Situation:

Patients not realizing that you perform a critical examination at every hygiene visit – The Oral Cancer Screening. This is a cancer with a high death rate. Not because it is hard to discover or diagnose, but due to the cancer being routinely discovered late in its development. Don’t let one of your patients become a death rate statistic because they do not show up regularly for their hygiene visits.

Desired Result:

To encourage patients to keep their scheduled hygiene appointments, we recommend your patients understand how important the “routine” head, neck and soft tissue examination is to their health and wellbeing. This cancer is no longer only prevalent in older males with a history of smoking. Because the cancer has been conclusively linked to the sexually transmitted HPV viral infection, it is important for younger patients to make this examination a high priority.

How To:

Dental teams need to all be trained on the importance of the oral cancer screening and know the statistics that are associated with oral cancer. We recommend creating an oral cancer fact sheet on your letterhead that can be given to patients. Let patients know they will be screened for this as part of their new patient visit.

Too often teams are afraid to use the term oral cancer for fear of frightening the patient. It is much more important to educate the patient regarding the statistics, the prevalence of oral cancer, and your efforts at a thorough examination and the early detection of anything that looks remotely suspicious.

“Mrs. Jones, as part of your preventive care visit today, I will be examining your head and neck and the hard and soft tissues of your mouth for any unusual lumps, bumps, ulcers or sores. These are indications of oral cancer. Have you had a chronic sore throat or noticed any sore spots in your mouth that have not healed? You will notice me feeling around with my fingers and charting my findings for comparison at future visits. This is one of the most important services we can provide our patients and we will want to screen you again in 6 months. I have included a fact sheet on oral cancer statistics and risk factors, please share it with your friends and family and make sure they go to a dentist to get an examination.”

To help build value for the hygiene visit and to promote compliance to the recommended interval, have a discussion about the service you are providing rather than just going through the motions and completing the screening. Patients are educated to have other regular screenings such as skin cancer, mammograms, colonoscopies, and pap smears. We need to raise the bar with our dental patients and keep them coming to see us in a timely manner. It is not “just a cleaning” it can be a potentially life-saving visit.

Situation:

The patient is unaware of the extent you go to provide a safe, modern and comfortable environment for their dental care.

Desired Result:

Take a new patient, or a potential patient, on a tour of your practice. Introduce the patient reception area, the administrative offices and the clinic area and all you have done to ensure your patients have a comfortable visit. The host of your tour must be an enthusiastic team member (or the doctor) with a great attitude about your practice and about dentistry

How To:

At a team meeting, discuss all of the points that you would like to introduce to the new patient during a tour of the office. What do you do and what do you have available that is a benefit to the patient’s safety, state of mind, and comfort – make a big deal out of those things, it is what differentiates you from other practices. Think about providing things that appeal to different genders and age groups.

“Welcome Mrs. Jones, my name is Kim; it is nice to meet you! Please follow while I give you a tour of the office on our way back to the clinical area. You’ve been in our reception area, feel free to keep your coat here, we have never had one walk away but we on occasion get some coats that like to stay with us. The television has patient education on it with treatment descriptions and before and after pictures. You’ll see procedures that you have maybe heard about but not really known what they are – if you ever have any questions about anything, just ask any of us.

We invite you to enjoy coffee, tea, or water while you are here in the reception area. Many of our patients like to arrive early for their appointments and enjoy their favorite beverage and a relaxing moment. We have a favorite recipe book you can look through, please take copies of any recipes, and we encourage our patients to contribute recipes as well! Here you’ll see pictures of us at our latest outing and doing community service work. This is our book of really nice notes and letters from our patients – we love to get those and some of our patients surprise us with special treats.

This is our administrative area. Mary, whom you met earlier, is great at helping patients with scheduling and helping you understand your insurance benefits and how to pay for necessary treatment. We like to make sure there are no surprises for you regarding treatment or the costs of treatment.”

If you have a consultation room, seat the patient there for an initial review of the medical/dental history then –explain all the certifications and diplomas the doctor or team has framed in the consult room then proceed to the clinical area.

“Now we are entering the clinical zone, we are very proud of our sterilization area and the modern technology we utilize. You can be assured you will be treated with clean instruments and in an environment that has been sterilized. We like to make sure you are comfortable during any procedure and we have a menu of amenities available during your visit for your comfort and distraction. Please feel free to let us know if any of these interest you. The eye pillows are really nice!!”

