decay. A new study which tracked Swedish adults for several years … Read more
The number one reason patients do not accept treatment plans is lack of perceived value; how the dental treatment plan or recommendations will relate to them or their individual health goals. The lack of value is often expressed by patients with the most repetitive question asked in a dental day: “Does my insurance cover it?” … Read more
A new, 3-year prospective Japanese study involving over 2500 university students (mean age of 18 years at baseline) examined various risk factors for the emergence of high blood pressure (hypertension). The study found that amongst a group of students who had elevated (or prehypertensive) blood pressure at baseline, 3 factors which led to high blood … Read more
“British Columbia’s population now has 31 people 65 years old or over for every 100 working-age persons. In a decade, the ratio will be 41 to 100. Ten years later, in 2035, the ratio will be 48 to 100, according to a recent paper from the Business Council of British Columbia. Put another way, the … Read more