Is it time to "up the team morale" at your office?

Morale is defined as "the state of the spirits of a person or group as exhibited by confidence, cheerfulness, discipline, and willingness to perform assigned tasks." Whether you would define your team as having good morale or bad, is up to you. 

We recently had a great staff meeting with our Paragon Program consultant, Hope.  The Paragon Program just celebrated 25 years of dental consulting as one of "America's Profitability Experts."  Every other month we meet with our consultant to discuss our numbers to ensure we're on track to meeting our financial goals for the year. 

After discussing our goals, our consultant suggested that we participate in a team-building exercise that we found to be very beneficial and boosted everyone's self-confidence.  She asked us a series of questions and each of us wrote our own responses on a piece of paper. After everyone was finished writing their lists, we took turns reading them aloud.  

These were the questions:
* What are the top 10 things that you would tell your patients about the doctor that you  work for?
*What are the top 10 things that you would tell your patients about the team member seated to your right?
*What are the top 10 things about your team/office that make you awesome?

This exercise can benefit any team and bring you closer together.  We work with each other on a daily basis, and some may even say we spend more time with each other more than we do with our own spouses!  I hope we never take each other for granted.  It's important to verbalize the importance and significance of each team member.  Most of us don't go around announcing to the world why we're wonderful.  But team members need to hear it from your doctor as well as each other.  Your doctor needs to hear why you appreciate them, and your patients need to hear great things about everyone.  Brag each other up!  It's important to enjoy your time spent at work and those you work with. 

Some of you may be thinking that, "She has no clue - I could never get along with the people I work with."  And it very well may be true that there may be a specific team member(s) that you find it difficult to get along with.  So what?  We've all been there at one time or another - why are you letting that spoil your team's positive morale? Why are we expecting that person to change when we are the one's who can change our own attitudes and actions towards that person to produce a positive outcome?   It's a proven fact that laughter and cheerfulness are contagious.  If you start making the changes your team needs to "up the morale,"  you may just find that others will follow closely behind.  

 

Dental Treatment Planning 101-Formal Consult

You have prepared your treatment plan folder and are now ready for the formal consult with your patient. If you have a designated room for consultations that's great, but if you don't the operatory is fine-just have an extra chair available in case your patient has brought someone with them.

*One of the first things to remember when presenting treatment is to sit knee-to-knee and have good eye contact with your patient.

* Explain the problems your doctor has found and how they will be addressed. Go over the doctor's plan for the patient and sequence of appointments. Remember not to use dental jargon-speak in terms they will understand or you will lose them.

*Ask patient if they have any questions/concerns.

*Give an "estimate" of total treatment costs and have them go over definite financial arrangements with your financial coordinator at the end of the consultation.

*If your patient is ready to proceed-schedule their first appointment. Prepare them for what that appointment will entail.

*If patient is not ready to proceed-ask if you can make a follow-up call in a few days to answer any questions. This will give them some time to digest what you have presented and they may be ready to proceed.

If you have never presented treatment plans to your patients, we realize this may seem intimidating.  We always encourage you to stretch yourself and grow by taking on other responsibilities in the office like composing and presenting treatment plans to your patient.  We applaud those of you who are already doing so in your office.  Remember - this requires teamwork and excellent communication between you and your doctor in order to be successful! 

Dental Treatment Planning 101 - Composing Your Treatment Plan

In our previous post,we talked about things that are important to remember during a new patient's comprehensive exam. As we mentioned, when your patient has many restorative needs, it is often best to bring them back for a formal consultation to discuss their treatment options in detail. 

If you are a seasoned dental assistant, you will need to work with your doctor to compose several treatment options.  If you are fairly new to your practice or if you're new to the dental assisting field,  these suggestions should be a goal to work towards with your doctor after gaining more experience and knowledge.  

Listed below are simple steps that we take in our treatment planning process:

* Your doctor will diagnose and recommend any treatment for your patient. He or she will then compose a rough treatment plan for the assistant.

Example of intra-oral photo with areas of concern highlighted 

*The assistant will then compose a formal treatment plan folder with an estimate of costs, print-outs with treatment procedure information,  photos of the teeth with areas of concern highlighted and financial arrangement options. 

