During week two of the June training on Dental Hygiene Determination of Your Patient’s status: Health of Disease, I mentioned a patient John Jones.
John Jones is in a terrible life situation. He is going through a divorce, lost his job and doesn’t have a place to live so he lives in his car.
Sounds like a nightmare; RIGHT? Keep reading and watch this weeks training video because John’s nightmare becomes a dream to many people only think about and wish for themselves! (See the Free Resource at the Bottom of this blog)
What happens when John comes into your office and he has a diagnosis of advanced chronic periodontitis?
Do you tell him that his oral health is just fine or do you tell him that he has periodontal disease and needs treatment?
I know it is a difficult situation, especially if John is your patient.
He does deserve to know the truth and not have anyone cover up the fact that he has active periodontal disease in his mouth.
What happens when you let your patient know “You Matter!”?
Many dental offices today, will choose to tell John only the good things. Is this the correct message? I have witnessed this situation too many times and it makes me sad because we are all in the business of helping patients to live a longer and healthier life.
Think about this:
John bought a lottery ticket a few days after he left the office. He won $100,000! Not a joke! There is a happy ending to this story.
Who are we to determine if we should tell the patient something good instead of giving the patient the good, the bad, the ugly and the truth?
Listen to the video training for more suggestions about how to let your patients know “You Matter!”
Tell patients the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth because people “DO Matter”and they deserve to know the truth.
It’s all in how you say it that really makes the difference.
Simple words like “You Matter!” can change someone’s day let alone their outlook on life!
How you say it and the words you use will be the reason your patient decides to schedule, pay and return to your office.
What would you say to this patient John Jones? Please do comment below. Let us know what other topics you want to hear more about.
Grab this eBook and Training Videos CLICK THIS LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION
ABOUT DEBBIE SEIDEL-BITTKE, RDH, BS
In 2000, Debbie founded Dental Practice Solutions, a dental practice management business focused on creating profitable dental hygiene departments, as well as improving the total bottom line of the dental practice. She has been named as one of Dentistry Today’s Top Consultants for 10 years in row!
Debbie is a former clinical assistant professor from the University of Southern California where she taught the senior dental hygiene students skills to treat periodontal patients. She also co-taught the practice management course at USC from 200o-2002. (Until the school start PBL – Problem Based Learning) Debbie also wrote the accreditation for a new dental hygiene program in Portland, Oregon and is a former dental hygiene program director.
Debbie has a team of experts to guide teams throughout the world to provide quality, patient centered practices that sustain profits for the life of their dental practice.
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