A great deal has been written about patient-centered dental care. Jill Malson, key accounts manager with Patterson Dental, describes it as “the conversations, the conveniences, huddles and decisions the practice makes about equipment purchases, new procedures, protocols and policies … everything that goes into running the business has a true focus on benefiting the patient.” 

The patient schedule is a focal point when creating and managing a patient-centered practice because it allows you to streamline workflow for the benefit of the patient and the practice. If you want to create a strong, productive patient base that understands the urgency and value of their appointment, consider these nine tips when creating your patient-centered schedule.

1. Appoint a dedicated scheduling coordinator

“I can’t express enough how important this position is,” Malson says. When several staff members are scheduling patients, accountability can be lost. With one person overseeing the daily and weekly schedule and then collaborating with the rest of the team, the practice can manage patients more efficiently. The scheduling coordinator will have a bird’s-eye view of the process and can work with the rest of the team to fill openings or understand why a patient wasn’t rescheduled.

In addition, the practice should make it easy for patients to make and confirm their dental appointments. Confirmation phone calls can be difficult for patients to take during the day. Instead, use a text message or email confirmation system that makes it easier for patients to follow through on the confirmation, thus making your patient schedule more reliable. Phone calls should be used when no response is received from the text or email. A dedicated scheduling coordinator will help ensure all the necessary steps are in place to support a solid patient schedule.

2. Use your insurance coordinator wisely

Insurance coordinators manage insurance verification, pretreatment estimates and insurance submission for the practice. Patients who haven’t scheduled larger treatment plans could be waiting to see how insurance is going to cover their procedure. They receive the same pretreatment estimate the practice receives, but they often don’t understand how to read it. Reaching out to help the patient understand the information and to get them scheduled for treatment reminds them that they’re important to the practice and helps them maintain their oral health.

Insurance verification is another area of opportunity. A verification is completed for every patient being seen in the practice and can be a solid way to identify other treatment opportunities for patients on the schedule. Malson uses fluoride treatment for adults as an example: “Most adults have recession, and a professional fluoride treatment provides protection to those exposed areas. Many patients assume it’s not a covered procedure by insurance, thereby passing on this elective fluoride treatment. The insurance coordinator who’s also focused on the patient will identify when treatment is covered and communicate that to the hygienist and patient. It’s a win-win for all involved.”

3. Fill last-minute cancellations effectively

Last-minute cancellations happen in every practice and turning them into a filled chair requires a certain amount of finesse. Don’t be afraid to call your scheduled patients to see if they can come in early. Your message is very important here. Train your team to deliver a patient-centered message so the patient will feel important and top of mind with the doctor, which builds trust and longevity. Malson offers two versions of a call to a patient:

• “Hi, Mrs. Smith. Dr. John has an opening in the schedule today and we want to see if you can come in and get your fillings completed on the lower right side before your cleaning today. Does 2:00 work for you?”
• “Hi, Mrs. Smith. Dr. John was reviewing your chart today and he asked that I reach out to you. Before your cleaning today, he’s able to take care of your fillings on the lower right side so they don’t get any bigger or cause more costly and painful problems. Does it work for you to come in at 2:00 today and see him before your cleaning?”

The first message sounds like you’re filling a hole in the schedule, whereas the second message sounds much more focused on the patient’s oral health.

Malson also recommends looking out into the week to fill a cancellation today. “If you had a 10:00 appointment cancel and it’s currently 8:00, use your schedule as a resource,” Malson explains. “Call the patient scheduled for 10:00 the next day who you know has a flexible schedule to see if they have time to come in today.” The practice is doing the work of filling the open appointments, but the process is patient-led. “Go through the patient charts and look for opportunity gems,” Malson says. “Is anyone behind on their cleaning? Can they come in a little earlier or stay a bit later after their restorative treatment?” Some team members may be hesitant to make calls to reschedule patients, but if you’ve fostered a patient-centered practice using these tools, patients will view the call in a positive light.

4. Be open to same-day dentistry

This is a true game changer for patient satisfaction and productivity. Patients appreciate the offer of convenience. “If a patient presents to you with an issue and you have time in your schedule to perform treatment that day, offer it,” Malson says. Patients have already taken time out of their day to visit your practice and will value the opportunity for same-day dentistry. In the end, they will tell their family and friends about their positive experience and there is nothing more valuable than the referral of a friend or family member.

Reaching out to patients who have not scheduled treatment emphasizes the practice’s concern for their health.

