Just a Cleaning and Check Up

The #1 reason patients don't show up for hygiene is because we have trained them that "it's just a check-up and cleaning." The industry has trained them to not value this appointment for many years. It is now time to re-train ourselves and change the perception of value of the patients to hold their hygiene services in higher regard so they will honour pre-scheduled appointments.

You know you've been successful and will see a significant reduction in your downtime when your patients know the following.

1. Your hygiene services are a continuous process of unique, preventive care and disease treatment.
2. They are clear that the hygiene visit will prevent gum disease.
3. They take ownership for their own personal status of healthy, active disease, or maintenance.
4. They understand the link between oral health and overall health.
5. They appreciate and expect their annual oral cancer screening and periodontal assessment results as measurement tools.

Some of the strategies to achieve the above outcomes are through:

1. Verbal skills of ALL team members speaking the same language.
2. Involve the patient in all aspects of their appointment.
3. Regular documented oral exam data that can be prompted to the doctor in an organized format.
4. Utilization of technology and the intraoral camera combined with an effective recall system.
5. Most importantly effective listening skills to discover the patients perceived problem, goals and expectations are.

Patients are much more likely to accept and commit to a treatment plan that they helped design and understand.