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Dental Appointments. Your Patient’s Reason to Return

By: admin

March 29, 2017

Treatment Planning

How do you know what is valuable to your patient?

What is the benefit to your patient if they complete their dental treatment or return for their dental hygiene appointment routinely?

What is your patient’s reason to return?

Let’s think about when you will learn what is valuable to your patient.

When will you know what is valuable to your patient?

For new patients you will (or should) discover what is valuable to them during that first phone call to your office.

It is important to listen closely to the words your patient is saying and the way they say what they are saying. Do they speak loud or soft? Do they speak fast or slow? What is their tone as they speak?

Do they say things like, “Money is going to be my reason for completing this treatment I know I need.”

BTW: This is a comment from a walk-in new patient for an office (a client office) I was working with today.

Most of the time your patient will make their decision based on their value around time or money. These are the two main factors that come into play when patients are making a decision and it is your job to overcome these objections before they even are a stated objection.

Why many patients will not return to a dental office is due to fear of anxiety from a previous bad dental experience. This is another topic of conversation.

Patient Discovery

When is the best time to discover what is valuable to your patient?

Answer: The first 2 minutes will be the most valuable time with building rapport and understanding your patients’ needs, what’s important to them and even how their day is going (ex: If they are rushed for time or having a stressful day!).

In fact, the first “Hello” and a handshake can tell you a lot about what kind of day your patient is having. This is where you can first begin to build (or re-establish) rapport.

This conversation can be as simple as “What are you doing this summer?”

If you were to ask me this question, I will tell you that I am going to an important high school reunion.

The topic of my conversation (If I am your patient today) will center around meeting up with old friends and wanting to look my best!

Now, it’s your turn as the clinician to open the door for me to look my best.

Do you have a special laser whitening offer going on?

YES?!

Now is a great time to ask “Debbie, if there is one thing that we can do to make you look better than ever for you high school reunion, what would that be?”

Great question! And if I am your patient here is what I will tell you:

“I would love to have my teeth look youthful again. I want them whiter and also longer.”

Does your office have a special smile makeover process?

If so, now is a great time to talk about this process and how it can make me look my best for the summer high school reunion.

Complete the scheduled appointment, do an “initial” smile evaluation and then have me back for a 20 minute consultation later this week. At this consultation appointment you will have your treatment (or financial) coordinator discuss the smile makeover and work out the financial arrangements. Now you will schedule the treatment.

This special consult adds value to your patient appointment. The initial patient value you discovered is why this patient wants to return ASAP for the consultation and find out more information about how you can help her meet her needs.

Do you see how simple that can be to have your patient understand “their” important reason to return to your office?

When you think back to the last day of patients in your dental office, can you think about each patient’s personal reason to return to your office?

This is not a reason around what you “found” in their mouth. This important reason to return has to be a reason important to your patient. This is a value to your patient.

In closing today I want to ask you, “Do you know each patient’s important reason to return?”

We teach this system with our clients, their team and it becomes a part of every patient appointment. This is what we call the R2R and it becomes a part of each patients record.

One of Dentistry Today's top dental consultants

Debbie Seidel- Bittke, RDH, BS Dental Hygiene Consultant

About Debbie

Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS is an international dental consultant, coach, speaker and author. She is also CEO of Dental Hygiene Solutions, powered by Dental Practice Solutions. Debbie is a world-class leader in creating highly profitable hygiene departments. She is a well-known former clinical assistant professor at USC in Los Angeles and a former hygiene department program director. Dentistry Today recognizes Debbie as a Leader in Dental Consulting for the past 12 yrs.

Case Acceptance: Reason to Return

By: admin

March 22, 2017

Case Acceptance

CLICK LINK TO WATCH VIDEO

What factors help you decide to buy a certain car?

What criteria helped you decide to buy your last washer and dryer?

And why do you buy your groceries where you do?

Think about this and when you last provided a diagnosis for dental implants or even something as simple as tooth whitening?

How did you present treatment diagnosed to your patient?

Did you tell your patient how cool it is that you can easily screw in the implant or did you explain about the high-tech NASA Technology and these Implants are made of titanium and should last the rest of your life if cared for properly?
Did you tell them the implants are inexpensive?

I highly doubt it!

Your patients are making their decision on the expected result and how this will benefit them.

So, they are not buying a washing machine based on how well it is designed but how well it works to clean their clothes, how it functions and it is possibly all that plus the cost to buy it.

Your patients reason to pay, schedule and return for treatment and routine appointments is the same as why the shop at a specific grocery store and why they decided to buy their car, etc.

