Three Small Steps for Big Results:

Starting Points to Increasing Case Acceptance

With so much happening in the economy and in healthcare today, you may find yourself running into more and more obstacles with your patients when it comes to case presentation and case acceptance.

Have you started hearing new objections? Are you hearing more objections about money? Are more concerns circling around fear for the future when it comes to healthcare coverage? These are not times to sidestep and avoid the unavoidable. These are also not times to back away from presenting the best possible care to your patients
because you are afraid to hear no – again. What it is time for is a Back to Basics approach on patient care and case presentation. Here is where you can start.

In a recent report by the ADA, it was stated that 51.6% of adults stated they would be more likely to visit the dentist if the dentist had a friendlier and more caring attitude. This is saying that over HALF of those surveyed would come to see YOU, doctor, if you had better customer service! If you could increase your new patient flow simply by improving your customer service skills, wouldn’t that be a healthy place to put your energy in your business?

This same ADA report states that only 34% of those surveyed listed money as a deciding factor on whether or not to visit the dentist. What that tells me is over two thirds of your patient base is most likely saying yes or no to treatment based on obstacles OTHER than
money – which is great news! This means you can help get your patients to say yes by tried and true methods that have worked in dental practices for years.

There are three ways you can see immediate improvement in your case acceptance. They aren’t necessarily simple, but if you work at these three areas, you may find your patients are more prepped and ready to say YES and less likely to come to you with walls of objections.

1.
Pre-heat your case presentations with effective telephone and written
communication. Your business team and treatment coordinators hold an
incredible amount of power in their hands because they are representing you over the telephone, especially when dealing with new patients. How they respond to questions, how they speak to the patients, how they communicate what is to be expected in upcoming visits, all help to build that patient’s expectations of what
they are going to experience during their time with you. Take the time to work out the kinks in your telephone technique, as well as your welcome packets. Work on scripts, practice on each other, record phone calls and listen back to find what needs work. As for the welcome packets, look through your materials and make sure they are reflecting the most professional and the clearest version of your practice and your services as possible. These are just a few
ways to strengthen this gateway into your practice and to strengthen your relationships with your patients.

2.
Develop a solid, professional case presentation protocol for your practice. This involves everything from the initial phone call, to gathering of clinical data, to the presentation itself. A successful, streamlined case presentation system in a dental practice involves each and every member of the team. And you always have to bring your best. You are only as good as your weakest link.

3.
Follow up! You may find you are having more “I’ll think about it” responses. This means that you most likely have more dentistry sitting in your charts waiting to be done than you ever imagined. Instead of wishing for more and more new patients to fill the void in your production – market from within! In your patient family you
have established relationships, trust built up from years of working together and an inexpensive opportunity to educate and motivate case after case. Check your scheduled patients’ diagnosed dentistry every week. Make note of this in your morning meetings. Establish a protocol for every hygiene appointment to involve the use of intra oral cameras and create time in these appointments to educate your patients on dentistry diagnosed but untreated – while they are a captive audience, in your dental chair. This gives you the opportunity to tap into their decision making senses, both auditory AND visual, and create that need and want so they are more likely to say yes!

Now is the time to persevere. Work on those weak links in your case presentation system. Focus on improving your customer service skills – starting with where it all begins - the telephone. And, never give up, which means – follow up. Those that continue to improve and continue to build their patient relationships will find that when the dust settles, their practices will be stronger and better than ever.


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The Tangled Web
By Misty Clark, VP of Creative Services

