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Dentistry is the Easy Part: Can You Manage Patients and Your Team?

Author: Diana Batoon
Diana Batoon

Diana Batoon

Dr. Diana Batoon is a Scottsdale, Arizona dentist and founder of Bonita Dental. She founded the successful practice in 1997. She regularly speaks to the public on issues related to wellness and dental health. Dr. Batoon enjoys spending free time with her husband and three boys.
05.17.16 / 10:32 am

The best dental practices are not only a result of excellent dental care. Good practices are built on quality relationships between the dentist and patients, the patients and the team, and the dentist and their team.

The modern practice is a fast-paced, busy environment with a fair amount of stress involved. It can be very difficult for dentists to focus on relationship building. However, if you can master communication with patients and team members, you’ll have a strong and thriving practice to show for it.

Step One: Get Your Team On Board
What does your team value nearly as much as a paycheck? A sense of belonging. As the leader of your practice, it’s important to let your team know how important they are to its success. Once your team members feel more like stakeholders and less like subordinates, they’ll likely be much more personally invested in your success.

Be Openly Passionate About Your Career
It’s a cliché you’ve heard a thousand times, but leading by example is a great way to keep your team motivated and inspired. Make your passion for dentistry and helping others contagious. Letting your team members see how much you enjoy the field of dentistry and helping others will inspire them to do their best work.

Address the Tough Conflicts
Personality conflicts are always bound to pop up here and there. As an effective leader, it is your responsibility to address these issues. That could mean getting to the bottom of a conflict between two team members, or addressing a dispute between yourself and another teammate. In the case that you have a perpetually toxic employee who’s bringing down the whole crew, you may have to make the tough decision to let someone go.

Step Two: Managing the Patients

When Flaky Patients Cost You Money
Every dentist has come across this problem: you come in early to accommodate a patient who needs a 7 am appointment so that person can make it to work on time. You’ve sacrificed your personal time to do the right thing and help a patient in need.

Then, the patient ends up being a no-show without so much as a courtesy phone call. At this point, you have a decision to make.

  • Bill the patient for his or her missed appointment
  • Let it slide, but explain to the patient that you will have to charge them next time

I would recommend a warning for the first offense, especially if it is a relationship you’d like to maintain. However, don’t be afraid to let someone know exactly how it impacts your practice when they simply decide to blow off an appointment.

If the patient is routinely late for appointments or fails to show up, send them a bill, along with an explanation.

Combative Patients
Dealing with combative patients can make the job far more exhausting than it needs to be. One recent study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information shows there are a few common triggers that could set off aggressive patients.

  • Patients who are not current on their payments
  • Those who come late or skip appointments
  • Those who are told they cannot be helped immediately
  • Patients with drug or alcohol issues

Even patients who don’t normally have temperament issues may become hostile when a serious dental issue is threatening their health and causing pain. If the patient is nervous or fearful about what will be involved with their treatment, they may also lose control and become angry.

No matter what the cause, aggressive behavior by patients puts undue stress on the entire staff and can be extremely stressful to deal with. There’s also the danger that someone’s aggression could turn physical and create a safety hazard.

Pay Attention to the Warning Signs
A patient about to lose his or her cool will often display certain warning signs. Knowing these signs can help you act to reduce the tension and potentially avoid a conflict.

Body Language: patients who are on the verge of becoming hostile tend to tense up and might clench their fists or tighten up the jaw. You may also notice a patient start fidgeting.

Behavioral Changes: Changes in behavior may also become apparent when a patient starts getting angry. Perhaps someone who is more talkative will become quiet all of a sudden, raising their voice when they do speak.

How to Diffuse the Situation
It can be hard to keep your cool when a patient becomes angry and emotional, but doing just that has proven to be the most effective method.

Empathize
Empathy is the great diffuser when it comes to patient conflict. Even when a patient is asking loaded, confrontational questions, it is important to remain calm.

  • Let the patient finish his or her rant
  • Calmly address their concerns, addressing the patient by name
  • Contact the authorities if you think the confrontation could turn physical

In most cases, you’ll be able to diffuse the situation and make the patient understand why a particular treatment may be necessary, or why a certain procedure costs as much as it does.

Conclusion
Good communication with your team and patients can set your practice up for success and keep potentially tense situations from getting out of hand. You’ll find caring for patients becomes much easier when everyone is on board.