Here are some tips to Keep Your Schedule Full:

Create a partnership with your patient
- Help your patient to own their oral condition
- Show your patients what you see

Show your patients what their oral condition is
Show your patient what their condition can look like when they choose your care
Show them any treatment you have completed in their mouth

“Remember when you had that open space and food was getting trapped there? Look how beautiful it is now? And you don’t have that terrible feeling of food stuck between your teeth anymore, do you? We can do the same thing in your mouth over here.”

We suggest to our clients (Dentists and their team) that if a treatment plan is X dollars or more (Typically $2,000) the patient will return for a special consultation with the office treatment coordinator.

This is a separate appointment with someone in your office who can review the value and benefits of why the patient needs to schedule this appointment and keep in mind what is specifically valuable to the patient
- This is someone on your team who is comfortable talking about dental treatment. They are
- Someone who is not afraid to talk about how much something costs – ex: comfortable talking about money

Always remember to show-off your beautiful dentistry

Take before and after photos
- Place these photos on the walls of your office
- Place a photo album of your patients before and after photos on a coffee table in your reception area
- Be sure your team is comfortable bragging—complimenting doctors amazing clinical skills and the patients’ outcome!
- Create Your Own “Wall-of-Fame!”

When working with our clients and inside our member-site called “Hygiene Empowerment, we teach you more about Case Acceptance and how you can keep your back door closed!

Debbie Seidel- Bittke, RDH, BS Dental Hygiene Consultant

ABOUT DEBBIE SEIDEL-BITTKE

Dental Practice Systems Create Wealth

By: admin

January 5, 2017

Dental Patient Services System

There are hundreds of dental stories inside the dental jungle.

Dr. Frank Frederickson is the Guide taking dentists through the dental jungle and offering sage advice.

Dr. Carly Carlson is a young, new dental practice owner and she is fired up, ready to rock and roll in her new dental office. Dr. Carlson’s first question to Dr. Frederickson is about growing her retirement account so that she can one day, have a good retirement. Dr. Carlson specifically asks, “How can I maximize my new dental practice so that one day I can have enough money to retire?”

Dental Practice Systemscreate wealth.

Dr. Carlson had not heard of having an 8:00 a.m. start-the-day right goal in addition to a daily goal. She did not understand the value of holding a team meeting so that everyone on the team can “close any gaps”and “be on the same page.”

Dr.Frederickson advised Dr. Carlson that this system is something that needs to be done on Monday. To have the right goals at the start-of-the day is really not too difficult and it would not take a lot of planning. You need to communicate your goal to everyone and make it happen with a lot of effort and desire.

Dr. Frederickson knows a lot about systems that create success for the dental practice and he explained to Dr. Carlson that it’s never too late to create and then start running systems.

It’s All About the Patient Care Systems

Systems create wealth. Ask Henry Ford about his production system. Ask Bill Gates about his operating system. Ask Julia Child about her recipe system. Ask Richard Branson about his entrepreneur system. All will say that their secret to creating wealth was that they created and then followed a system.

Patient Care Systems are a significant part of a $10,000 A Day Dentist’s strategic plan. They include carefully outlined the steps for every procedure performed in the practice. Each system is known and understood by the entire team. There is no creating-it on-the-fly, no winging-it, and no last-minute-planning in a “well-oiled machine” practice.

Examples of a Patient Care System would include:

1. The Dental Emergency Appointment
2. The New Patient Experience
3. The Ultimate Hygiene Patient Experience
4. The VIP Consult (which is a free second opinion consultation)
5. CMO Exam – the craniomandibular orthopedic workup.
6. The Smile Analysis – the Cosmetic Evaluation
7. Periodontal Evaluation: Oral/Systemic Health Connection and Treatment Protocol
8. Dental Implant Exam and Diagnosis Appointment with the cone beam CT scan
9. Full Mouth Reconstruction Pre-planning Appointment
10. Invisalign® Exam and Impression Appointment

Every procedure has a system and every appointment follows a system. Imagine a scenario in which you have a system to diagnose a problem and then you will treatment plan the solution. Next, imagine the business assistants activating a system to get the patient into that treatment and then the clinical assistants implementing a system to actually do that work. All of this is completed without additional time consuming input from you; the dentist.

Now imagine that being done for every procedure, every patient, and every day.

Would the stress in the office be lower, production higher and profits magnified? The answer is always, yes!

