The cases featured in this magazine were made possible, and driven by, solid and structured teams. Working closely with your team gives you the ability to better connect with your patients. When a new patient is seated in your operatory, your team members should have already prepared the patient for their experience. Keep in mind that patients want to know and feel that you care before they allow you to give any recommendations for treatment.
Everyone on the team has an important role to play in facilitating the opportunity of helping your patients. It’s similar to a baseball team. Every player has a specific job to do—the pitching rotation is strategic and includes a starter, a reliever, and a closer. One job leads seamlessly into the next. The closer is brought out as a result of the efficiency and effectiveness of the starter and reliever. Doctor, you are the “closer” on your team.
In dentistry, to get patients through the door, team members must have skills in persuasive dialogue. They should be trained to be “diplomats” for you and your practice. They should be experts at triaging, interacting, engaging, and guiding your patients. Effective case-presentations are based on the patient feeling high trust and low fear.
As a gift to you, I would like to share excerpts from an article written by my mentor, Mrs. Tawana Coleman. By following her simple advice, team members can narrow the gap between merely interacting with patients and engaging effectively with them. As Tawana says, “every new patient should walk away thinking that the experience was special, unique, and yes, uncommon.”