Diana Batoon

Dr. Diana Batoon is a Scottsdale, Arizona dentist and founder of Bonita Dental. She founded the successful practice in 1997. She regularly speaks to the public on issues related to wellness and dental health. Dr. Batoon enjoys spending free time with her husband and three boys.

Diana Batoon

Diana Batoon

Dr. Diana Batoon is a Scottsdale, Arizona dentist and founder of Bonita Dental. She founded the successful practice in 1997. She regularly speaks to the public on issues related to wellness and dental health. Dr. Batoon enjoys spending free time with her husband and three boys.

73 responses to “Dentistry is the Easy Part: Can You Manage Patients and Your Team?”

  1. Great point about toxic employees. I had a toxic employee quit and office moral skyrocketed. I never realized the negative impact this one person was having on our practice.

  2. Unlike other blogs, it is especially for dentists and his patients. A dentist’s patients make them his team. A proper teamwork and dedication can resolve many dental issues. This blog is all about the problems faced by a dentist regarding his patients and step he should take in such situations. I must say that this blog is helping to make dentistry easy and simple when demanding patients come in your way.

  3. Great article, you write up very well all the points you covered is helpful to maintain relations between patients and our team, thanks for sharing

  4. Great blog I have ever read which is for dentists and the best dental practises which are often missed out by dentists. It is really very important to manage the Dentist Team and patients coming for treatment or else things may go wrong.

  5. Thanks for posting your great blog.
    I think that A doctors and thier staff take great pride in providing patients with excellent care. It is really very important to solved.

  6. Very well put, effective comunication can prevent so many problems and tense situations. It’s not always easy setting limitations for patients, especially in this competitive field but sometimes you just have to in order to go crazy with all the stress involved.

  7. Good communication is of paramount importance for all aspects of business, including for employees and the work place and business investments

  8. Superb blog! A great teamwork solves any issue. Dental issues can be overcome by proper communication. My family dentist is Moos Family Dental in Montana, Bozeman. They provide a great service. Doctor and staff were helpful and they treat every patient with respect. I love their co-ordination & team work.

  9. Thanks for worderful article! As a chief dentist in Ahmedabad I always put priorize to keep Satisfie my team and as a result my dedicated team will mange my patients.

  10. Good practices Realy Build and power Relationship between the Dentist and Patients also a hygiene process of the clinic which builds a reputation with patients, Well You written article is good content.

    Thanks

  11. Thank you for sharing this useful information about Manage Patients and Your Team. All these tips are very beneficial for me and other dental doctor also. Thank you for sharing such a nice post.

  12. From advanced communication and customer service techniques to technical expertise and dental best practices, a quality dental front desk training program will give your team the skills they need to book more appointments and improve patient satisfaction.

  13.  Hello iana Batoon , Firstly Thanks for the nice post. Proper Team Training would help to attract new dental patients. At Our Clinic, Dr.Manish Pathak Headed the Team of best orthodontist in Pune. they gave us training on how to communicate and behave with patients.This is helping us a lot.

  14. Excellent article, you write up very well all the detail points you covered is essential to maintain relationships between patients and our dentist, thanks for giving valuable information.

    • We agree, it is crucial when managing patients and your team. Thanks for the support, Diana!

    • Glad you agree, Microdent Dentistry. The best dental practices are not only a result of excellent dental care, but also take into account their relationships with both patients and their employees. Remember, dental practices are businesses too!

  15. Very useful and awesome blog, I really appericiate it. And, you have explained right thing that in every field, a team is most important to handle the any work. I am also an Orthodontist & also support our team whenever we handle any patients.

    • We’re so glad you appreciate our blog, Miami Orthodontist! We believe successfully managing your team leads to heightened success in other business areas. Happy we could help you!

  16. Thanks for the great article! As a dentist in Pune I always prioritize to finally satisfy my team and as a result my dedicated team will kill my patients.

  17. Diana, excellent in-depth article covering so many facets! If I could suggest one more detail i.e. managing your books! So much of the success (and/or stress) of a dental practice is whether you can keep a close eye on revenue and costs. It can be done with help, and it’s another opportunity for a team around you to help you shine. Again, Diana thanks for the great insights here. Dental CPAs

  18. As a dentist in panchkula at Tooth Care Dental Clinic , we tried to maintain friendly environment with our clients so they will address their problem with us in friendly manner. We never treat our customer badly. Your blog help us to motivate that we are in right direction to treat our pateints.

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    • We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed this, Tyler! What Facebook group was it? We would love to know!

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