Having Patient Care Systems in place all across the practice are like everyone on the team having their own Swiss Army Knife ready to handle anything, anytime, anywhere. Our Team Training combined with the Solstice 5M Mastermind groups examine many systems in-depth within their individual practices. This consistently results in increased production within the practice.

Planning for a good retirement includes examining how you can maximize productivity in your dental practice and making wise decisions to implement the changes. It’s the same when creating Patient Care Systems that are necessary to increase value in your practice.

Dr. Carlson is off to a great start with her new practice. It’s never too late for you as a dental practice owner to travel into the dental jungle and follow your guide.

How are you doing? Are you lost in the dental jungle? Do you believe that a guide will help you create efficient systems to increase your profits in 2017?

Please comment below how you are doing in your dental practice. Which of the above systems do you have in place? How are these systems working for you?

These systems are your key to building wealth.

You may want to ask about our Mastermind Training which begins on Friday January 20, 2017.

Schedule a Call with Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS and Dr. Bill Williams

Debbie Seidel- Bittke, RDH, BS Dental Hygiene Consultant

ABOUT DEBBIE SEIDEL-BITTKE, RDH, BS
Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS is a dental hygiene consultant, coach, speaker and author. She is also CEO of Dental Hygiene Solutions, powered by Dental Practice Solutions. Debbie is a world-class leader in creating profitable hygiene departments. She is well-known as a former clinical assistant professor at USC in Los Angeles and a former hygiene department program director. Dentistry Today recognizes Debbie as a Leader in Dental Consulting. She can be reached at (888) 816-1511. Send an e-mail to info@dentalpracticesolutions.com or go to her website: https://dentalpracticesolutions.com

Maximizing Your Capacity Inside the Dental Jungle

By: admin

December 28, 2016

Maximizing Your Dental Practice Capacity

In the dental jungle there are thousands of success stories. Let me introduce you to our guide an elite dentist, a peak performer, in our dental industry. His name is Dr. Frank Frederickson.

DENTAL HYGIENE DEPARTMENT/TEAM EMPOWERMENT – MAXIMIZING YOUR CAPACITY INSIDE THE DENTAL JUNGLE

Dr. Carley Carlson is a dentist of five years. She purchased a dental practice three years ago from a dentist who basically let his practice die. She was able to get a good deal on the price of this practice because it was run down by the previous dentist.

Dr. Carlson decided that in 2017 she wants to take a big leap forward so she has paid to travel into the dental jungle and she has hired her guide named Dr. Frederickson.

Dr. Carlson’s first goal is to break the two million dollar mark for 2017. She knows that focusing on her dental hygiene department will be one of the best ways to accomplish her big goal for 2017.

Dr. Carlson’s question to Dr. Frederickson is, “How do I break the two million dollar mark in 2017?” Dr. Frederickson’s response: “In all honesty, not many dentists think like this but those who do, they actually do it. Size doesn’t matter. You will only be limited by what lies inside the mind.”

Simply put, dentistry is a series of interactions. The student learns from his or her professors and then they will apply what they learn on their patients. A dentist learns from his advanced General Practice Residency and applies what he or she learns on her patients. An experienced dentist moves up the ladder of success by taking continuing education courses; one symposium at a time, adding to their repertoire to help patients.

The king of dental learning experiences a life of success inside the dental jungle with their guide such as Dr. Frederickson.

In the team training with Dr. Frederickson; an experienced mentor or coach, combined with the “Empowered Hygiene” curriculum, you exactly what your team needs to grow your dental practice. Each member of your team will have a leadership role with specific responsibilities, accountability and support to grow the dental practice.

Dr. Frederickson says that empowering the team, providing leadership and accountability from your guide, aka: your coach, will yield the biggest boost to your dental practice.

I’m not just boasting about being “The Guide” so that others can achieve the same outstanding results that our other doctors who walked through the Dental Jungle have experienced, but I do know that doctors who allow a guide to take them through the dental jungle, they double their practice production.

Because they follow a guide who has traveled through the jungle before them, it’s conceivable that a two million dollar practice for Dr. Carlson is easily within reach.

Within a local study club, you have dentists who are competing for patients. By contrast, your guide and everyone supporting you, take a personal interest in you doing well. That in itself can’t hurt when you have the right mindset.

In our Hygiene Department, Team Training, we ensure success by creating a team driven practice. The team members are empowered to be their very best. This means that your team members are peak performers. Each member of the team has a leadership role with accountability and rewards for their success.

I really enjoy helping doctors walk through the dental jungle to maximize their capacity. The leap to your next million dollars in 2017 is only limited by your mindset.

