Case acceptance for comprehensive care is a complicated matter that many wish would have a simple solution.
We asked Clinical Mastery's Director of Professional Development, Dr. Eric Farmer what his personal approach is for fostering case acceptance in comprehensive care and full mouth rehabilitation.
Dr. Farmer outlines his low-key approach and how he plants the seeds of comprehensive care in patients’ minds long before they commit.
The Real Truth of Case Acceptance
My approach to encouraging care is simple, but not a ‘quick fix’ or ‘magic’ solution. Basically, I present and back off. I use models, photos, and the M&M’s analogy to explain how wear removes the ‘hard candy exterior’ of a patient’s teeth. I have so many potential cases in the pipeline and am so busy, I really don’t get too worked up if they don’t accept right away.
Here’s my primary message to discouraged dentists: ‘No’ does not necessarily mean ‘never,’ but just ‘not today.’ Oftentimes we “plant seeds” that do not germinate for a few years. I don’t have any jedi mind tricks or verbal skills to share. Instead, a mindset that helps me orient my care to a clearer perspective is to think of my efforts as ‘helping patients make healthy decisions about their dental health.’
To develop a practice environment of high-end, personalized care, we should track our patients’ health while they are with us rather than the raw acceptance statistic. There is no magic treatment presentation script, just honesty, integrity, and conviction in what you are presenting. Listen to what motivates the patient and what exactly they want out of treatment.
If you lack perceived honesty, integrity, and humble conviction, there is going to be a disconnect. There is no magic way to make big cases happen overnight. Most of the time that is an unrealistic expectation and in reality it takes some sowing of seeds, water, and fertilizer to make it happen.
What mindset enables you to demonstrate integrity and compassion to your patients? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!