5. Follow up on outstanding treatment

Every practice has a list of patients who haven’t scheduled treatment that was discussed at a prior visit. Patients get busy and often forget to schedule their procedure, especially when the tooth is asymptomatic. The treatment coordinator in the practice should have a structured follow-up system in place to engage patients and ensure they get scheduled. We know decay doesn’t go away on its own and what might require only an occlusal filling now, might involve more costly and extensive treatment in six months. Reaching out to patients who haven’t scheduled treatment – and explaining the importance of making that next appointment – emphasizes the practice’s concern for their health.

6. Use your short call list

Most practices have a list of patients who’ve told the front desk team that they’d like to be called if an earlier appointment becomes available. But how often do practices actually use the list? When patients have expressly asked to be called but aren’t, they may wonder if you truly use the list. Malson says the list has many names based on your practice management software and recommends using it as a resource for filling canceled appointments. Patients will appreciate that you paid attention to their request and reached out.

7. Pay attention to your new patient retention rate

Malson emphasizes that practices should be attentive to the retention rate of all patients, but that new patients are especially critical because they haven’t yet built a relationship with the care team that leads to loyalty. Patients who’ve been with the practice for several years have already experienced your care and expertise. New patients who’ve seen you only once or twice will need time to achieve the same level of trust and loyalty, so pay close attention to them.

8. Understand the impact of appointment time

Every practice manager should spend some time walking through the office and listening to what’s happening in the operatories and consultation rooms. Are doctors and clinical staff making the best use of patient time? Can another clinical team member cover some of what the doctor is covering, so the doctor is freed up to see additional patients? Ask questions, spark conversation and talk about the movement within the schedule to ensure your schedule flows efficiently and productively.

Properly managing appointment lengths is a bit of a balancing act. With each patient appointment, you want to allow enough time to ensure the patient doesn’t feel rushed, yet not too much time that could potentially be wasted instead of scheduled for another patient. The smallest tweaks can make a difference. Even a five-minute time savings across five or six patients can provide opportunity for another procedure to be completed. More appointment availability for patients, more production for the practice. Malson, who has previously managed general dental, periodontal and oral surgery groups, has helped practices streamline their patient appointments to increase productivity and the number of patients seen each day while also ensuring each patient still received quality time and care.

9. Introduce new procedures and invest in technology

Patients trust you and your practice. Providing additional treatment options via new pieces of technology and procedures opens the door for patients to acquire more of their needed treatment in your practice. Not making those investments may mean patients are referred out for services they require. When Malson worked in oral surgery, she brought in same-day implant placement, digital impressions and All-on-4 procedures for patients in need of more extensive implant-retained treatment. This meant patients benefited from fewer visits and additional treatment opportunities in the practice they’d grown to trust.

– – –

This article originally appeared in Advantage by Patterson Dental.

• T-Bone
• September 27, 2020

For the past 5 years I have sworn off removable services in my office unless they involved dental implants.  About 2 years ago I took that a step further and swore off implant retained overdentures as well.

The truth is that we weren’t doing removable often enough to develop good systems to make it profitable.  Furthermore, the headaches of multiple appointments, adjustments, patient expectations, etc made it not enjoyable.

I have been down this road with many procedures in my career – where I decide I don’t want to do them anymore.  Each time technological advancements come around that transform the ease and predictability of said procedure.

Dentures Have Gone Digital (at the lab)

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you have read numerous articles and case studies of how dentures have gone digital.

I first read about digital dentures from Avadent in the early 2010s.  At that time it was the laboratory design that was digital.  Honestly, I didn’t give it much thought because it required proprietary steps and seemed like more work on the dentist side of things.

More recently we have seen Dentsply Sirona (and many others) provide the ability to milland print dentures.  We even show you how to print denture bases and teeth in our 3D printing course in your office.

Truthfully, this advancement alone doesn’t excite me.  It doesn’t solve the in practice challenges of dentures – reducing visits, reducing lab adjustments, and less chairtime.

Dentures Go Digital (in the dental practice)

Sooooo..  what makes me even consider adding dentures back to our services list?  The fact, that it’s now reasonable to take digitize the clinical side of denture fabrication.  With advancements in intra-oral scanners and digital smile design – it’s now easier and more predictable and less visits with much better dentist-lab communication.

Case Example

A patient with existing dentures comes back to our office for new dentures.  She has an upper complete and a 2 implant lower overdenture.  In this past this would necessitate either duplicating the existing dentures (a complete pain), starting from new tissue level impressions, or using existing as trays and having lab return them same day and have the patient go without her teeth (both of which are hard to coordinate).