The Hygiene Empowerment with Team Training, will be the best investment you can make for your success in 2017. There is no other place you can go to deposit one dollar and have a return of ten dollars! And those dollars earn dividends for years to come.

Let me know if you are ready to walk with your guide through the dental jungle in 2017. I’d like to show you the way.

You may want to ask about our Mastermind Training which begins on Friday January 20, 2017. Schedule a Call with Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS and Dr. Bill Williams

Debbie Seidel- Bittke, RDH, BS Dental Hygiene Consultant

Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS is a dental consultant, coach, speaker and author. She is also CEO of Dental Hygiene Solutions, powered by Dental Practice Solutions. Debbie is a world-class leader in creating profitable hygiene departments. She is well-known as a former clinical assistant professor at USC in Los Angeles and a former hygiene department program director. Dentistry Today recognizes Debbie as a Leader in Dental Consulting. She can be reached at (888) 816-1511. Send an e-mail to info@dentalpracticesolutions.com or go to her website: https://dentalpracticesolutions.com

Efficient Scheduling For a Successful Dental Practice

By: admin

December 20, 2016

Efficient Dental Appointment Schedule

TIME IS THE MOST valuable commodity in any business. Equipment and supplies can always be restocked, but lost time is not as easily replaced.

There are countless ways time slips away in a busy dental practice—from late and cancelled appointments to being unable to efficiently move between treatment rooms, the list goes on and on.

So how do you make the most of your time while dealing with the usual hiccups throughout the day? We have a few tips to help you out because let’s face it; your schedule is the core of every successful dental practice.

Keep reading for tips on efficiently scheduling appointments in your dental practice.

Maximize Your Practice Potential with These Scheduling Tips

Some of the most common scheduling mistakes we see are no plan to add new patients to your schedule when you are running a successful new patient marketing campaign.

Another mistake we see is when a practice does run an overdue hygiene patient campaign to get patients to return to your office, many of these patients need perio therapy and there are no openings in the hygiene schedule for months out. These hygiene patients end up waiting months before they can begin their perio therapy.

What you must do to have a productive schedule is:

Know your production goals and then schedule to goal
Utilize blocked scheduling to accomplish your goals
- Crown/bridge procedures
- Seat appointments
- CEREC procedures
- New Patients
Time your procedures for each section of the appointment
- Anesthetic
- Hygienist time
- Assistant time
- Doctor time
Hygienists are a key member of the team who must schedule all future routine hygiene appointments
When patients call to change an appointment offer a solution to help them keep their appointment

Successful schedules allow your practice to avoid unexpected surprises. Maintaining a predictable flow in your schedule means consistent productivity.

Time Is an Invaluable Asset

We know managing a successful practice isn’t an easy task. That’s why we’re here. If you have questions about improving the efficiency of your day-to-day operations, let us know! We can provide you with proven time-management and scheduling strategies that not only improve your team’s workflow, but will add to your bottom line as well.

Efficient Scheduling

Do you have any scheduling strategies that have worked in your office? Let us know in the comments below! We love hearing from you.

What is Your 2017 Success Plan?

Check out our January Success Live Events!

Dental Conference: January 2017, 6 CEU’s + More.

Live Event: 2017 Jumpstart: Hygiene Department Success by the Numbers

January 6, 2017 Portland, Oregon

6 CE Credits, Breakfast, Buffet Lunch, Reception Following the Event

REGISTER HERE: CLICK THIS LINK

January 13, 2017 Los Alamitos, California

6 CE Credits, Breakfast, Buffet Lunch, Reception Following the Event

REGISTER HERE: CLICK THIS LINK

Debbie Seidel- Bittke, RDH, BS Dental Hygiene Consultant

ABOUT DEBBIE SEIDEL-BITTKE, RDH, BS

Debbie is a dental consultant, coach, speaker and author. She is also CEO of Dental Hygiene Solutions, powered by Dental Practice Solutions. Debbie is a world-class leader in creating profitable hygiene departments. She is well-known as a former clinical assistant professor at USC in Los Angeles and a former hygiene department program director. Dentistry Today recognizes Debbie as a Leader in Dental Consulting. She can be reached at (888) 816-1511. Send an e-mail to info@dentalpracticesolutions.com or go to her website: https://dentalpracticesolutions.com

Get Your Dental Patients to Say “Yes” to Your Care

By: admin

November 3, 2016

CLICK THIS LINK TO WATCH VIDEO

Do you wonder how you can get more patients to say “YES” to your care?

