Patient Communication

The Managing Patients module of the Guidelines for Practice Success™ series details aspects of patient management and offers a framework for handling some of the elements of communication that can make or break the patient experience. Through this module, ADA member dentists can offer their staff access to a wide variety of resources on patient intake, office policies, treatment recommendations, patient relations, and more. Guidelines can be accessed for free using the ADA member login at ADA.org/GPS.

Product check-ups are just as important as patient check-ups.
With patient check-ups, the goal is to give personalized, premium care. In-between visits, help them continue improving their oral health with products that are also getting routine “check-ups.”

ADA Seal of Acceptance products are independently evaluated to ensure the products are safe and effective. The ADA Seal is dental product research done for you, based on science you can trust. Learn more at ADA.org/ADAseal.

If you’ve noticed an increase in canceled appointments at your practice, it may be due to the overall increase in them nationwide during difficult economic times. Even in a booming economy, canceled appointments are part of operating a dental practice, but they can be managed to minimize their effect on your bottom line.

One way to reduce your cancelations is to confirm and reschedule appointments, in the same manner, every time. This creates a pattern your patients get used to, which may make them less likely to cancel. Below are a series of talking points created by the ADA that you can try with your patients. Read them as written, or modify them to fit your needs. The important part is to use them consistently. Learn more and find three tips to help prevent cancellations.

Have you ever found yourself tangled up in a sticky patient dispute? When disagreeing parties can’t find common ground their lingering grievances may eventually play out in court and/or in a public forum, neither of which bodes well for the practicing dentist’s pocketbook and reputation.

If you find yourself in such a situation, you might consider suggesting that your patient initiate the peer review system. Its focus is on achieving dispute resolution through mediation and clinical review of cases. Peer review is a voluntary process that settles dentist-patient disputes, allowing both parties to benefit from a fair procedure outside of the legal arena and isolated from the “court of public opinion.” Its purpose is to serve the public and dentists equally and objectively. Learn how to initiate peer review.

• Dental Communication: Letters, Templates, and Forms  – You can build better customer relationships with sample content for emails, Facebook and Twitter accounts, website content, and text messages, in addition to traditional letters for patients, colleagues, vendors, and dental benefit plans.
• ADA PatientSmart® Web Content – With PatientSmart, you can add more credibility to your practice and help convert web visitors into new patients.
• ADA TV – Transform your dental waiting room TV into a high-impact internet video streaming system. ADA TV is a user-friendly entertainment and marketing system that empowers your dental practice with customized streaming content that will educate, entertain, and promote your services.
• ADA Patient Education Brochures – ADA Patient Education Brochures provide information that patients can take home with them. They help drive case acceptance, build practice loyalty, and are written for easy understanding. Brochures written in Spanish and in traditional Chinese are also available. You can also personalize your favorite brochures.

AADOM members get 15% off all ADA Catalog products. If your dentist is an ADA member, use the member login to take advantage of discounted pricing. Use code 20507 and order before 12/31/20. Visit ADAcatalog.org… This text opens a new tab to the official website… or call 800-947-4746.