What can I do for you?

After I greet my patient, my next question often is : "What can I do for you?" This open ended question tends to help me understand what my patient is here for. Of course I know what it says in my chart, since I go over all my chart first thing in the morning, but I want to know why my patient thinks what he's here for. If I have seen the patient within the last month or so I may forgo this query, since my treatment plan makes it clear what procedure they are going to have done.  Sometimes, even though the chart and my schedule indicates one procedure, especially if they haven't been to see me for a good while, my patients response makes it clear he or she is actually is here for another reason. When this happens, before I proceed, I explore the new issue that my patient has brought up. I might take a new X-ray and also examine the area of the mouth indicated by my patient.

In this way I can assess what is actually bothering my patient (if anything) and decide what should be done for my patient during this appointment. My patient feels good that he or she had any oral concerns addressed and most often this allows me to proceed uneventfully with what ever treatment we agree on for that visit.

When I was a newly minted dentist, working for other dentist's practices, this wasn't always an option, since if I was scheduled with a procedure, my employer wasn't likely to be pleased if it wasn't performed. In my own practice, I make the rules and for me having my patient leave satisfied is a prime directive.

from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2018/07/what-can-i-do-for-you.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/