The One Thing You Can Control as a Dentist – It’s Not What You Think

Dentistry in many ways is still in the dark ages.

Fundamentally we refuse to learn from history especially when it comes to human behavior related to decision making and how it directly impacts dental case acceptance and fees.

For more than 100 years, we’ve continued to try to “educate” our patients especially when it comes to gaining dental case acceptance on treatment plans.

How well has that worked? Not very well by most accounts. Unless the procedure is FREE or almost free inside the insurance system, success for most is very limited.  As an aside, Jim Pride, one of a very long list of mentors I’ve had professionally, laughingly said that most practices can’t even sell free.  He made that joke 25 years ago when insurance money was much more abundant than it is now.  I can only imagine what he would say today!

Every year new dentists are created each with the same brain-washed belief (courtesy of dental school) in the “educate your patients and they will accept your recommendations and you’ll have no problem with case acceptance” model.

Before we get all down on the schools though think about post-doc CE when it comes to dental case acceptance.

Outside the schools, even in the top rated CE programs, dental case acceptance is never really discussed in seriousness. My belief on why is that any such discussion would put the CE course in a difficult position with justifying the fees being paid with the procedures actually being done back in the office. FYI – My latest book, already a best seller at Amazon, spends time on what CE is important when it comes to marketing.

Not of this is right or wrong but it is what it is.

Some (especially those with a lot of advanced clinically education) realize the trap they’ve fallen into with not understanding human behavior in deciding to buy or not buy dental services.

Some even move on to get professional sales training for themselves and their team (sales training meaning they learn and use an actual system for achieving dental case acceptance).

Here are some things I commonly hear from those who stay in the “educate” them model:

Patients “should” get it with what I can do for them and happily buy.

I “shouldn’t” have to focus on my practice as a business.

I “shouldn’t” need to worry about dental case acceptance nor “should” i have to take myself or my team through training EVEN if that means I don’t help as many patients.

I can promise you that if you continue to live in the “should be” world, then you will continue to struggle.

If you accept and embrace the “real world”, embrace university backed behavioral science that makes dental case acceptance far easier, then not only will practicing be fun and easy, but patients will be attracted to your practice, be happier with your services, and be more inclined to pay you the fees you want–especially for niche services.

After 10 years of directly working with dentists, it’s clear that most will stay in the “should’ world. On the flip side, those who live in the “real world,” take what we provide and do amazing things and cases with it.

So if you are not doing the cases you want at the fees you deserve, just know that it’s not the insurance companies fault.

It’s not the town that you live in.

It’s not because of what you THINK other DDSs in your area are doing or believe about you.

IT’S YOU.

…and that’s actually very good news. “YOU” are the only thing that you really have control over!

Our basic training in dental case acceptance backed by university science starts here.

As a reminder, each practice enrolled gets very specific marketing advice on what to do and not do with their marketing simply as part of the training. If you agree to fix your lack of a dental case acceptance (sales) system, I agree to not only teach you and to provide a physical check-list you will use for the rest of your practice career but also guide you to what’s appropriate with your dental marketing right now

RIGHT NOW – FREE with the basic training. This month a live 12 week course is included with the dental case acceptance program which sets up Yelp and Google review systems in your practice. Reviews are just as important as any marketing you can buy. The Google/Yelp staff training makes sure you don’t miss out on what reviews can do for your practice.