Mark Allen considers ways to keep patients happy.
Patients know they are under no obligation to return to a dental practice, even to complete a course of treatment they’ve already started. They know they can look around, to see where else has more convenient appointment times, or is cheaper. Price could become the overriding factor going forward, as the cost of living crisis continues to bite.
There will be people whom you haven’t seen since March 2020, for reasons other than financial. Maybe they’re still anxious about coming in; perhaps you were the nearest dentist to their workplace and now they work from home. Or, if they could not get an appointment with their preferred clinician, their motivation to return may have slipped.
The trigger may have been the disruption to services, or if they became dissatisfied with the service from your practice. Patient satisfaction is complicated; it can take one negative incident to put someone off, even if they have been attending for years. If at their last visit they found staff unhelpful, this can influence a patient’s decision to change practice. Poor phone etiquette can be enough to push people away, including regulars, as can being kept on hold for too long, or unreturned voicemails. Email and instant messaging apps – as long as they are monitored daily – can reduce telephone traffic and call waiting times but, as with verbal communication, responses should always be kind, courteous and informative. Communication builds relationships which are key for both retaining and attracting more patients. If you introduced video messaging for some consultations, this may have enabled more ‘authentic’ and non-teeth related conversations. Although plenty of people loathe it, others feel less intimated and more relaxed when they are speaking to someone via a screen.
Of course, as with pretty much all other businesses and services, there must be an acceptance that recommendations from family, friends and colleagues are incredibly powerful, even for someone who wasn’t actively looking to change dentists. If a practice is building an excellent reputation in the local community, people will call them. A practice boasting superior equipment and high technology, in modern and smart premises, will pique the interest of patients paying for their care at a practice that looks tired and outdated in comparison.
Addressing concerns
Commit to addressing every patient’s concerns, whatever they may be. Whether they are regarding money, time, safety, or they’ve heard something about a treatment that is influencing their decision not to go ahead, or all of the above, they should feel their worries are taken seriously. Offer solutions, such as payment plans and after-hours appointments. If they don’t feel a treatment is necessary, help them understand the preventive context – you want them to avoid future consequences, and the expense and inconvenience that comes with more dental care. For example, if your recommendation is for a root canal, choosing endodontic therapy over an extraction will not only save the tooth but, when delivered conservatively, will also preserve the survival of the healthy dentition.
Looking at the competition should be part of your strategy to attract and retain patients, so consider the practice environment. The facilities you offer are important – not only must they look impressive; they should support better service delivery. Quality tools and materials help dentists work better, as well as optimise results. Faster, more efficient treatments mean excellent value too, allowing you to achieve more in one appointment than in two shorter ones. This is a huge selling point for people juggling busy lifestyles. Look at bringing in tech that is as much about patient comfort as yours. For example, Coltene manufactures high-quality tools and consumables to make life easier, improve workflows and offer the kind of value dentistry to help you establish your reputation as the best around. It supplies equipment for a range of treatment segments from restorative materials, including Brilliant Crios reinforced composite blocks, enabling the in-house CAD/CAM manufacture of restorations and Brilliant Componeer, for one-visit veneer application, as the shells are prefabricated. On the endo side, for quick and comfortable treatments, the CanalPro Jeni motor with integrated apex locator, for example, has innovative digital software to enable safer, simpler and more efficient canal preparation every time. Great dental teams deserve only the finest equipment to work with, that supports the level of dentistry you aim to offer.
This year will be about finding that balance between your priorities as a dental care provider and your patients’ needs. Understand that there will be some who simply want the cheapest, who think somewhere else could be ‘better’ and others who just aren’t sure how necessary treatment is, especially if they are not experiencing any major issues. Focus on addressing concerns and providing an exceptional level of good value, and efficient service – caring, knowledgeable and understanding– in an environment that is modern, with equipment and materials to help you exceed expectations. When you’re patient focussed, with facilities to match, people will return, keep returning, and your reputation will grow.