Patients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!

Patients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!

Dr. Omer Reed shared that quote with me many years ago. It’s as true today as it was then. One of the things that make dentistry such a unique and gratifying profession is the personal relationship we have with our patients. Patients are not just anonymous customers, but they become part of the fabric of our lives and we become an important part of their lives. Unique, wonderful, and challenging all at the same time!

Patients will respond much better to any of our suggestions if then truly feel that we care about them. They will be more likely to accept treatment and more likely to keep their appointments if they feel that we genuinely care about them. I don’t believe that caring about them can be faked. Rather it must be sincere. Here is a tip that will help you demonstrate how much you care about your patients.

I want to encourage you to make a ‘We Care’ call to your patients on the evening they received treatment. You have heard this before. Odds are, you aren’t doing it! However, it’s not too late to start and maybe this blog post will help encourage you to make these calls.

I suggest that you call any patient who received an injection in your office that day. Why call patients who received an injection? Because then it becomes a repeatable system as opposed to a random act. Secondly, even though receiving an injection should be no big deal it can create apprehension for the patient. Here how your phone call might sound:

“George, I like to call my patients on the evening of treatment. I was just calling to see how well you are doing!”

Short, but pleasant. Notice the positive tone. You are calling to see how well they are doing! Now, you can add a nice touch to your calls by remembering something they shared with you during the appointment. George might have told you he was excited today because it was his son’s first little league game or maybe he shared with you that he has a important meeting at work. At the end of the call you might add a short comment:

“ I hope that Little League game went well. Did we win?”

As useful prompt to remember these details is to print out a copy of the daily schedule and make notes on it throughout the day as patients share details with you. These notes can serve as your reminder as you make your evening calls. These comments are so important because they tell the patient that they are important and that you remembered!

Consider setting a specific time each evening to make these calls so that you create the discipline to make them part of your daily routine. My experience is that it shouldn’t take any more than 10-15 minutes each evening (it’s perfectly OK to leave a voice message!). Your patients will be absolutely amazed that their Dentist called them and they will be talking about you tomorrow at work for all the right reasons! Keep Smiling!