Creating a Web site is the single most important marketing tool you could and should have for your practice. It is no longer if you should have a Web site, but rather what you should put on your site. Web sites validate you as a “real” business. Practices without Web sites are missing out on numerous opportunities to attract patients surfing on the Web in an effort to find a dentist. In addition, referrals from existing patients will often fall flat if the prospective patient goes to the Internet to find you and you are missing.
Now that you have decided to take that leap into the 21st century by investing in a new Web site, what do you put on your site? There are many ways to make your site attractive to consumers. First you need to have an intriguing home page. Long gone are the days of fancy “splash,” or “intro,” pages. Those pages are one more barrier placed between you and the patient. Instead, have a home page with photos of patients, testimonials and great copy that is geared towards the patients.
The patients should be engaged when reading content. Your patient wants to know the bottom line – how does it affect me. They want to know the benefits – also known as “you” focused content. Many practices make the common mistake of talking about the practice on the home page. Talking about the practice should be done when the prospective patient asks for that information, i.e. Meet Your Doctor. Otherwise copy should be geared towards the patient. For example, “We make your visit as comfortable as possible.” Try, “Your visit will be made as comfortable as possible.”
Secondly, the home page should have places where you can easily update content and photos. This will allow you to showcase technology, a team member, or highlight a recently attended CE course. The fresher the content, the longer the patient will stay on your site. In addition, fresh content helps search engines to find you more easily on the World Wide Web.
Finally, your home page should have your logo, contact information, and a call to action (i.e. Call us today!). The contact information should be easy to find in the upper right hand corner of the page. Then repeat it on every page of the site. Many people will come to your site simply to find a way to reach you. If it is too difficult to find, they may quickly give up and move on (yes, consumers are THAT fickle). If they go to your site to find your contact information and the color scheme and logo are different than what you use in your practice, the patient could be confused not knowing if it is actually you. Consider going to the Target Web site and seeing a blue logo without the famous bullet icon. You would question if you were at the right place. The same is true for dental sites. Make sure the site is consistent with your marketing, brand/message, and office.
Other important factors to consider when developing a great site are to use either high quality stock photos or preferably lifestyle photos of your real patients. Also, be sure to have a before and after gallery showcasing your work. Non-retracted images will work best as patients typically are not comfortable viewing retracted images. (NOTE: Always receive patient written consent prior to posting on your Web site.)
Make the most of your Web site by making sure people can find it! What a travesty to have a beautiful site promoting your services if no one knows it is there. First, inform all your patients that it is live. This will aid your existing patients in making referrals. For example, “You should go to my dentist, Dr. Jane Doe. Her Web site is www.JaneDoeDDS.com.”
Tie in your Web site with other online media sources that are FREE such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. A lot of local communities will also have popular community sites into which you may want to be connected. Your participation in social media helps to drive patient loyalty, indirect referrals, and opens the door to having conversations with potential and existing patients on the Web. It ultimately creates a community where your patients can feel a part of something.
Google, Yahoo, and Bing searches also drive traffic to Web sites. Internet searches will drive more people to your site than just about any other marketing effort you do. This is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Having your site optimized is critical. You can set up your site (typically with the help of professionals) to be found by the major search engines when someone types in key phrases such as Dentist City (i.e. Dentist Dallas). Your own name will also need to be optimized so when your patient or potential patient types in your name into Google, your Web site actually pulls up instead of someone else’s with a similar name.
Other traditional ways of driving traffic to your Web site is through direct mail campaigns, advertisements in publications and papers, radio advertisements, word of mouth and even internal marketing campaigns. As with anything, the more you market, the better your Web site traffic flow. All your marketing will lead people to your Web site. If your Web site is built correctly, it will encourage a prospective patient to pick up the phone and call you for an appointment.
Tracking the success of your site is equally important as developing your site. Measuring results is the only way to measure success. An excellent tracking tool to use is Google Analytics. It provides detailed information on stay rates, number of pages visited, traffic sources, and much more. If analyzed properly, you can tell exactly how it is working for you and what modifications need to be made. Also, be sure to properly track your new patient flow. It is no longer sufficient to only ask “How did you hear about us?” Instead, follow up with “What led you to our Web site.” Your answers will range from a Google search or direct mail piece to a referral from a friend. If you don’t ask, you may miss an opportunity to thank a patient for a referral.
Build, market, and track a great site so that you can take your practice to the next level! Does this seem like a lot? First focus on getting the site you want and need. Building an amazing site is an exciting experience and so rewarding when your patients rave about it. It will be even more rewarding when you see your new patient numbers and case acceptance rise because you have created the right message that you carry through your entire practice!
Jameson can help you build the Web site your practice deserves. Whether it is time to update your current site or you are ready to build your first site, your marketing team at Jameson will make it happen. Call 877.369.5558 or visit www.JamesonMarketing.com today.


