A 72-year-old female patient was referred to our office by her physician with the chief concern of a large granuloma on her lower lip. The patient had a medical history positive for hypertension, thyroid disease, hypercholesterolemia, osteopenia, sinusitis and eczema. The patient reported that over the past two to three years, she had a re-occurring … Read more
Are you doing all you can to motivate and empower your patients to become actively involved in their dental health? As dental professionals, you are trained to understand the science of oral health. You know how to use the tools available to provide the best treatment possible for the patient. However, sometimes we forget … Read more
Are you using referrals as one of your most successful practice building strategies? One of your patients has just said great things about you, your office and your team. This is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of one of the most successful dental marketing strategies; asking for a referral. Your patient won’t think to give … Read more
While many aggressive dental marketers have a single minded goal to gain new patients for a dental practice, only a few realize that retaining patients and winning loyalty matters more in the long run. Marketers should focus the better part of their efforts on consolidating the existing patient base and building loyalty. A loyal patient … Read more
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What is the number one reason why patients do not return for their hygiene visits? Doctors and team members: if you don’t know, you need to find out! We’ve all heard the excuses; illness, my boss called a meeting, my kids have sports practice after school, I’m stuck in traffic, I can’t pay for it…..the list goes … Read more
DOWNTIME: What happens when patients cancel or just fail to show up? This is especially a problem in hygiene (which patients often skip because, after all to them, “It’s just a cleaning”), but it affects the whole practice. Think of Downtime as a Percentage: Downtime is the share of non-productive time your practice incurs each day. … Read more
Three news items crossed my desk in the past month. All seem to point to a future for dentistry which features more specialization around managing the cause of poor oral health. One news item was a video interview with a number of dental opinion leaders in Minnesota, about the emerging role of dental therapists. Dental … Read more
4 ways to enhance patient satisfaction…… Patient communication is more likely to succeed when there are more positive interactions than negative interactions. Luckily, we as humans have a unique ability to turn negative thoughts and emotions into positive ones. Here are a few more ways to hit the magic ratio and positively enhance patient satisfaction … Read more
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
Paradox = conflicting or contradictory trends. So what might be the paradox in dental services? On the one hand we have this movement to cosmetic care. A recent survey conducted by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry says that more and more dental practices are conducting this kind of care. 74% of respondents said they … 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
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
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
Turning inquiries into appointments.. Dental administration team members are truly the “Directors of the First Impression” for new patients, and they have approximately 17 seconds to “make it or break it.” Many new patient phone calls start with the patient asking: “Do you take my insurance?” While your first instinct is to provide an immediate … Read more
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act ( AODA) is a law in Ontario that allows the government to develop specific standards of accessibility and to enforce them. Recognizing the history of discrimination against persons with disabilities in Ontario, the purpose of this act is to benefit all Ontarians by: 1. Developing, implementing and enforcing … Read more
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