Many dentists are becoming familiar with the term, “Dental IQ.” They are realizing it has somewhat of a monetary barrier. It has been determined that dental work costing less than $3500 is usually acceptable by a patient; however, amounts exceeding $3500 may be declined by the patient. This is where the dental knowledge comes into play with dental case presentation.
Dentists have their own unique dental consulting way of presenting their diagnosis to each patient. They can do the analysis and then suggest or recommend the best treatment plan to preserve the oral health as well as present a healthy set of teeth.
One assumption some dentists makes it that the patient will listen to the diagnosis and then follow the treatment plan the dentist suggests. It is assumed that a patient will base the decision to have the work completed based on what may happen in the future if the treatment plan is not followed. The issue here is the fact that the dentist may assume the work will be done simply on his/her recommendation. This assumption leaves out key components of the patients’ life such as the patient not having the money, no dental insurance, fear, or other factors that contribute to the patients’ decision.
Most dentists agree that patients will agree to a treatment plan of $3500 or less. This is because it does not cause too many hardships or inconveniences. The more expensive the services the more chances the patient may decline the treatment plan, or stall and postpone the treatment.
Some dentists have learned that it is first wiser to learn about and understand the patient’s situation. Find out, upfront, the concerns the patient has. Then, after knowing and understanding these conditions, the dentist can try to work with all of these given factors. Dentists claim that this not only saves times for everyone concerned but will also make them more comfortable with the dentist and his or her practice.
When evaluating each new patient the dentist must educate him/herself in other aspects of the patients’ life. The dentist needs to consider the inconvenience the treatment plan may be or if it will cause problems. The dentist must be aware of the patients’ financial capabilities, health issues, dental insurance, and so forth. It is also important to know if the patient is newly married or recently divorced, on a new job, if there is a newborn in the family, and so forth. These are all important factors in order to evaluate the patient.
Once this information has been accumulated the compilation is referred to as the “fit factors.” Basically, this simply involves the dentist getting to know and understand each patient as well as understand their living situation. Once this data is collected it allows a dentist to meet the needs of each patient.
Now we return to “Dental IQ.” Once the dentist completes her/his homework s/he will have a much stronger background in fully understanding the patient. This knowledge will equip the dentist to make better decisions when presenting the treatment plan to the patient. This knowledge should improve dental coaching, which is a good thing since it is so important.
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