By: Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, MAGD
Publisher, Dentaltown Magazine

More American soldiers died in the Civil War than any other war. When Abraham Lincoln addressed this war with the Gettysburg Address he did it with only 212 words. Heck, a bag of Lay’s Potato Chips has 401 words on it. Even the inefficient federal government’s IRS Form 1040 EZ has only 418 words in it. But have you ever heard a dentist explain a root canal? You almost fall asleep in the chair and still have no idea what they are talking about!

“Doctor” comes from the Latin word “docere,” which means “teacher”; thus the name of our main registration portal Web site www.dentaltown.com, where you can register for any number of Web sites – Dentaltown, Hygienetown, or recently launched dental specialist-only Web sites. So, to be a great doctor you need to be a great teacher! Are you really a great teacher?

Doctor, you learned 5,800 words of Latin and Greek in dental school. You basically know three languages and don’t even know it. You speak a foreign language and your patients often have no idea what you are saying. My rule of thumb is if your own mama never used the word, lose it. When you were just a little tyke and couldn’t find your shoes did your mother say, “Go to the mesial buccal corner of your bed, and they should be sitting right there. Why are you standing on the distal side of the bed when I just explained to you in plain Latin?”

Furthermore, are you the best doctor in the office? Even though the word doctor means teacher, the best teacher may be a staff member. Do you know how many top dental offices have a fun outgoing extroverted staff team member present the treatment plan with huge success? Every office has an outgoing team member who seems to get along with everyone. If you are that person, keep up the great work, but don’t ignore the potential top presenters who are part of your team. The reason these unexpected heroes are so successful is that they are not hung up on the complexities of each procedure they present. With exceptions of engineer patients, most people do not need to know every detail. Patients generally want the answer to three questions: How much does it cost? How long will it take? Will it hurt?

Do you measure treatment-plan acceptance-rates in your dental office? Every major dental practice management software tracks this with a report. You need to run this report. Track the results. Let the numbers and the reports serve as the final judge – not your gut feelings. If your practice management software does not provide accurate information, keep a simple tally on paper. Record the name of each patient who leaves hygiene with a treatment plan, and each new patient with a treatment plan, then track the appointments made vs. patients “who will call back later.” If you are presenting every treatment plan in your office with mixed results, pick a member of your team to present all the treatment plans for a month. Compare the results to your original survey for a great surprise!

Many dentists ask me how they can become great presenters, and others will simply give up saying, “You have to have it in your genes to be successful presenting to people.” Nonsense! While some silver-tongued sales greats are born with a special gift, anyone can improve their skills presenting treatment plans. Think about the features you admire in great salespeople. Perhaps they were easy to talk to, explained features of a product in a clear way, recommended something that you really need or didn’t pressure you to make a purchase. The point is simple; the qualities of an excellent salesperson can be imitated by anyone.

By now, some readers are protesting at my use of the word ‘sales’ in the same breath as treatment plan presentations. The similarities include explanation of benefits and alternatives as well as costs associated with the product/treatment. Most importantly, a great sales presentation is about real needs for the customer, not the needs of the salesperson. When you present a treatment plan to your patient, do you believe every procedure presented is in the best interest of your patient? Many dentists fall in the trap of presenting what they think the patient will accept, or what the insurance company will allow. If you lack the conviction to buy your own pitch, the patient knew it 10 minutes ago.

Additionally, can you present convincing evidence to support your recommendations? While some patients will not require this level of detail, intra-oral camera photos, X-rays, mounted models and perio charting are some of the supporting evidence that should be available. If you are not comfortable with your verbal skills, or you have the habit of ‘over-explaining’ (ask your team), there are many helpful patient education adjuncts to expedite your presentation.

There are four companies at the top of the patient education field. CAESY was one of the original passive presentation systems; a collection of videos about every procedure designed to educate patients through an audio narrative. CAESY continues to evolve and you can check out the newest version yourself. The newcomers to the patient education market are Orasphere, Consult-Pro and MedVisor Dental. These programs use advanced graphics and 3-D animations with the ability for the presenter to give their own explanation with the video. Dentsply has recently released a unique use of the MedVisor technology in its Cercon Coach program. It combines patient education with an electronic lab script. Spend the money for one of these programs, because it is well worth it! Humans can take in so much more information with their eyes than with their ears. A picture is worth a thousand words and with stellar graphics everything makes so much more sense in just minutes! Say goodbye to your Latin and Greek soliloquies.

I would strongly recommend you read the book: How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. This perennial bestseller received its first copyright in 1936 and it is still very relevant today. Every bit of this book is dedicated to improving your skills with people. If you do nothing else, read this book immediately! Learn to communicate clearly and use technology to support your case presentations. Your case acceptance will improve four score and seven percent.