I published my first blog post on July 26, 2009. I did this as an example to show my clients the significant SEO benefit they would receive by adding content to their website. Since that initial foray into Internet exposure, I have continued writing posts every 10 to 14 days for almost nine years. I’d like to share some thoughts and observations with you that I have learned from this project.

1. Don’t be afraid to try something new. I literally had no idea how to publish a post. I had never even heard of WordPress. The mechanics were daunting. But new technologies are only new until you get used to them. They quickly become routine.

2. Don’t be afraid of failure. I always think of the famous Japanese proverb that says “get knocked down seven times – get up eight!” To fear failure is an admission that you will most likely never accomplish anything of substance. Leaving your comfort zone has to become part of your DNA.

3. Rome wasn’t built in one day. Understand that it takes time and patience and a lot of hard work to achieve some level of expertise. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell chronicles the results of successful entrepreneurs who spend 10,000 hours to refine their skills.

4. Always remain open to new ideas and different approaches and continue to learn. So whether you want to add new clinical procedures to your practice, change the direction of your practice, downsize, upsize, relocate, expand or merge – just go for it. “Continuing to do what you always do but expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.”  Albert Einstein.

5. Embrace mentors who can help you in your journey. There have been so many wonderful people that have helped me with the branding of my posts:

• Tim Healy of TNT Dental has been a friend since the day we started working together to build my first website. The man is a technical rock star and an Internet genius.

• My multiple grandchildren who seem to come out of the womb carrying an iPad and a cell phone!

• Seth Godin has been a true inspiration. Readers of my posts know how often I reference his wisdom. Seth is one of the most prolific and followed bloggers in the world. I read him religiously every day.

• Rich and Dave Madow are wonderful friends who have a well-deserved national reputation in the dental profession. They were most gracious to frequently mention me and my blog posts to their audience.

Now that I have hopefully inspired you to take on your next challenge, I did want to announce that I have decided to take a bit of a hiatus from publishing my posts. It may not be always apparent, but the average post – doing the research, writing and editing – takes me about five hours. My coaching and consulting business continues to grow,  and I now find that I really need to devote  more time to spend with clients.

So I will still reserve the right to weigh in with informative material or an opinion – but not on a regular basis. I want to thank you for your comments and useful feedback over these many years. Your support has been invaluable and thoroughly appreciated.

I’ve spent the last four or five posts discussing the need for successful practices to integrate the process of scheduling more second visit treatment consultations as a surefire way to gain greater case acceptance.  And I’ve tried to be very specific in stating that not all consultations are created equal. Precipitating event consults are handled one way, and cosmetic consults are handled altogether differently. I’d like to finish up this series by describing a third type of consult. This is used for presenting treatment plan choices to a new patient to the practice.

The scenario that I advise is for the doctor to greet the new patient in the Hygiene room when that patient has just been seated. This requires careful attention to detail and timing and is reinforced at the morning huddle. Introduce yourself – recognize a referral source – but do not perform any type of clinical exam at this time. Just a quick hello before the patient is put back into a reclining position. You announce you’ll be back to perform an exam when the hygienist finishes the necessary x-rays and the prophy is completed. You have no idea at this point whether the patient will need comprehensive treatment or minimal or no treatment.

If it turns out that there is little or no dentistry to be performed for this patient, a 10 to 15 minute exam by the doctor is usually sufficient. But if that new patient has necessary dentistry that would involve multiple appointments, then that patient should be scheduled for a complimentary 30 to 45 minute visit with the doctor to discuss treatment options. At that visit there will be a conversation regarding the timing of the treatment, the approximate cost of the treatment,  and how best to maximize dental insurance benefits. For sure you need to ask the patient about their expectations. Do they have any fears or reservations. Staging treatment is most appreciated by the patient. You have to be very cognizant of not overwhelming the patient with a huge treatment plan.

The complimentary second visit for these new patients should ideally be scheduled within a week after their initial visit with the hygienist. This gives the doctor ample time to price out all the treatment options and investigate dental insurance benefits. It is impossible to do this kind of research at that initial visit. And the second visit is a nice opportunity for the doctor to develop a solid relationship with the patient and provide quality one-on-one personal time.

The moral of the story is to never forget the value of a complementary second visit. These are low pressure presentations in a relaxed atmosphere. Setting up these time blocks where you can give your individual attention to a patient with multiple dental needs will pay huge dividends in the form of the acceptance of quadrant and arch dentistry.

In my  blog post of January 31, 2018, I recommended increasing second visit treatment consultations as one of the five strategies that successful practices need to implement in order to grow their profitability in 2018. And I’ve spent the last few posts talking about how to use these second visit consultations to gain greater acceptance of quadrant and arch dentistry specifically for precipitating events.

Today I want to discuss a totally different kind of second visit consult which is used to present cosmetic choices to patients who have indicated an interest in improving their smile. These patients would benefit from whitening, veneers, anterior crowns or bridgework or even orthodontic treatment like Invisalign or 6 Months Smiles. Case acceptance in these situations is going to be much lower than for a precipitating event. With precipitating events, since something must be done, case acceptance should be 90% or greater. With cosmetics, you would be a super star with acceptance of 25-30%. And that is because cosmetic treatment is elective.

The practice identifies which existing or new patient will be invited back for the consult based on the results of a cosmetic survey. You can copy this for your use – just add the name of your practice in order to personalize it. Target the daily Hygiene patients. Someone at your front desk hands out the survey on a clipboard or it could also be downloaded into a tablet. Once completed, a copy is made and put in a bin at the front desk and the original goes with the patient to their Hygiene room.

Anyone who shows interest is thanked for filling out the survey. No potential treatment is discussed at this visit. But acknowledgment is made by the doctor at the exam. “Thanks for taking the time to fill out the survey. We will get back to you to schedule a complimentary visit where I will discuss your needs and concerns and give you some ideas of possible treatment.”

This second visit will take about 15-20 minutes of doctor time. Digital photographs are taken of the patient’s smile. The photos are sent out to be enhanced based on the patient’s expectations with your prescription regarding color, shape, and alignment. I like a company called SmilePix. They provide an excellent service. They email you a pdf enhanced image. You can then use a high quality color printer to make two prints – one for your records and one to give to the patient. The total cost to you for this is about $80. Contact Sam Laundon at 781-577-7700.

The patient will then be appointed one more time with the doctor for another 15-20 minute visit. They see with their own eyes what can be possible. A picture is truly worth a thousand words. You will have priced out various treatment options that are now presented to the patient. If one or two patients out of ten accepts treatment, the ROI for your time and materials is huge. I base this entire approach on the old saying that “if you throw enough spaghetti sauce against the wall, some of it will stick.”

If you have any doubts about even beginning this project, do yourself a favor. Look at and evaluate the responses of the first 100-200 surveys that have been accumulated in that bin at the front desk. I will bet you anything that 25-30% of your patients will have indicated some level of interest. These – and only these – are the patients that we are asking to return for the photos and then follow that up with treatment presentation. It is like playing cards with a loaded deck. These are people willing to listen to how you can change their lives. Based on my experience, your efforts will be well worth your time.