Power educating in 60 seconds with unbelievable results—this veteran practice management consultant offers advice this latest article in a series on cosmetic dentistry.
by Harvey N. Silverman, DMD, FASDA, FABAD
In the last edition of this series, “The New Paradigm Shift in Cosmetic Dentistry”, I discussed how to find latent demand for cosmetic dentistry from patients who want to change the appearance of their teeth. I also shared that while dentists often believe there is limited growth potential for elective cosmetic dentistry in their practice, that is not true. Anecdotally 8 out of 10 patients still want to change either the size, shape, color, or position of at least 1 tooth. This represents a lot of cosmetic dentistry yet to be done in your practice.
That said let’s explore how the receptionist can be one of the most valuable assets to your team in building your elective cosmetic dentistry practice.
From decades of consulting in this field I can share the answer is not simply having patient education brochures, posters or other static educational pieces in your reception room. They help but if your goal is to uncover the 8 out of 10 patients in your practice who want to change something about the appearance of their teeth, watch this short video. You will see how in 60 seconds your receptionist will be the spark plug that can change your cosmetic dentistry program. (Test this out: have your stopwatch ready to see how it only takes 60 seconds. It is professional, ethical, effective and will be something you can immediately implement).
This component of our TIMS System (Team Impact Multiplier System) is easily incorporated into your daily routine. Note how the receptionist is trained to share sincerity and honesty resulting in patient interest and enthusiasm.
You just watched on the video how powerful the role your receptionist is in informing, power educating and motivating patients in the TIMS System (please refer back to my last article in Dentistry Today below on how to use the Health History Update From for the receptionist to discover and professionally address patients cosmetic dentistry concerns).
Here’s another “fun” Action Step for you to do. When was the last time you had a field trip at your office? I’m going to take a guess and say probably never.
Today that will change because I’m going to ask you to do something fun—let’s take a 2-minute field trip in your office—and once you do you will understand how this Action Step will help you build your cosmetic dentistry practice.
The first part of this exercise applies to offices that have outside window space the public can see. If this is not applicable to your practice feel free to skip the first section and go directly to the next section.
First, please step outside your office and simply look around and relax for a minute. Ok. Did you actually step outside your office? You really need to do that if you want to get the most out of this exercise.
Now look around as if you were a patient seeing your office for the first time. As a prospective patient what do you see when you look at the windows? Some offices place posters in the windows with a list of services they provide. Others have Before & After pictures. Please write down the answer.
Next ask yourself what is the message (think benefits), if any, your office is sharing with prospective patients (i.e., the public) that may motivate them to come inside?
After you have done that ask your team to join you and step outside and have them write their answers to the same questions as well.
Your answer and theirs will be very helpful as I help you build your Action Plan to find/tap into the latent demand from patients who want elective cosmetic dental services.
Let’s continue the field trip. I want you to ask yourself what do patients see that differentiates your practice? Please write the answer to that question down as well. This is something that will be very powerful to you as you continue to build upon the Action Steps.
Next how does the outside of your office inform and educate patients about your cosmetic dentistry services? Think about the message you are sharing. Listing services such as cosmetic dentistry, veneers, teeth whitening, bonding, etc—what most dentists do—is not the best way to get your message out. There will be more on that in the next article. If you need some help, no problem because it can be easily tweaked… simply email me a photograph of the outside of your office to [email protected] and I’ll be happy to provide you with suggestions on how you can do that.
Now let’s open the door to your office and walk in as if you are a patient. This next section applies to all offices.
What is the first thing you see? What is the impression you are getting about the practice? Be honest and write the answers down.
As I walk into offices throughout the country, I am struck by how the reception area does very little to help silently educate patients about what’s new or exciting in dentistry today. Quite often, the reception area has a few magazines, artwork on the wall and business cards near the reception desk.
Some officers also have a poster of a beautiful smile that promotes a particular product or service. While posters like that are helpful, saying Before and After, often it does not share the benefit of how this service might be a breakthrough that the patient needs to know more about. There are simple ways to accomplish that goal but if you sit down in the reception room as if you were a patient I would encourage you to think these questions over.
Tip: Think about the major reasons holding patients back from cosmetic dentistry. When I consult in offices I find that literally all offices say those reasons include COST, not wanting to have their healthy teeth filed down and also wondering if they will like the final result, looking like natural teeth and not like teeth that were “fixed”.
Over the decades our time and motion studies show posters actually have very limited “active engagement”. The message here is do not rely on posters or brochures to be your silent educator/motivator. If you do you might fall into the majority of offices that do only 1 or 2 elective cosmetic veneers a month.
As you walk to the receptionist counter, please keep in mind that the outside of the office as well as the interior of your office has already shared a very important message to your patients about your practice. About the benefit of the services you are providing. Even before your receptionist said hello!
This is important consideration if your goal is to uncover where the latent demand is for elective cosmetic dentistry.
Additionally, if you use an AI system and ask for advice on how to build your cosmetic dentistry practice, here is some of the advice I found online.
“The goal is to subtly introduce patients to services they may not be aware of—like teeth whitening, veneers, bonding, or Invisalign—while they’re waiting, without seeming like a hard sell.
- Take a “Smile Selfie” and visualize cosmetic changes (AI simulators).
- Browse a “Smile Gallery”.
- Show real patient success stories or quotes.
- Small branded boxes with whitening pens, mirror, or lip balm.
During training programs I conducted during the past several decades I found these type of suggestions result in dental offices doing only 1 or 2 elective cosmetic dentistry cases a month. Why not more? Because these tools leave unanswered questions and “hidden objections/hidden concerns” patients may still have. They are all good tools but often end up with only 1 to 2 elective veneers a month. I know you can do much better because 8 out of 10 patients in our experience still want from subtle or dramatic smile enhancements.
Each of the forthcoming articles in this series will build on this and show you how easy it will be to do 1 to 2 elective cosmetic veneers every day, not just every month.
What can you do now? Please watch the video again and role play with your team as I had done during the video on-site consultation. This is essential. It may feel a bit awkward at first but stick to it. Once you do you will be on your way to building a thriving successful elective cosmetic dentistry practice with our Action Steps. But let’s focus on doing one step at a time and very soon you will be doing 1 or 2 elective cosmetic dentistry cases a day and not just 1 to 2 a month!
About The Author
Dr. Harvey Silverman is the founder of the Silverman Institute of Cosmetic Dentistry which offers training to other dentists on same-day smile transformations. The Institute provides virtual as well as on-site training on cosmetic dentistry innovations, focusing on precision & smile makeover techniques. He also offers guidance to dentists on marketing their cosmetic dentistry services, including using the right messages to attract patients seeking cosmetic enhancements. For more info: Contact Dr Silverman at 216-256-4599: Email [email protected].
