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2 InsidersCircle.com | 1-888-880-GEMS (4367) THE NEW PATIENT CASE PLANNING PARADOX If one-tooth dentistry doesn’t address the patient’s actual needs and telling the new patient about everything they need just scares them out the back door… then what can we do to RETAIN and actually HELP patients achieve the best possible long-term health? shared some of the very best Gems on this topic at “GICW 057 Mopper How to Perform and Get Paid for More Cosmetic Dentistry” and “GICW 095 Mopper How to Prep and Place Invisible Long-Lasting Cervical Restorations.” Pankey, Dawson, Kois, and Spear, all highly respected clinicians, taught us superior clinical methodologies that changed the course of dentistry. They addressed rehabilitative care in great depth. But a funny (not so much) thing happened between taking those courses and trying to get our patients to accept such high-level care. WHY NEW PATIENTS RUN OUT OUR BACK DOORS After completing some of the top rehabilitative continuum in our profession, I introduced a far more extensive new patient exam than I’d ever performed. Every new adult patient was scheduled for 90 minutes. I performed a TMJ ultrasound, not one but three DeLar bites, impressions, casts mounted in centric relation, Centri-Check to confirm centric on a Denar Articulator… a TMJ exam, measurements, muscle palpations, pterygoids check… Every single step of what the continuum told us to do, I did it. And at the end of the new patient exam, I’d ask them to come back in a week and to bring a spouse or loved one because (we were coached to tell them that). “Four ears are better than two.” If they came back, I presented them with recommended care for their whole mouth. More often than not, their response was often shock, disbelief, and something to the effect of, “My last doctor said I only need a filling, not $20,000 worth of work done.” One day, my office manager, Izabel, came to me with what I initially thought was a compliment. “Doc, since taking all these advanced continuums, you’ve become a much better clinical dentist.” This was a classic case of a woman speaking and the man having absolutely no clue what she actually said! I thanked her, to which she replied, “Not so fast. Look at this.” She handed me a piece of paper. On it was quite a long list of names. Izabel asked me, “How many of these names do you recognize?” Truth be told, some were familiar, but I didn’t recognize most of them. She continued, “This is a list of our new patients over the last year. Almost all of them have left the practice!” The continuums were terrific (clinically), but if you weren’t one of the superhuman doctors who taught them, deploying their suggested method of new patient exam and case presentation often caused patients to run out the back door. Of course, if you’re in the 1 percent who have the communication gift to consistently convince BRAND NEW ASYMPTOMATIC PATIENTS to get a full-mouth reconstruction (the moment you meet them)… then ignore everything from here on out. The other 99 percent should keep reading.
This conundrum reminds me of a time I was in the Midwest speaking at a seminar. That year, Reader’s Digest ran a scathing article about modern dentistry on their front page. The cover said “RIP OFF” in big, bold letters. The article cast a long, dark shadow on dentists, stating that we were routinely overtreating patients, by recommending and performing unnecessary care. They essentially secret shopped dozens of dentists across the country. Pretending to have just moved into the area, the writer asked each doctor to perform an exam and recommend a plan of treatment. Unbeknownst to these dentists, the writer says that his dentist at home told him he only needed two teeth treated. Meanwhile he got treatment plans across the country ranging from a few thousand up to $40,000. “60 Minutes” performed a similar hack job on our profession. I happened to have mentioned this during the seminar. During the lunch break, one of the attendees approached me and said, “Tom, about the Reader’s Digest story... I am that dentist featured in the article! I was the writer’s dentist.” I asked the doc what he had really diagnosed. “The whole thing is a lie,” he told me. “Sure, at his most recent exam, I told the writer he only needed one crown and a filling. But for the longest time, I told him he was going to lose teeth. What he really needed was a full-mouth reconstruction. He had refused treatment for years. The minimal treatment he said was the plan recommended by his real dentist was nothing more than emergency recommendations to put out the worst couple of fires.” HOW TO KEEP THE NEW PATIENT AND DELIVER BEST- OPTION CARE You may have heard me speak about the Mercedes study. Mercedes-Benz wanted to know how many positive interactions with a new client, customer, or patient it takes before they are ready to hand over a significant amount of money. The result? They found it takes 5–7 positive interactions with a new client, customer, or patient for them to consider a big purchase. The bottom line? When meeting most new patients, especially those who haven’t experienced symptoms and have NO CLUE regarding their true dental needs… it’s JUST TOO SOON to tell them all about what they need. During most asymptomatic new patients’ first few visits to your practice, there is INSUFFICIENT RELATIONSHIP AND TRUST for you to consistently achieve high levels of acceptance of high-dollar recommendations for care. IS IT ETHICAL (EVEN CREDIBLE?) TO NOT TELL THEMWHAT WE SEE? This is truly a (multi) million-dollar question. In our next issue of “New Frontiers in Dental Practice Success,” in Part II of this article, I’ll not only answer this question… I’ll also reveal in explicit detail exactly how you can RETAIN the highest possible number of new patients and achieve consistently high acceptance of your very best possible recommendations for care.
“Together we are dedicated to improving the health and longevity of 3,000,000 people, one smile at a time.”
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