How to Create Ideal Patients from Day One

Every new patient arrives with a mindset about dentistry.

It could be that they have not seen a dentist in years, and they now have an urgent clinical need. In which case they are arriving with a limited appreciation for what modern dentistry is all about.

It could be they are new to the area and just looked you up. In which case they are arriving with expectations that are defined by their experience with their last dentist – which could be a tooth-based, insurance-driven experience of dentistry.

It could be they just saw a makeover show, or the result of a friend's recent esthetic treatment, and they are excited about what you might be able to do for them. In which case it's up to you to show that your practice can deliver on those expectations.

Whatever mindset they arrive with, your goal on this all-important first visit is to influence the mindset they take with them on the way out.

This is an excerpt from the introduction of my latest free e-book, The New Patient Experience: 8 Proven Steps to a High-Value Relationship. It's a topic I have spent a lot of time on over the years because I think it is one of the most vital things to get right in patient relationships, and yet it is often approached in a routine, mechanical way. Just about every practice has a protocol for a new patient's first visit but all too often it is focused on what the practice needs – forms, medical histories, insurance information – instead of the incredible patient education opportunity it represents.

As I said in a recent article, “Where to Find the 'Right Patients'”, the right patients usually come from within your practice. You create them by creating the right conditions for them to value dentistry in the right way – and it starts on day one. This is where you set the all-important context for the relationship to come. It's something you will do hundreds of times over the course of your career. Isn't it worth spending some time to think about how to get it right?