New patients are like a box of chocolates?


Forrest Gump's mother  told him, “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.” The same is probably true of new patients. They come in all different shapes, sizes and flavors and until we meet them and hear them out, we don't really know what to expect.

 If you query most dentists,  they almost always say is they want and need more new patients, but truth be told, when I have a number of new patients in my schedule in a day I get a little apprehensive, since I don't "know' them and they don't "know me! 

 To help me understand where they are coming from, I  try to get them talking. I ask  questions to see how they respond. "What can I do for you?" I may ask. Their answer may be simple or it can go on for a long time, but either way I learn something about them. I also sometimes ask "When was there last dental appointment?" and "What did they have done?" "I often also ask how they heard about me?" and  "Is something bothering you?

Often new patients need to be treated differently than existing patients. Often they require more time for explanations and may need a second or even a third visit, so that they can fully understand the findings of a comprehensive dental exam.Since seeing is believing, taking intraoral magnified photos using my DexCam 4 is a great tool for education. Sometimes I just give them a magnified make up mirror to view their mouths,  while I perform a "tour of their mouth" as well.

As their tour guide, it is my duty to point out any present and future problems and monitor their reactions. Some are certain that they want problems taken care of and some seem unsure or actually resistant to fixing problems. Either way the information they convey is very helpful in formulating their treatment plan. Putting out any dental fires is the first priority. Carious lesions should be addressed either with interim or permanent restorations, in order to keep problems from getting worse. Infections and gum disease must be pointed out and treatment strongly encouraged. Only after these are discussed is it really appropriate to discuss desired elective treatments such as esthetic dentistry or Invisilign treatment. 

Explanations  should include what might happen if treatment is delayed. Usually the end result of delaying some treatments can the possibility of root canals, bone loss or even loss of teeth. It is usually my intention to provide a full explanations of a patients tooth problems in the hope that they will "own their problems" . They need to understand that  It is not just that I as their dentist want to perform "procedures on their teeth" but instead my motivation is to help preserve their teeth for the long haul and help prevent future even worse problems.  If they can not have treatment immediately at least they will better understand why I am advocating treatments and when they are able they may be more likely to proceed (either in the present or future).

Often treatments can be staged over a period of time. My new patient can start with one phase of treatment and have something taking care of. I don't insist that they commit to the entire proposed treatment plan before starting their treatment.  If they are not sure they want to proceed with all of the aspects of their proposed plan, I explain that we have to start somewhere and pick a tooth problem that we both agree needs to be done to start with. Usually after successfully treating one tooth, most patients develop a greater confidence in my dental skills and gain a more thorough understanding of where I am coming from.  After all, putting your trust in a new doctor or dentist can be difficult and we as dentists need to understand this. Meeting someone new, especially one who is taking care of an intimate personal area such as the mouth, can be potentially scary and intimidating. Sometimes it takes time for trust to develop between a patient and their dentist, but when things are handled well it can be the start of a beautiful and lasting relationship!

from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2019/04/new-patients-are-like-box-of-chocolates.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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