Dentist V Cosmetic Surgeon

I was having a chat with a friend of mine last week and she was telling me about the cosmetic surgery she is planning to have later this year. As with patients that are looking for cosmetic dentistry she has done her research on the internet.  My friend also wants some cosmetic dentistry and we were discussing which practices she might attend.

She suddenly clammed up and said “I can’t do it, I can’t go to the dentist”. She has a fear of the dentist. She has had a bad experience  in the past and feels that the dentist will “tell her off” for not looking after her teeth sufficiently well enough.

By now I was wondering why would you not be afraid to go under the knife, yet have a fear of seeing a dentist – I know what I would rather choose! She explained to me that because she can go and see a nurse first of all, who is friendly and doesnt judge her, she feels more comfortable. She also knows that she can be open and honest and if she doesn’t like the clinic she doesnt have to go back.

When I told her about Treatment Coordinators in dental practices she then leapt from her chair and demanded to know which of the practices I had recommended had a Treatment Coordinator. I told her and now she has made an appointment to see two practices and will decide which one she likes!

If you have a Treatment Coordinator then advertise this special role – it will stop patients preferring the knife to a new smile once they know what the practice has to offer them!

Laura

Doing the things that go wrong, first?

I was speaking to a dentist last week and we were discussing the free appointments that he offers to his patients. He currently offers a 15 minute free appointment for tooth whitening and a half an hour free appointment for implants and smile makeovers.

The problem: he keeps running over, spending up to one hour with some patients. I delved deeper (as you know I do) and found out that, if the patient was interested in implants or a smile makeover,  instead of scheduling the 1.5 hour assesment and spending the remaining five minutes he had available building a relationship, he would start to do the things that go wrong first.

I paused and delved deeper again. He explained that  the things that cause him to run late  on the day of the assessment  are normally the photographs or they do not get taken at all because he is trying to save time.

He can’t win either way. He takes the photographs at the new patient’s free appointment and then runs late or he takes them in his assesment and runs late. Why? - because he is always rushing to take the dental photographs.

The solution: Dr “X” needs a Treatment Coordinator to see all of his new patients which we will implement very soon, in the meantime he has cleared an area in his practice which is perfect for taking photographs and I will be training his team to take them for him from now on. Dr X is excited, and glad he is about to delegate something that takes up a great deal of his time, and something that always goes wrong! Imagine how pleased he will be when he has a Treatment Coordinator as well!

Think about what you can delegate – what often goes wrong with your new patients and find solutions. The solution doesn’t have to be one that is provided by the dentist – your team can do more for you then you would ever imgaine!

Laura

A wonderful email I received today:

Hi Laura,

I have written a testimonial for you:

“Laura came to our practice for two days to train myself and my colleague to become treatment coordinators. Our practice has never had a treatment coordinator so this was a whole new experience to us all!

I only had a basic idea of what the role involved and felt quite nervous about taking this on, but by lunch time of the first day, I was feeling so much more confident and looking forward to trying out our new knowledge in the role play planned for later that day.

I found Laura’s training programme really easy to follow, helped a lot by the work book she supplied us with. Laura is a great speaker and is very easy to listen to. Laura’s fun, bubbly attitude made the whole two days really enjoyable, keeping my attention all the time, unlike other courses I have attended which have had me so bored my mind had been wandering!!

I’m really impressed by Laura’s knowledge of this role. Through her own experiences working as a TCO, she was able to answer any question we threw at her immediately was able to customise the course to suit our practice needs.

I would just like to say a big thank you to Laura for all her help. I would never have dreamt that after just 2 days with her that I would be ready to see my first new patient and even be looking forward to it!

I would definitely recommend Laura to anyone who is looking to place a treatment coordinator into their practice.”

Vicki Jones
Treatment Coordinator

This testimonal made my day – Thanks Vicki!