Setting the stage
By Kim Miller, RDH, BSDH
Having worked as an in office trainer for the last 20 years, I have observed many hygienists who "visit" with the patient about mutual interests throughout the delivery of care. They chat about movies they have seen, vacations they have taken, family issues, holidays, children, sports, etc. While social graces are certainly appropriate and necessary, they should not be the focus of the appointment.Clearly communicating the value of your hygiene services to the patient at the time of delivery by setting the stage is a learned and practiced skill. Deliberately telling each and every patient what you are doing for them clinically and how it benefits them can reap huge rewards. One of which is keeping your schedule full. This is no small feat in today’s economy where many hygienists are being laid off or having their hours cut due to open appointment time.Patients are much more likely to keep their hygiene appointments when the perceived value exceeds the dollar amount charged. ALL patients, regardless of how much they like you, want to know they are receiving exceptional services for a great price. Only you, the hygienist, can impart this critical information.The patient has taken time off work or out of their busy schedule to spend an hour with you. Making sure the patient comprehends what you are providing and why is the first step in creating value that exceeds the charged fee. Try starting the appointment sitting eye to eye. Do not bib the patient. Do not put on a mask or gloves or protective eyewear. Sit for 2-3 minutes and give the patient a synopsis of what you will provide for them today and how each of these services will benefit them. For example: “Sue, it’s really great to see you today, thank you so much for coming in. Before we get started, I want to let you know that Dr. Williams has asked me to take some cavity disclosing x-rays. These are an important step in today’s appointment because they allow the doctor and I to see your jawbone levels and to determine if there are any hidden areas of decay between the teeth. I am also going to review your health history and any risk factors you may have that influence your dental health. Ongoing research is revealing many ways that the mouth and body are connected and, of course, we want you to be as healthy as possible. I am going to provide you with a head and neck screening where I will evaluate all of your lymph nodes for any differences from side to side. This is really quite comfortable and I’ll walk you through all the steps. Since we know that blood pressure is the best indicator of overall health, I’ll take that for you today as well. Once I lean the chair back, I will provide an intraoral cancer screening for you. We do this for everyone since early detection means saving lives. I will also look at all of your teeth to be sure all of your existing dentistry is serving you well. And finally I’ll provide a periodontal assessment to be sure your gum tissues are in good health. Keeping your gums healthy is vital to your overall health because there is a strong relationship between what’s happening in your mouth and the rest of your body. And then of course I will clean your teeth and Dr. Williams will be coming in to do an exam. If you don’t have any questions for me, I’ll get started.”This, of course, is only one example and can vary from patient to patient depending on the focus of the appointment. You may also want to ask the patient a question or two like, “What have you heard about the connection between the mouth and the body?”At first blush this seems like it will take too much time when in reality, after some practice, it only takes 1-2 minutes and in fact can save you time later in the appointment. Can you see how it maps out exactly what you are going to do for the patient and how each step benefits them? The purpose of this introduction is to help the patient see what’s in it for them and how their time and money is being used to ensure their wellness. Essentially you are shifting the patient’s paradigm about what happens in a cleaning and why it’s important. This technique eliminates the patient’s misconception that this appointment is just a cleaning and you are the cleaning lady!
Having worked as an in office trainer for the last 20 years, I have observed many hygienists who "visit" with the patient about mutual interests throughout the delivery of care. They chat about movies they have seen, vacations they have taken, family issues, holidays, children, sports, etc. While social graces are certainly appropriate and necessary, they should not be the focus of the appointment.Clearly communicating the value of your hygiene services to the patient at the time of delivery by setting the stage is a learned and practiced skill. Deliberately telling each and every patient what you are doing for them clinically and how it benefits them can reap huge rewards. One of which is keeping your schedule full. This is no small feat in today’s economy where many hygienists are being laid off or having their hours cut due to open appointment time.Patients are much more likely to keep their hygiene appointments when the perceived value exceeds the dollar amount charged. ALL patients, regardless of how much they like you, want to know they are receiving exceptional services for a great price. Only you, the hygienist, can impart this critical information.The patient has taken time off work or out of their busy schedule to spend an hour with you. Making sure the patient comprehends what you are providing and why is the first step in creating value that exceeds the charged fee. Try starting the appointment sitting eye to eye. Do not bib the patient. Do not put on a mask or gloves or protective eyewear. Sit for 2-3 minutes and give the patient a synopsis of what you will provide for them today and how each of these services will benefit them. For example: “Sue, it’s really great to see you today, thank you so much for coming in. Before we get started, I want to let you know that Dr. Williams has asked me to take some cavity disclosing x-rays. These are an important step in today’s appointment because they allow the doctor and I to see your jawbone levels and to determine if there are any hidden areas of decay between the teeth. I am also going to review your health history and any risk factors you may have that influence your dental health. Ongoing research is revealing many ways that the mouth and body are connected and, of course, we want you to be as healthy as possible. I am going to provide you with a head and neck screening where I will evaluate all of your lymph nodes for any differences from side to side. This is really quite comfortable and I’ll walk you through all the steps. Since we know that blood pressure is the best indicator of overall health, I’ll take that for you today as well. Once I lean the chair back, I will provide an intraoral cancer screening for you. We do this for everyone since early detection means saving lives. I will also look at all of your teeth to be sure all of your existing dentistry is serving you well. And finally I’ll provide a periodontal assessment to be sure your gum tissues are in good health. Keeping your gums healthy is vital to your overall health because there is a strong relationship between what’s happening in your mouth and the rest of your body. And then of course I will clean your teeth and Dr. Williams will be coming in to do an exam. If you don’t have any questions for me, I’ll get started.”This, of course, is only one example and can vary from patient to patient depending on the focus of the appointment. You may also want to ask the patient a question or two like, “What have you heard about the connection between the mouth and the body?”At first blush this seems like it will take too much time when in reality, after some practice, it only takes 1-2 minutes and in fact can save you time later in the appointment. Can you see how it maps out exactly what you are going to do for the patient and how each step benefits them? The purpose of this introduction is to help the patient see what’s in it for them and how their time and money is being used to ensure their wellness. Essentially you are shifting the patient’s paradigm about what happens in a cleaning and why it’s important. This technique eliminates the patient’s misconception that this appointment is just a cleaning and you are the cleaning lady!
Kim Miller, RDH, BSDH, & co-founder of PerioFrogz.com is a clinician, author and speaker who is passionately helping clinicians adopt solid science based principles resulting in exceptional treatment outcomes.
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