Getting Your Patients to say Yes To Dental Treatment
Feeling the pinch of competition? Looking for ways to increase revenue for your dental clinic? You might think that recruiting new patients is the best possible way to boost production. Think again. Your current patient base is actually a treasure trove of potential income—if you can increase your rate of dental treatment acceptance. If you’re like most dental clinics, your current conversion rate is low, and you have a hard time getting your patients to say yes to dental treatment.
Oral health providers often feel frustrated and a bit perplexed by patients’ failure to accept treatment. It seems so illogical that patients would choose not to have cavities filled or opt for bridges when they could have implants.
Examine the implicit messages you’re conveying to patients.
Part of the problem may stem from the messages you convey to patients. For example, “it’s just a small cavity; we can keep an eye on it.” Patients translate that as, “oh, treatment is optional.”
Accept that your patients are customers.
Though, as a dental professional, you may find the characterization of your patients as “customers” a tad distasteful, that is, in fact, what they are. The reality is that dental services compete for consumer dollars with other possible purchases like flat-screen T.V.s, family vacations, and new furniture.
So, what are some additional strategies for getting your dental patients to say “yes”?
Shift dental team attitudes and behaviors.
First, take a look at the current attitudes and behaviors in your clinic. When patients are reluctant to commit to treatment, do you and other dental clinic colleagues think, “Well, that’s the end of that!”? If so, you’re passing up a rich vein to mine and leaving a sizable amount of potential income on the table. In many cases, you’re also doing a big disservice to your patients, who aren’t getting the treatment they need to maintain optimal oral health.
Re-frame patient resistance as an opportunity vs. conflict.
Let’s look at what else is preventing dental offices from leveraging this valuable opportunity. One obstacle is that dental office staff, including treatment coordinators, often feel uncomfortable pushing back against patient reluctance to move forward with treatment. They see it as conflict, which, like most people, they want to avoid. That perspective needs to be re-framed as an opening to help patients get what they want and need. Staff can employ targeted strategies to overcome patient objections and propel them toward dental treatment acceptance in supportive, non-confrontational ways.
Solidify rapport with patients.
Another challenge is fostering acceptance is part of a multi-faceted, multi-pronged process, rather than one quick solution. For example, dental clinic staff must first lay a foundation by applying specific techniques to establish a solid rapport with patients.
Train your dental staff.
However, the biggest hurdle is the lack of training in the approaches that result in patient commitment to treatment. There are tried-and-true techniques that have been used by sales professionals for decades—to great effect. These can also bring about dramatic results in your treatment conversion rates.
“It doesn’t matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going.”
—Brian Tracy
Our clients have been surprised by the remarkable results from dental team training in these proven strategies. They report increases in post-training treatment acceptance rates ranging from 30 to 60%. We recommend that you start collecting data on your current treatment acceptance now to have an idea of your baseline. The next logical step is to provide staff training. Treatment coordinators are an obvious choice for participation. With the right training, dental hygienists, who typically spend more time with patients than anyone else, can also be instrumental in supporting treatment acceptance. Explore our practical, results-oriented multi-course series on promoting treatment acceptance by clicking here.
If you’re a business owner and you’d like to explore affordable training options for your entire team, visit our business solutions page by clicking here.
About NGT Academy
We are one of the very few turnkey-Learning Management System providers that specializes in the dental industry. And our eLearning platform is easy to use for both employees and managers, with a library of more than 30 courses created for dental teams. E-learning typically costs at least 30% less than conventional training, making for a truly efficient solution for your dental organization.
Do you want to learn more? Contact us for more information or schedule a demo