In this week’s blog I share three tips to get more patients to say “Yes” to your care. There are more but I will share three today.

TIPS TO GET DENTAL PATIENTS TO SAY “YES”

Build rapport

This begins with new patients when they first call your office.

For routine patients it begins with the first 2 minutes that you have them in your office.

What exactly does rapport building mean?

Wikipedia defines rapport as:

“A close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other’s feelings or ideas and communicate well.”

In context of rapport with your dental patient this can mean taking time to understand what is important to them. For example: time, anxiety about the dental office or money.

Find a unique connection.

This means that you discover something important to your patient in their life. It can be a new grandchild or maybe they are graduating from college. Really take some time (it should take about 2 minutes to find out what this is) to inquire about your patient; asking them about their life. It can be something as simple as what they did over the weekend.

It is possible that you like a dress they are wearing, a purse they carry or their hairstyle.

The point I am making is to acknowledge something important that you believe will be important to your patient. What brings harmony to a stressful situation?

(I say “stressful” because the dental office for many can be exactly this!)

My third tip today is to create a partnership with your patient.

Say things like; “Mrs. Jones let’s look together. Let me show you what I see.”

Actually take a mirror and when possible an intraoral camera, to show patients what you see in their mouth. Let them be part of the decision making process.

When you follow just these three tips you will be more likely to hear more dental patients say “YES” to your care.

Let me know how it goes in your office when you use these three tips. I would love to hear from you!

Dental Hygiene Consultant

Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS is a dental consultant, coach, speaker and author. She is also CEO of Dental Hygiene Solutions, powered by Dental Practice Solutions. Debbie is a world-class leader in creating profitable hygiene departments. She is a well-known as a former clinical assistant professor at USC in Los Angeles and a former hygiene department program director. Dentistry Today recognizes Debbie as a Leader in Dental Consulting. She can be reached at (888) 816-1511. Send an e-mail to info@dentalpracticesolutions.com or go to her website: https://dentalpracticesolutions.com

Check out the Free 3-Part Hygiene Department Training: http://www.dentalhygiene.solutions

Overdue Dental Hygiene Patients

By: admin

October 19, 2016

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO

Every dental office has dental patients who need to schedule for restorative treatment and overdue hygiene appointments.

The last quarter of each year is the perfect time to reach out to patients who have overlooked their dental visit.

Many patients who have dental insurance will need to use it or lose it so a call, email or text message is a great way to reach out.

BUT…………….Why after your patient has put off their dental appointment, would they want to return now?

What can you do and say to get patients back before the end of year?

What’s your plan to bring your dental patients back before the end of 2016?

As a dental hygiene consultant I recommend that you always give your patients a reason to return that includes a value to them and a benefit for why they need to complete treatment or continue seeing their hygienist routinely.

We have an acronym for this and we call it: PARVB

It stands for:

Patient

Appointment

Reason to return

Value

Benefit

How will you use PARVB?

PARVB works best when you have your patient seated in your chair.

You as the clinician need to understand what is valuable to your patient. For example:

Is it important for your patient to have a beautiful smile?
Is money important in making their decisions?
What is valuable to your patient?
How will completing that restoration benefit your patient?
- Will your patient save money if they have the decay removed next week vs. wait until it causes pain and needs a root canal and crown? i.e. Cost more money to them!

When your patient is in the office as a patient write a PARVB and when a patient refuses to schedule or calls to change their scheduled appointment know what that patients PARVB is and state to your patient the exact reason they need to return and let that reason be the Value to your patient and state how it will benefit them.

Hope this helps you to keep your back door closed.

Dental Hygiene Consultant

ABOUT DEBBIE SEIDEL-BITTKE, RDH, BS

Debbie Seidel is founder of Dental Hygiene Solutions, Powered by Dental Practice Solutions.

DENTISTRY TODAY considers her a top dental consultant for the past 16 yrs.

The focus of Dental Hygiene Solutions is to create healthier, longer lives for our patients while supporting dental practices to tap into their hygiene department profit potential.

Debbie is also a former clinical assistant professor for the dental hygiene program at USC in Los Angeles.

In 2007 she wrote the accreditation, the curriculum, hire the teachers and oversaw the build out- managing a 2 Million Dollar Budget for a dental hygiene program in Portland, Oregon.

Debbie is passionate about supporting dental teams to provide a profitable, patient-centered dental practice through improving systems and efficiencies in the dental hygiene department.

Check out the Free 3-Part Hygiene Department Training: http://www.dentalhygiene.solutions