This, the third in a series of three posts, is for students, residents and young dentists. Anyone, of course, can read it and I hope it is useful to all.
(Note: This page is one I will edit and add to over time. Check back sometime and see if there's anything new.)
It's time to get down to brass tacks. Where did that expression come from, anyway? Let's review some of the specific Permission Marketing concepts and strategies we create and employ in our dental practice. We will review a number of things we do that surround the dentistry.
The Personal Interview
These days, many new patients fill out their registration information via our online form, so we already have much of their information long before they arrive in our office. Whether we have this or not, the personal interview is an essential part of our new patient experience.
We do not reach through a window and hand new patients a clipboard with the registration form on it. Our staff personally interview new patients and ask the demographic and other questions in a conversation, "eye-to-eye and knee-to-knee." In this manner, our staff and our new patients get into rapport with each other. We find out why a patient is here and what are their concerns for their oral and general health. These conversations run all the way from "I'm fine; I just moved to Philly and I know I need a cleaning" all the way to people breaking down into tears because they're in pain or their appearance is suffering. And the personal interview is the first step we take in helping them.
Thus, a natural, informative, human conversation becomes the gateway into our practice.
Our Website
Our website is meant to inform and educate and connect with the patients we already serve. Who, if we respect them, listen, and provide excellence and certainty, may do us the honor of telling their family and friends about us. It is not designed to brag and show off and advertise.
http://www.smilephiladelphian.com/
My Blog
Advertising and bragging with a blog always seemed wrong to me. Unfortunately, that's what many dental blogs do.
Well. The Internet is the first communications medium in human history where everyone who has a receiver--also has a transmitter. Think about that for a moment. And then ask yourself the question that I asked myself when I started writing: "Ok now, we've been given this incredible gift--the ability to write in public, without having to ask anyone's permission. This gift is also a responsibility. What will I do with it?"
I write my blog to send anticipated, personal, relevant messages to patients who have a diagnosis or treatment plan that we discuss in the office. I write on a wide variety of dental topics. I approach the technical side, the human side and the business side of dentistry. Some of these posts end up being relevant to diagnoses and treatments that we do for patients. So, to round out their knowledge of the treatments or treatment decisions that they msut face, I send them links to relevant posts.
And I always end with, "Please feel free to email with any questions or concerns you may have; this one comes back to me." Thus becoming that rare species of doctor--the species that encourages patients to contact them when they have a quesiton.
The Caries Clock
Withthe help of some folks who are skiled at computer graphics, I created the "Caries Clock"-- the greatest patient educational tool ever when it comes to understanding and preventing cavities. Behavior is notoriously difficult to change; our Caries Clock gets people thinking about how they eat as well as what they eat (and drink). This is especially important in our sugar-laden culture. And, in the spirit of "Generous businesses are more interesting than selfish businesses," our Caries Clock is free and available for anyone with Internet access, from Philadelphia to Ulan Batur.
http://www.smilephiladelphian.com/clock/Caries.php
(Being a wav file, the Caries Clock may not work on phone and pad devices.)
The Surgical Operating Microscope
Microscope dentistry is defect-free dentistry. When I work through my Microscope (I always capitalize the word), I have six levels of magnification, all the way from seeing the entire arch of teeth in a jaw to seeing the inside of one tooth at such magnification that I can only observe; I can't even work at that level. It's amazing, each and every day I use it. I feel like I'm inside the tooth with a little miner's helmet on with a light, treating and cleansing everything from within. I perform every treatment better in the Microscope, and once or twice a week I do something that I couldn't even do without my Microscope.
The Sukoneck & Wilson Premier Plan
In an effort to help our patients who do not have dental insurance, we have designed an affordable alternative plan to maintain patients' dental health. This is not dental insurance, and is exclusive to our office. Our Premier Dental Savings Plan allows patients the opportunity to visit our office regularly for preventive dental care. In addition, all other dental treatment, if necessary, will be discounted by 20%. Patients who enroll in the plan simply pay 80% of our regularly posted fees. Preventive care, which includes regular cleanings and examinations, is essential for optimal dental health. This Plan is designed to help patients without dental insurance to make regular visits to our office.
http://www.smilephiladelphian.com/insurance.php
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