Don't Pre-Judge

The most important thing I learned was to not pre-judge patients and to present the very best care option to every patient. I know a lot of dental offices that pre-judge what they think a patient will be able to afford or desire and then present treatment options to fit that perception. I know that I would be angry if I had a bad knee and I went to an orthopedic surgeon and he pre-judged what treatment option I might pick and only presented that option. I would want to hear the option with the most opportunity to make me well.

I often say, “if you were my mother, this is what I would be doing” – and then I proceed to present the very best option to the patient (the one that I would do for my mom). It is okay for patients to ask about less costly or less invasive treatment options – I am happy to give my patients all their options. The most important thing is that they have been told by me what the best treatment option is and why it offers them the best long-term outcome.

I understand that dentistry can be expensive but that is no excuse for us not offering the very best treatment plan to each of our patients. Present the dental plan that you would want presented to you – then let our patients decide if they want to move forward with the ideal treatment plan or to ask for alternative plans. Don’t pre-judge your patients. Let them decide for themselves.

Dr. Corey Gold
President – Advanced Continuing Education Systems
www.aces4ce.com

Volunteering in the Local Schools

I am a huge believer in having all the members of the dental team volunteer to teach dental education at the local elementary schools and pre-schools. In my office we actively book times for myself or staff members to go to every local school and pre-school each year. We do not wait for a call from the school – rather we call the schools and set up the visits.

At the visits, we give away tooth brushes, tooth pastes, coloring books and a sheet for each child to bring home to their parents on hygiene basics for elementary school children. We also give them a one-page sheet to give to their parents on what to do in case of a dental emergency. This last piece has practical information for the parents as well as our office phone number – we tell the parents that they are free to call and ask questions to our office – even if they are patients at another office.

Over the years our office has done a lot of good work in educating the children in our community and we have also built a much bigger business. We are regularly getting new patients who say they learned about our practice from an education visit to the schools. Some parents say that they called us after having the emergency dental sheet on their refrigerator for years.

Dr. Corey Gold
President – Advanced Continuing Education Systems
www.aces4ce.com