It is very common when scheduling a new patient to discuss dental X-rays, specifically asking if they have X-rays from their prior office. This is often balanced by resistance or concern about taking x-rays when the patient is in the office and we are having a conversation. Changing our language about x-rays, and incorporating that new language on the new Read More

Often when I am in practices I notice something missing in patient charts. Whether they are paper charts or electronic, we are always focused on very accurately documenting what we did, what materials we used, and even what we said. The missing element is what the patient said. Their thoughts and comments, what they shared with us are the key ingredients in Read More

The three words "In This Practice" can be the most powerful marketing you can use. They can help you communicate your passion, philosophy, and caring. These three words tell patients the things that differentiate your office from all the other dental practices. Read More

After watching a recent Seattle Mariners game and how the team worked together it got me wondering about teamwork in our offices. In the game a great baseball player missed a catch, but another team member got it, and they celebrated. So often in our practices we focus on what we miss, instead of how we pitch in for one another. What if we could focus on Read More

Missed opportunities can be an interesting way to look at what we are doing in our practices. Instead of looking for what we are doing "wrong" or "poorly", we can simply look for the little things that are an opportunity. These may be an opportunity to serve our patients better, be more efficient or work together more effectively. One such missed opportunity Read More

The language we use, how we ask or describe things is very important. Of course we think about how we apply this when we talk to patients. Our goal is to have an open and informative interaction with the patient, and often the words we ask or the way we ask something actually shuts the conversation down instead of opening it up. An example in hygiene is when Read More

One of the ways we connect with other people is using the social skill of similarity. We listen to the things people share about themselves and look for ways we are similar. This skill is used all the time as we try to connect with our patients. Another opportunity is to get to know other people by gaining an understanding of their values, what is important Read More

I think we all wish we could simply tell patients what they need to do to take better care of their mouths and it would happen. If we are honest though, we can all name places in our own lives we have tried to change our behavior and been less successful then we might have hoped. If we listen for places in people's lives that they have been successful in Read More

A common conversation at the morning huddle in a dental office is "what are we gong to do with the emergencies?" The real question is how will we take care of people who call with an emergency int he face of our already busy schedule? Something to consider is that instead of seeing this as an interruption in the flow of our day, we can se it as an Read More