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In last weeks blog I introduced the Smile Evaluation. (read last weeks blog here: BLOG ABOUT SMILE EVALUATION)

There is a simple form which will easily address various areas of your patients smile. Many times patients have never thought these simple changes could be made to their smile.

Once a patient shows you are talks about an areas in their mouth that they would like to change, your next question will sound something like this:

Hygienist: “Mrs Jones tell me exactly what it is that you don’t like about that tooth? 

Let her explain and then repeat back to Mrs Jones exactly how you can change that malaligned tooth. Use her words in your explanation of how you can change that for her.

What Mrs Jones told you is this:

Mrs Jones: “I don’t like how I look in pictures. I think I look terrible with that tooth sticking out and everytime I put lipstick on, once I smile, this tooth has lipstick all over it!”

As her hygienist who is actively listening, you will say something like this:

Hygienist: “Mrs Jones, I can totally understand how you may feel about that. It is so frustrating and embarrassing to always have people tell you that you have lipstick on your teeth. How would you feel I told you we have a way to easily fix that tooth?”

If your office offers Invisalign you have a perfect opportunity to show her how this malalignment can be fixed. Use her words when explaining.

This will be the same type of response for patients who tell you they have open spaces anywhere in their mouth. Acknowledge their response to smile evaluation questions by asking more questions regarding “the exact WHY” they don’t like something about their smile.”

Also back up your solution with not only cosmetic reasons they want to change their smile but the clinical reasons as well.

BTW: In looking at Mrs Jones’ smile in the above picture, you probably noticed that this smile evaluation has opened up a further conversation about various restorative and asethetic options, besides the malaligned tooth.

Just one simple question can lead so many patient care solutions! This leaves the door wide-open!

If you would like information about implementing the Smile Evaluation; what to ask your patients and a way to implement this, please download the Smile Evaluation below: Click on the picture now.

ABOUT DEBBIE

Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS, began her career as a dental assistant and office manager and also graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene.

She is also a former clinical assistant from the University of Southern California and co-taught the senior dental students Practice Management course until the school went to a PBL learning format.

In 2000, she founded Dental Practice Solutions and works with dental practices world-wide to:

• create profitable and sustainable dental hygiene departments
• known for reactivating and retaining patients for dental practices world-wide
• organically grow new patient numbers

Dental Practice Solutions creates:

• sustainable dental hygiene departments throughout the world
• a “team-driven” practice, where the employees feel like leaders vs. employees

o   This means doctor can come to the office to do their job as Dentist not manage people

In 2007, Debbie wrote the accreditation for a dental hygiene program in Portland, Oregon and spear-headed the build-out of the college, wrote the curriculum, hired the team of professor’s and purchased all equipment, etc., etc.

For the last ten years she has been named “One of Dentistry’s Top Leaders in Consulting” by Dentistry Today

Try Her 7 Day Dental Hygiene Training Program to Get a Feel for Her Consulting Programs.