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Offer Your Patients Options Carolyn Friedman

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by Carolyn Friedman

Orthodontic practices need, more than ever, to make sure that when patients come to the office, they go forward with treatment. With the current high unemployment, there are fewer patients seeking our services. Dealing with this situation requires us to be on top of every aspect of our practice. With fewer potential patients, now is the time when we need to ensure they choose our office to provide their treatment. We must ensure that we meet all of the patients' needs; not just quality treatment.

Stop and think about a time you lost a patient. Do you believe it was only about money? I can assure you, it was not. When patients come in your office, they evaluate everyone and everything about your practice. How are they greeted? What information do they receive? What is their comfort level in your office? It is imperative that every area of your office focuses on the needs of your patients. Providing them with answers to questions they have, even before they ask, shows efficiency and builds confidence in your practice.

Practice Comfort: Ask yourself if everyone in your office is on the same page. Does everyone really understand how important they are to the success of the practice? Every employee, from the receptionist to the orthodontist, plays an important role in promoting your practice. When new patients arrive at your office, are they properly greeted; meaning is the patient made to feel special? Does your scheduling follow through with this feeling of importance, or are you running behind on your schedule and making the new patient wait? If you have an outgoing and pleasant person answering your phones and scheduling new patients, but patients are not acknowledged or greeted by anyone when they visit your practice, there is a big problem. Same thing happens when patients interact with a caring and informative treatment coordinator, but isn't spoken to when they go to the operatory for records or X-rays. Everyone needs to remember at this point that the new patients are deciding if this is where they want to start treatment. Clinical assistants need to remember that they will be working with these patients on a routine basis and the sooner they can build a rapport, the better. It's everyone's job to make the patients feel comfortable and welcome.

Does everyone play to their strengths? Is there something especially great about your practice? Maybe it's the doctor's personality with the patients; maybe it's the very caring staff; maybe it is how well you work with your patients and your schedule, etc. Whatever the case, play it up! If patients only see this after they start treatment or have been your patients for a while, you are missing an opportunity. The minute patients enter your office, they should be aware of your strengths. Our strengths are what make us special and should be why patients and other dental practices refer to us. Remember, they came in for a reason and their needs and wants need to be addressed.

Information Provided: The patients entering orthodontic offices today are educated and look for a presentation about them, not about your other patients or generic pictures or models of orthodontic problems. This starts from taking initial photos and not just keeping them on file, but actually showing patients their photos as this is an educational opportunity. Many offices take photos to determine a treatment plan, but do not necessarily provide copies to the patients. When explaining to the patient the problem areas, having their photos to show the actual problem areas and then how it can be corrected makes the presentation about them. Develop a photo composite for the patients so that they can take it home. In many instances, only one parent or even sometimes a grandparent attends the new patient evaluation presentation. If that parent or grandparent has a photo composite to take home that shows their actual problem, the understanding of the need for treatment is more successful.

Treatment Options: What treatment options do you offer? Most patients don't have true knowledge of all the options available in orthodontic treatment today; and therefore don't know exactly what they want. Provide patients with information so they will be informed and feel they can make an educated decision. Do you offer several types of appliances such as clear brackets or clear aligners? Offering self-ligation brackets, which don't require appointments as often and are easier to clean around, could be a deciding point to a very busy person. Again, the new patient process involves educating your patients; we should not assume they already know.

Financial Options: It is always good when starting a new year to take a step back and re-evaluate your procedures and options that you have available to your patients. The way the economy has affected so many families, we should never assume who can go forward with treatment and who cannot. I am finding there are families now ready to go forward because they have routinely set aside a little each month in order to be ready to provide treatment for their children or themselves. There are other families that might have had a higher income but did not have such a plan and are now facing difficult times. We should present all financial options to every patient – not be selective based on what we believe they can afford.

In addition to one of the most popular in-house financial arrangements of a down payment and monthly payments through the term of treatment, most offices also offer a percentage discount for payment in cash/check at the beginning of treatment. Down payments are preferred since much of the treatment costs are upfront with the records, treatment planning and initial banding. If you offer an in-house, no-down-payment option, you're already in an upside-down financial arrangement. The practice has more invested in their treatment than the patients do.

You might also want to consider third-party (outside) financing. These plans vary offering no down payment and low- or no-interest to the patient over the period of time. Many offices haven't chosen this option because of the discount required to the lender, but this rationale might be a little misguided. Most offices already offer discounts to the patient if they pay the total treatment cost upfront. Therefore, the real cost for an office to use third-party financing is the difference between the discount required of the thirdparty financing company and the discount you already provide to the patients for paying for services upfront. If you do the math, you will see that instead of this cost being around the nine to 10 percent quoted discount, the real cost of using third-party financing is only a few percentage points, or a couple of hundred dollars. This can be a good investment if it helps to assist your patients with affording treatment.

Once you have evaluated and made changes in your options for your patients, don't keep it a secret. Make sure your area hygienists and dentists know you are working to provide your patients as many services and options available. Many times, this will result in an increase in referrals.

Please understand that every time you offer an additional option to your patients, such as treatment options, treatment schedule or payment options, you open your practice up for an increase in acceptance of treatment. Don't lose patients because they are looking for something you don't offer. Make sure your printed information, Web site and even the wording by your staff let people know what is available to them in your practice.

*This article was made possible through the support of an Education Grant from G CARE, an educational alliance
supported by Dentsply GAC.
Author’s Bio
Carolyn Friedman continues to work in the same progressive orthodontic practice that she has worked for 39 years. Beginning as an orthodontic assistant, and having worked in every area of the orthodontic office, she is currently the office manager, clinical coordinator and treatment coordinator. She is the founder of OrthoAssist, a business focused on orthodontic consulting and training of orthodontic staff members. She is also the author of the OrthoAssist Library, interactive programs consisting of training programs for all areas of the practice. Carolyn is a continuing education provider for the Florida Board of Dentistry, conducting educational programs for hygienists on orthodontic appliances, their application and care.
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