I’m writing this to you on a Friday, the day after the President just announced that America will reopen in phases after there are two weeks of diminishing cases reported for each state, county, or metro-region.
Think about this: there are over 3,100 counties in the United States. To date, 60% of all cases occur in just 10 counties. That’s not 10 percent, just 10. The other 40% of the cases are spread out across the country but still the majority, somewhere near 90% of the counties have had limited impact.
The challenge has been combating the pandemic from a national level, utilizing resources from an entire country, and creating guidelines that can apply to everyone. In reality, every community is different and requires its own prescription for recovery.
It really is just like your patients. It would be as if you were treating every single patient with the exact same procedure regardless of their need, desire, condition, interest, etc.
You can’t treat your patients with a blanket protocol just because it’s convenient, just as you can’t curb an outbreak with one-size-fits-all guidelines for every state.
The point is, what is required to attack the virus is the same thing required to win in dentistry by helping your patients get healthy…
CUSTOMIZED CARE.
Every opportunity to do something unique first appears as a challenge. It’s up to us to find the right solution and the right treatment for each individual scenario.
Even still, getting us all to agree on what the best remedy is within a customized approach is difficult. Everyone has an opinion. What you can’t argue with is hard evidence; which is what decisions should be based upon.
That is why I want you to show patients their pictures, I want you to talk about what is actually going on, get to the root cause of their health, and have an honest discussion about their pathway to health. You can help them make a smart decision.
That said – if you stay just with facts – not that many patients will be moved. You have to combine logic with the emotion by giving them empathy, by understanding their hesitations, by showing interest in their well-being, and genuinely wanting to help them achieve their health goals comprehensively.
You want to be excited about what you can do for them so they become excited about what you can do for them.
You do a lot of things extremely well, no doubt. You are about to get back to doing those things once again. Doing what only you can do – and that is helping patients get healthy, helping patients feel comfortable, and helping patients believe in themselves.
You have an opportunity to talk about health in a whole new way. Now, you can lead the way for patients to be more proactive and take care of themselves while they have the opportunity. Patients will move forward with more treatment than ever before – I promise you that.
At times, patients may feel resentment about their current state of health. Perhaps they compare their smile to a coworker or envy the foods their spouse can eat; all the while thinking they take better care of themselves.
For everyone, the key to individual happiness is to make decisions about your actual reality, not about someone else’s. Just like you help your patients make decisions about their health, not about someone else’s.
It’s your responsibility to help patients understand that all they can do is focus on themselves and do what it takes to improve their own health – everyone deserves that.
It’s time to get back together as a team and get refocused on the opportunity you have to step up and back into your patients’ lives in a big and better way. I know you are up to the challenge.
Dentistry is on its way back – it’s time we show the world just how essential it is and how much it truly matters!
