What Does Your Practice Say About Your Dentistry?

One of the most important things to know as a dentist, and one of the things many dentists have a hard time accepting, is that the quality of your work does not speak for itself. Your practice has to speak on its behalf. We all take "value" cues from our environment—just think of the difference, in terms of the experience you get, and the expectations you have, between a visit to a Radio Shack in years past as opposed to an Apple store today.

Today's patients are no more qualified to judge your clinical expertise than patients of twenty years ago. But thanks to the pace of change in the world now, most of them are savvy consumers who are very adept at quickly getting a "read" on which products and services offer the best value. If you are going to reach them, your practice has to "talk" to them in the right way.

When I walk in a practice, I can tell within seconds whether this is a practice that understands the new consumer or one that is still focused on treating the patient mindset of 20 years ago. Here's often what I see in the "lagging" practices:

1) I often see an environment that is clean and well-maintained but, frankly, looks pretty close to the way it probably looked 20 years ago. Of course some things have been updated like paint and basic furniture, but you often see things that are close to the end of their useful life in terms of dental equipment or cabinetry or finishes. A dated look sends an immediate message of stagnation, especially for a consumer who updates his or her phone every couple of years.

2) The second thing I often see is that improvements and advances in the practice that are made are often not shown or communicated to patients. Even when technologies like digital x-rays or CAD/CAM or electronic charting are first introduced, patients are rarely given a clear explanation or demonstration of these things.

And the biggest hidden factor in these practices is typically the clinical education of the doctor. I rarely see things like before-and-after photos on comprehensive care or CE certificates on display. The doctor may be the most accomplished dentist for miles around, but you would never know it from looking around the practice.

3) Finally, the patient visit is relatively identical to the way it was 20 years ago. Patients are communicated to in the same way, with the focus on insurance-driven tooth-based care, rather than the possibilities of more comprehensive dentistry. New patients are brought into the practice in the same way, with no expectation that they are about to experience something special. It's all routine and predictable.

In an environment like this, how do patients get excited about their dental possibilities? Because if there isn't excitement around growth and evolution in the practice, the overwhelming feeling they are going to have is "been there, done that."

So take a look around your practice with an honest appraising eye and do a self-assessment about the message that is being conveyed to the people who come through. What is your practice saying to patients? What is telling them that they are getting the best care possible and, more importantly, that it is worth investing in that care?
It's very important to get this right. Ultimately, it is the difference between having patients who say "My dentist is good—I've been going there for years," and "My dentist is amazing. It is the best dental practice I've been to in my life and you absolutely need to go see them."



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