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Would you like to better serve your patient family while staying on the cutting edge of dentistry and increasing the profitability of the practice?

If so, Jameson has a new program that will help you and your patients.


Caries Risk Assessment and Management


Module Goals/Objectives:

• Be able to contrast surgical model and medical model
• Define current standard of care for caries
• Identify 3 strategies necessary for new caries risk assessment philosophy
• Be able to define caries, demineralization and remineralization
• Learn information and facts to pass along to patients in education and to incorporate into patient educational materials
• Understand and incorporate parent centered motivational counseling
• Identify 6 ways to deal with ongoing infectious processes
• Learn new examinations techniques
• Develop skills for testing and evaluating patients for caries activity and risks
• Understand risk categories and be able to classify patients according to disease indicators, biological factors and protective factors
• Learn to develop treatment plans according to the medical model based on patients individual situation
• Learn remineralization strategies and some products available to aid in treatment
• Understand the role of fluoride in the new approach
• Properly code evaluations and treatment
• Establish appointment sequences from evaluation to treatment to maintenance
• Develop a team approach to implementation with a specific plan
• Raise the hygiene and the practice to yet another higher level


Module Contents:

• Explanation of caries and a medical vs. a surgical model for assessment and treatment
• Current intervention strategies based on science
• Assessment tools
• Risk factors and indicators
• Testing requirements, treatment model and methods
• Available products for treatment
• ADA coding
• Appointment sequencing
• Team implementation plan
• Patient educational materials

Important Facts and Concepts to Learn and Understand

1. Surgical vs. Medical Model
2. Definition of Caries
3. Demineralization vs. remineralization
4. Three new strategies for new philosophy
5. Definition of caries vs. caries lesion
6. Bacteria involved in caries
7. Facts about children and caries
8. Six intervention steps
9. New examination technique
10. Proper completion of assessment forms
11. ADA risk criteria, how it may differ
12. Factors that increase risk
13. Disease indicators, biological factors, protective factors
14. Medical model treatment steps
15. Which patients to test
16. Saliva evaluation
17. Treatment Classifications for treatment planning
18. Treatment strategies
19. Products and noteworthy information about each
20. Candidates for office application of products
21. Office appointment protocols
22. Appointment protocols for treating white and discolored lesions
23. Proper ADA coding
24. Appointment sequences and times
25. Diet analysis
26. Team approach to implementation and necessary plan

Benefits of Caries Risk Assessment and Management

• More comprehensive care
• Preserves tooth structure
• More preventive in nature
• Allows for minimally invasive dentistry
• Healthier patients
• More appreciative patients
• More committed patients
• Less investment for the patient in future dental restorations
• Increased patient dental and whole body wellness IQ
• Increased patient retention
• Increased case acceptance
• Increased number of referrals to grow the practice (gives ability to reach more people)
• Increased opportunities for specialty dentistry such as cosmetics, etc.
• Increased financial health for the practice
• Keeps the practice on the cutting edge of dentistry
• Allows for professional development of all the team members
• Elevated and improved visibility in the community


The possibilities are endless. Contact our office today for more information on how to get started!

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Keeping the Hygiene Schedule Full
By Julie Hanson, Senior Analytical Coach

Recently, many practices have expressed concern over keeping the hygiene schedule full. In response to this concern, I’ve developed the following team exercise that’s proven to be very effective.