*We also find it best to give our patient's several treatment options. (For example, some of your patients may only choose to address the immediate concern of a fractured tooth, while others may want more comprehensive care to also replace amalgam fillings with open margins.)

* You will also want to clearly list your patient's "problems" (the diagnosed treatment)followed by "goals" or "solutions" (how problems will be treated/restored).

*Keep in mind you may also need to include referrals slips with current x-rays if the patient is going to be referred to a specialist. 

Example of a treatment plan with folder to give to your patient

Including all this information in a nice folder is beneficial for the patient. When they leave the office they have something visual to show their spouse/significant other and is a reminder that they need to take action. Check out our next post-"Formal Consult" to see how you will present the proposed treatment to your patient. 

Dental Treatment Planning 101 - The Initial Exam

Have you ever invested ninety minutes with a new patient exam to find both yourself and the patient completely over-whelmed and not knowing where to begin treatment? We have - and that's why we wanted to share what we feel is valuable information and easy steps to help your new patient exams flow smoothly into the treatment planning process. Amber and I have found that for most patients that are going to have a very involved treatment plan, it's often best to bring them back for a formal consultation to discuss their needs and treatment options.  Remember, you don't want to scare your patients on their first visit and most will only retain some of the information you presented to them. 

It's critical to be able to "read" your patient and know what is important to them.  Ask questions to find out what motivates them or prevents them from scheduling treatment. Is it fear, time restrictions, financial concerns, or lack of education and value?  Once you obtain this information about your patient, it will help you adapt the way you present treatment and communicate with that specific individual.

The Initial Exam
Amber or Gina will welcome our patient to the office, go over his or her medical and dental history and take a full series of xrays. Once Dr.Cockley has completed her comprehensive exam, she will briefly discuss any concerns that she sees with the patient.  Then she hands the remaining time of the appointment over to Amber or Gina.  This is our time to shine!  As a dental assistant, you are knowledgeable and fully able to explain in more detail what treatment Dr. Cockley has recommended.  We often use Caesy patient education software to help with our explanation, use the intraoral camera for photos, print and explain treatment estimates, and schedule the patients for their next appointment.  If your patient's treatment is more involved, and a formal consultation is needed, our next post- "Composing Your Treatment Plan" will discuss the steps you should take with your doctor to prepare their treatment options. 

Remember-throughout your patient's first visit, your goal is to build a relationship of trust and help them feel at ease. It is a privilege that our patients choose to come to us and it's important to thank them for doing so by providing them with exceptional customer service!

When it Comes to Your Smile, White is Always in Style!

Don't wait for your patients to ask about whitening - Take the initiative.  With the right verbal skills and tact, you can present whitening to your patients in a way that won't offend even the most sensitive person.  Whitening is a great way to bring revenue into your practice with little or no doctor time and is a simple way to change a person's smile and instantly boost their self-confidence.  Below are some helpful hints on how to start a conversation about whitening with your patients.

1.) When checking the shade for a composite or crown, ask you patient if they have any plans to whiten their teeth in the near future so you can select the shade accordingly.

2.) If your patient has a beautiful smile - tell them! Ask if they would like to enhance it even more by whitening their teeth.

3.) Have a special offer in your office.  Print up coupons for your patients and hand them out.  Summer is a great time for a whitening special - many people are getting married or graduating.

4.) Ask your patient if they have any cosmetic concerns or if they had the opportunity, would they change anything about their smile  - most say color.

5.) If someone says, "I never thought about whitening" - take out the shade guide and ask them what shade they think matches the color of their teeth.  Most of the time, people think their teeth are several shades lighter than they actually are.  With a hand mirror, show them the shade they selected against their teeth.  You can also show them a lighter shade they could potentially be after whitening.

After seeing the difference in shade and looking in the mirror, many patients will schedule for in-office whitening.  If possible, offer to take the alginate impression for the whitening trays the same day. If offered in your office, outside financing is a great way to make in-office whitening procedures very affordable.  In fact, with Care Credit, our patients can break our whitening fee down into twelve affordable monthly payments.  These payments are actually less than the cost of some premium whitening strips sold over-the-counter, and of course, the results will last much longer.

For details on fabricating whitening trays, please see Diva Tips.