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How to Start More Adult Cases by Landy Chase, MBA, CSP

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For most practices I work with, adult cases represent between 20 and 30 percent of their total patients. Most practices also feel that adult cases are a more difficult “sell” than child cases.

Yes, they are, and there is a good reason for it. If you want to improve your case acceptance rate with adult cases, you must take a very different approach to your adult-case consultations than you do with children and parents.

My brother-in-law is a cosmetic surgeon, and his patients are no different than your adult ones; the decision to come in for a consultation is a personal one that is often driven by strong emotional factors: a newly single person who is about to begin dating again, for example, or an individual so embarrassed by the appearance of their teeth that they cover their mouth when smiling. This may be the same person who, as a parent, informs his or her kids that “you’re getting braces and you’ll like it.” But when it’s their own teeth, it becomes personal – and you need to adjust your consultation to deal with that.

If you want to have more adults start treatment, you must set aside your routine consult process and make a quality connection with the person. This takes place in two steps. The first occurs at the beginning of the visit and focuses on gaining a clear understanding of what is motivating your visitor. This requires good interpersonal skills, good eye contact and, most importantly, good questions, such as:
  • What has motivated you to come in today?
  • What do you not like about your smile?
  • How does this condition affect you in your daily life?
  • What do you hope to accomplish by having orthodontic treatment/how would you define a successful outcome?

The second step follows the assessment and recommendation of the doctor. The treatment coordinater should tie treatment into the patient’s dominant buying motives during the appliance presentation. Here are some examples:
  • “Treatment will help you to make a great first impression, because a person’s smile is the first thing that people notice.”
  • “Having your smile corrected will provide you with a life-time of self-confidence, and you’ll never feel the need to cover your mouth when smiling again.”
  • Documentation of studies that support points like these can be found on the web, and are highly useful.

The reason that adult cases are difficult to start is simple: If you want to persuade an adult patient to start treatment, you have to make it personal. First identify the visitor’s problem, and then match your solutions to their desired outcomes. To put it another way: Stop treating adult cases like child cases. They have nothing in common with one another.

  Author's Bio
Landy Chase, MBA, CSP, is the leading authority in case acceptance improvement for orthodontic practices. He is the author of two books on the subject: Yes to Treatment and The Book of Pearls, Volume I. For more information on his firm’s services, or to order copies of his books, visit www.yestotreatment.com.
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