Begin by discussing that hygiene retention begins today when the patient is in for their preventive appointment. Discuss each of the following areas with the team:

1. Area of concern – Find any area that is not at optimal health. Take an image of the area and show it to the patient. Discuss with the patient how best to take care of this area (floss at different angle, or certain tool that would work well…). Then tell patient, “I’m going to make a special note about this area in your chart so we will be certain to re-evaluate it at your next appointment.”
2. Health related conditions – Go onto the web site for the American Academy of Periodontology and study all the different areas where the health of the mouth is being linked to the health of the body. If there is any condition related to the patient, make certain to discuss this in depth with the patient.
3. Reinforce the value of a regular oral cancer screening.
4. Discuss the health/body connection in general. Many patients are still not aware their professional cleaning is a part of their overall preventive health.
5. Intra-oral camera – Use it! Show the photo of the inside of the lower anterior. Most paients do have a build up here. Good before and after to show from beginning of appointment to the end. Also, I recommend showing areas on the lip or tongue.
6. Adult patients alternate between annual radiographs or an annual perio charting. At today’s appointment, build value for the next appointment by pointing out the importance of regularly updated radiographs or a perio charting.
7. For seemingly healthy patients, don’t spend the entire appointment telling them how great everything looks. They may perceive they can go longer than their recommended interval. A great verbal skill is, “Today your mouth is in a state of health. It will be important we see you back in six months to maintain that level of health. Let’s get that scheduled now.”
8. Discuss how aging affects the progression of conditions in the mouth. Things that were always healthy can change with age. Bone loss is more likely, which is why the annual radiographs/perio charting are important.
9. Reinforce the practice philosophy that you are a preventive focused practice. Having regular professional cleanings allows you to prevent conditions or at least catch and treat them quickly before a more involved, costly procedure is needed.
10. Do a detailed review of the medical history. Many patients still do not know how their medical conditions or medications can affect their mouths. (Discuss patients that take medications that cause a dry mouth, how to educate the patient about why that is not good for their oral health and how to introduce products that will help.)
11. Be specific with the patient about “reserving your next professional cleaning and oral cancer screening”. This is a great time to recap any of the above reasons that were pertinent to the patient and incorporate them into the reason they should keep their next appointment.
12. During the doctor/hygiene exchange, the hygienists should tell dentists any of the above situations they discussed with the patient. This allows the patient to hear these things multiple times. Also, the doctor can re-emphasize the value she sees in what the hygienist already discussed.

After you discuss how each one of these points would work, divide into teams. Assign one to two areas to each team. Ask the teams to write verbal skills for how they would introduce or discuss each area with the patient. You can also have the team role play each scenario.

This is very powerful for the entire team to see how many different ways they can help build value for the next appointment


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Below is an excerpt of our March Orange Paper, "I'm Too Busy" written by Cathy Jameson. To request the full seven-page article, call 877.369.5558 and ask for the MARCH Orange Paper.


“I’m too busy!! I’m booked out three months, and my hygienist is booked out four months. We don’t have any openings for new patients or emergencies. If I diagnose crown and bridge or a cosmetic case, I have to schedule the patient out into the future and hope for a cancellation so that we can move them forward. I like the income and don’t want to see that drop. But, I don’t want to be booked so heavily or so far out. The stress is wearing me to a frazzle. What do
I do?”
I hear this kind of statement and question often. There is much written about building a practice: increasing a patient base, marketing to attract new patents, etc. This kind of instruction and information is imperative for most practices.
However, I am seeing more and more of the flip side of this issue. Many practices are too busy. And I’m talking about quality comprehensive, fee-forservice practices.
You may relate to the opening statement: “I’m too busy! What do I do?” If you do, first of all, let me congratulate you. You are to be complimented for your success and for your popularity. People wouldn’t be coming to you if you weren’t doing a lot of things right!! So pat yourself and your team on the back. However, you do have a problem.
It’s a good problem to have, being too busy. But if you don’t control your growth, your number of patients, the management
of your practice and your success, you run the risk of the success becoming an overwhelming and consuming problem.
So let’s look at 7 steps to take to get in control of your business. It may take one or all of these steps to smooth things out for you. However, if your goal is to have a smoothly running practice in which you are able to give patients your full, undivided attention and have not more but all the time you need to provide care in an ultimate manner, then bite the bullet and take the necessary steps to gain control again.

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