You have a unique opportunity at the first patient visit to impress them with the special touches you provide your patients. It sets the stage for what you expect from your patients as well.  This makes your practice special, helps you have patients you enjoy caring for, and reassures the patient that they have made a great choice for their dental care.

Situation:

The patient needs to reappoint for their next hygiene visit.

Desired Result:

Schedule a hygiene appointment, utilize a “reason for return” which is customized to the individual patient and educate the patient about your confirmation process.

How To:

So that the patient senses that your recommendations are customized to their individual needs, it is critical that communication about the preventive care system be consistent with all team members.  Reinforce with the patients the “WHEN, WHY AND WHAT” of the next visit and document on the treatment plan. When would the doctor and hygienist like to see the patient again for preventive care? Why we want to see them and What we are planning to do at that visit.  Recommend the interval for the return visit and verbally use the name of the month rather than say “I will see you in 6 months.”  An example might be:

“Mrs. Smith, so that we can evaluate the fracture lines on the lower right molar and maintain your healthy gum tissue, Dr. would like to examine you in July, sometime after the Fourth! At this visit we will scale and polish your teeth, take x-rays to see between the teeth and monitor the bone around the teeth.”

The patient will associate their visit with an event or seasonal activity, reducing the frequency of broken or canceled appointments. The Why helps to reinforce the importance of the visit. The hygienist schedules the appointment and educates the patient on the preventive care system.  Explain the method the practice uses to contact the patient about this appointment:

“Mrs. Smith, one month prior to this visit you will receive an email from our office confirming this appointment.”

• Show a copy of an email reminder (or a postcard)

“You will also receive an email and text message 2 days prior to the appointment. I look forward to seeing you in July!”

Whenever possible the hygienist should pre-appoint the next visit.  A computer station in the operatory or in an administrative area near the hygiene operatories allows this to happen efficiently.  The appointment book needs to be prepared ahead of time to hold ideal times for certain procedures, such as scaling & root planning and new patient exams / prophy’s.  To provide flexibility, hold one day in the last week of the month to accommodate last minute schedule changes (continuing education course, sick days).

Situation:

The practice experiences patients regularly complaining about the completion of a new health history form.

Desired Result:

A patient who willingly completes the health history form and understands the link between overall health and their dental health.

How To:

The medical history is a critical tool in treating your dental patient.  Using a comprehensive questionnaire which allows you to further explore the patients past medical history is an important part of the new patient experience and the continuing care visits with the hygiene department.

Begin the patient interviewing process by sincerely thanking the patient for the time and effort they took in thoroughly completing the questionnaire. Use this opportunity to help the patient understand the link between oral health and overall health and wellness. Ask the patient,

How do you feel about your overall health?

Document the patient response using quotation marks and prepare second questions to further explore the response. For example:

“Have you noticed any symptoms, aches or pains?” or “When was your last medical physical?”

Many patients complain about completing the medical history forms, because the doctor and dental team do not spend much time with the information.  Let your patients know how important this information is in treating them properly.

Review the medical history and highlight or flag any yes responses so that they are obvious to the other team members. Update the medical history every six months and have the patient date and sign the update. Explain to the patient why some of these questions are important in dental care.

Add the Medical History Form to your team meeting agenda. At a team meeting, go through your health history form and train the team on why you ask the questions on the form. Help your team be prepared to discuss the link between your health history questions and oral health and prevention.  Common areas to discuss are: Tobacco Use, Diabetes, Heart Attack and Stroke, Medications and their Side Effects, Family History of Gum Disease, Heart Murmur and Artificial Joint Prosthesis, Pregnancy and Hormones, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Stress and Immune Deficiency and Nutrition and Diet.

As you become more confident in linking the medical questions to dental conditions, the patient becomes compliant in your record keeping requests and values more comprehensive dental treatment as a way to stay healthy.

Situation:

A desire to improve communication and team relationships.

Desired Result:

Team members respect and acknowledge one another and practice great communication skills.

How To:

At a team meeting have a copy of the quote “The Most Important Words in Communicating with Your Team” for each team member. Hold a discussion on the quote with team members sharing the opportunities they have to use these important words to encourage and help one another. Write this quote on a large flip chart page or poster board and display it in a common area for everyone to be reminded of these words.

The Most Important Words In Communicating With Your Team:

The six most important words in our language are:
“I admit I made a mistake.”

The five most important words are:
“You did a good job.”

The four most important words are:
“What is your opinion?”

The three most important words are:
“Let’s work together.”

The two most important words are:
“Thank you.”

The single most important word is:
“We.”