{"id":8457,"date":"2022-03-25T12:00:28","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T17:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/?p=8457"},"modified":"2022-03-21T15:43:28","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T20:43:28","slug":"who-guides-your-patients-to-their-destination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oraldna.com\/trends-in-salivary-testing\/index.php\/2022\/03\/25\/who-guides-your-patients-to-their-destination\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Guides Your Patients To Their Destination? with Dr. Michael Goldberg"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In my last blog<\/a>, I discussed the value for, and the tactics involved in trying to discover a patient\u2019s WHY. Recent events and the effect that inflation has, and will continue to have, on all our lives for the foreseeable future, makes this exercise of utmost urgency in your practice.<\/p>\n

In light of this new reality, I would like to propose that you consider reframing each and every role in the dental practice. If your treatment is not presented in the right light, towards a patient-relevant benefit and evoking the desired emotion, money will become the default and rule the conversation.<\/p>\n

Patients rarely present for a \u201ctreatment\u201d without connecting the expected result to an emotion. What will it feel like at the end? Is it security, freedom from disease, self-confidence, a beautiful smile, or pleasing one\u2019s spouse or loved-one? Uncovering the emotional answer to that question and then connecting it to all points along the journey ahead makes the voyage a pleasant and rewarding one for both patient and team.<\/p>\n

We know that all purchases start with emotion. \u201cWants\u201d often take precedence over \u201cneeds.\u201d A desire begins in the heart and rationalizes in the brain. And in most instances, the heart wins out. We find ways to get what we want, even at the expense of what we need. Our role in the dental practice is to uncover the emotion to enlarge the heartfelt and the personal before we let the rational brain kick in. Doing this is not simple and not a one-person affair.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.\u201d
\n–<\/em>Maya Angelou<\/p>\n

Office manuals have written descriptions for the job titles of receptionist, treatment coordinator, assistant and even hygienists. But these don\u2019t convey the importance of the ultimate mission that each person plays in the patient\u2019s journey and experience in your practice.<\/p>\n

Most dental team members, when asked what their \u201cjob\u201d is, rattle off a list of tactics they deploy. Answering the phone, making appointments, presenting treatment, submitting insurance, performing treatment, assisting the doctor, and doing prophies are tactics not objectives. Certainly, they are not objectives that resound with patients and what they seek when they call or come into your office.<\/p>\n

Your patient is seeking to climb a personal mountain. For some it might be a relatively small hill, for others, a Mt. Everest. That journey must be mapped out based on the destination.<\/p>\n

DIAGNOSING DESTINATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Any patient that calls and\/or comes into your office, comes with a problem and objective. Everyone\u2019s \u201cjob\u201d is to determine that patient\u2019s objective or destination. It\u2019s the Doctor\u2019s role to uncover the size of the mountain ahead. Once the destination is revealed and the pathway planned out, it is everyone\u2019s job to act as a guide or Sherpa, helping the patient towards that destination.<\/p>\n

While this is an important paradigm shift, it is becoming more important as inflation and the media\u2019s preoccupation with it, will make patients (and the dental team too) more financially focused. Climbing a mountain, especially one that has never been seen before, requires commitment. A guide or Sherpa helps keep the patient\u2019s focus on the destination.<\/p>\n

Once a patient raises their hand about wanting to stay healthy, promoting oral-systemic therapies requires guidance. Patients are unaware of what such therapies are and how they contribute to the ultimate destination of overall health and wellness.<\/p>\n

A bacteria profile is just one point in discovering the size of the mountain to be conquered. MyPerioPath\u00ae lab results serve as a signpost for the patient to appreciate what might be encountered along the route.<\/p>\n

Who is responsible for helping guide the patient along this worthy pathway?<\/p>\n

Everyone and everything.<\/p>\n

Marketing, in all its forms communicates or \u201creframes\u201d specific issues to a patient or potential patient. It connects the dots and promotes value.<\/p>\n

For instance, discussing the connection between oral bacteria and overall health in marketing and personal conversation might look like:<\/p>\n