Instead we are able to take a double sided digital impression of the upper and lower denture while in occlusion.  This begins the transfer and communication to the laboratory.

Next I am able to utilize Smile Design (done using Powerpoint in this case) to outline the aesthetic changes we would like to make.

Here the lab can take this information and transfer it to the denture design software.  In this case 3Shape Dental Studio was used.  The overlay is used to ‘set’ the denture teeth at the new position to allow more tooth to show at rest and at smile.

The final denture design was completed in the software.  The lower teeth were intruded to not create excessive overbite.

From this design the laboratory is able to print try in dentures to test fit, bite, and tooth aesthetics.  I chose not to have any pink added, but this is an option if you like.

I’d like to remind you this will be the patients second visit!

The printed try in dentures are quickly and easily relined with wash impression material for fabrication of the final prosthetic.

While this isn’t ‘completely digital’ it is significantly more predictable and easier than the traditional denture method.  Moreover, much of this process can be delegated to a team member!

This is literally my first denture case I have done in nearly 3 years.  I never thought I would even consider it again.  I’ve got a few more coming up where I am going to push my limits (increasing vertical and more significant tooth position changes) with minimal visits.

The Sales Pitch

I’ve already mentioned our 3D Printing Course earlier if you are looking to add printing to your practice.

If you are ready to do more complex cases more predictably within the confines of a busy general practice, then I encourage you to look into our Business programs here at 3D Dentists.

B1 – Foundational Case Acceptance.  In this 1 day program we teach you and your team our 4 step framework for increasing case acceptance.  It’s the exact way we do it in my own dental practice.

B2 – Case Planning & Sequencing.  This is a new 2 day hands-on workshop, we teach dentists how to properly case plan advanced and emotional dental cases.  We utilize virtual implant planning, smile design software, and step by step case planning & sequencing worksheets to keep cases organized.  The end result is an increase in case acceptance by patients and better organization for team members.

We look forward to seeing you at our programs so we can help grow your dental practice!

Share Tweet Share

Oftentimes, our work takes precedence over everything else in our lives. Our desire to succeed professionally can push us to set aside our own well-being. Creating a harmonious work-life balance can be challenging but it is essential to improve our physical, emotional and mental well-being. Here are six things you can start doing right now to achieve a better work-life balance.

1. Set an intention for the day

By setting an intention, you are creating a plan of how you want your day to go. When we lack intention, we often feel overwhelmed and out of control. An intention will help you take back control and set yourself up for success by making time for what really matters.

2. Incorporate exercise into your day

Too often, the first to go when our calendars fill up is exercise. Exercise not only reduces stress but improves our mood and work performance. Fit exercise into your busy weekly schedule in the same manner of the often-used airplane oxygen mask example. We need to prioritize exercise so that we can benefit from the decrease in stress and the increase in self-efficacy it provides. Don’t have an hour to lift weights or attend a workout class? Start with a brisk walk around the block. Every little bit counts!

3. Change your self-talk 

Our patterns of self-talk can all too often be negative. We focus on preconceived ideas that we’re “not good enough,” “always a failure” or “can’t do anything right.” On the other hand, positive self-talk switches our narrative to ideas like “I can do better next time” or “I choose to learn from my mistakes and not be held back by them.” It’s about showing yourself some self-compassion and understanding who you are and what you’ve been through.  

4. Take time to disconnect

When you are available all the time, your workday never ends. You need time to shut off your phone and unplug. Give yourself a chance to separate from work – whether it’s taking a 5-minute breather outside the office, practicing yoga or just learning to say no. Embrace every moment of calm that you can throughout the day.

5. Give yourself some grace

It’s time we redefine what perfection means to us and strive for excellence, not perfection. It’s important to remember that you can’t be everything to everyone. Give yourself the grace to “be enough” and not “perfect.” This small mental shift can be a small change that makes a big difference.

6. Save energy by using the right software

Having the right software can not only save you time throughout the day, but also eliminate unwanted stress. If your current software systems make you feel more stressed and it’s challenging to accomplish daily tasks, it might be time to consider implementing a new software.

Determining the right software for your dental practice can be a big decision. Let us help you chart the best course for your unique practice with a free, 15-minute Revolve Software Suite consultation.

Your work-life balance should make you feel like you are paying enough attention to all the important aspects of your life. When you feel the scale of attention is tipped too far in one direction, that is when changes need to be made. The idea of finding balance is to allow us to find the point in-between our work and personal life that ensures both are flourishing. We hope these tips help you on the path to achieving a better work-life balance.