By: Tom Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD

Hippocrates is often credited with the phrase, “First, do no harm” (trivia fact: does not appear in the Hippocratic Oath). Dr. Schefdore would most likely say, “First, listen to your patient”. Better Service, Better Dentistry, Better Income begins with his realization that we need to “ask” and “listen” to our patients. Schefdore describes his turning point like this, “Instead of telling patients what I thought they needed, I focused on learning to discover their goals and desires.” For many, this advice seems too simple to be helpful, but the art of listening is the essence of this book and good listening skills will lead to the three promises in the title.

Dr. Schefdore’s description of his practice is enviable to say the least: “After we listen to new patients and discover their goals, we explain to them how we like to do business. We tell them that in order to meet our standards of excellence for delivering the best service possible…arrive at our office 5 minutes before their appointment…[there will be] a non-refundable deposit for any appointment that will last an hour or longer…[and a] no show appointment fee of $50 for every half-hour scheduled [will be charged].” Certainly patients who pass this test will help with your quest for the three promises in the title. Good patients are only the beginning; you must now deliver exactly what they want.

There are many excellent listening techniques and exercises described in this book. For example, the use of follow-up questions can be very helpful. Dr. Schefdore describes the patient who comes to the office saying, “I just want to have my teeth cleaned.” Many dentists will set the patient up with the hygienist, do the exam and treatment plan and say goodbye until next time. He suggests that you ask a follow-up question or two: “Okay we can clean your teeth. Tell me, why is that important to you? What made you decide to get your teeth cleaned now?” The patient’s response to these questions will often lead to other conversations about issues such as teeth whitening or cosmetic restorative procedures.

The last two chapters of this book are titled: “How to Listen: Part 1” and “How to Listen: Part” 2 and they are the essential messages of this book. Chapter 8 describes the different types of poor listeners. For example:

• Sentencing = finishing people’s sentences
• Mr. fix-it = automatically offering unsolicited solutions to a problem
• AST = automatic storyteller, this person tells a story to ‘one-up’ the story they just heard

There are 10 types of poor listeners described and we can all relate to at least one or two. Determine what you are doing wrong and you will be on your way to better listening.

The last chapter describes two listening techniques:

1. The Short Listening Model and
2. The Deep Listening Model™.

The first model is simply defined: Ask and Listen, Ask and Listen, … There is no talk in this simple format. Get yourself in the habit of asking a question and listening for the answer. The Deep Listening Model™ is described by the following four words in order:

1. Attend (pay attention to the other person)
2. Acknowledge (show the speaker you hear them)
3. Clarify (ask questions to show you are trying to understand them)
4. Respond (now it is your turn to speak)

This method is only appropriate at times when listening is critical to development of an important relationship or understanding a complex issue. Deep listening is not something for everyday conversations.

Thomas J. Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD is a general dentist in Chandler, AZ who owns a private practice with his wife, Grace Giacobbi, DDS. Originally from upstate New York, Drs. Giacobbi are1995 graduates of SUNY at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. Please send comments or questions to DrTom@ChandlerDentalHealth.com. Send items to be considered for review to 1035 W. Queen Creek Rd., Suite 206, Chandler, AZ 85248.