A successful dental practice depends on patients accepting the recommended course of treatment. If a practice is unable to persuade their patients to adhere to the recommended treatment plans, they have no chance of surviving. However, it can be tricky to encourage a patient to adhere to their treatment plans. Even though regular dental care is essential, a significant number of people actively avoid dental treatment as these treatment plans can be pricey, and many find the treatments to be uncomfortable or frightening. Therefore, giving your patients all the information and specifics they require to understand what their plan entails helps them select which treatment plans they are willing to start right away and which ones will need to wait.
Why do people reject dental treatment plans?
One of the main reasons is the lack of insurance. As per statistics, almost 76 million Americans are without dental insurance – most of them above the age of 60. Which means they simply lack the resources to pay for dental treatment. Money can still be a concern for patients even if they have dental insurance, especially if they need a major treatment. In the end, the cost of treatment may result in treatment refusal. Fear of pain and of dental procedures are also contributing factors. Although dentistry has advanced significantly, patients still dread getting dental treatments, especially if they have had unpleasant past experiences.
By fostering a relaxed atmosphere and being open and honest with patients about their worries and concerns, your practice can significantly reduce the fears and anxiety of your patients. It is the responsibility of the practice to make sure that the patient is as comfortable as possible because patient acceptance is crucial to preventing the occurrence of serious issues in the future.
So, what are the ways to increase your acceptance rate for treatment plans?
Get to know your patients
Developing a treatment plan with the patient’s dental needs in mind makes it much simpler to convince them to follow through with it. Getting to know your patient is the only way to determine what these dental needs are. Rather than just discussing the patients dental health, ask about their lives, talk to them openly and compassionately about any dental problems they may have and how those problems have affected them. You could find it useful, understanding why they had not visited a dentist. Thus, being aware of their dental needs helps you tailor a treatment plan that meets those needs, thereby, increasing the likelihood of the plan being accepted. Oftentimes, being fully informed is all that it takes to get your patients to change their minds and agree to their treatments.
Educate your patients on the treatment plan
A patient is more likely to accept a proposed plan of treatment if they are better informed, as it increases their trust in you. Make sure that you take the necessary time to discuss each suggested treatment with your patient. Also, provide open and honest responses to all of their queries. Inform them of the value of maintaining their dental health and offer information on their condition, available treatments, and associated expenses. Your patient will understand that you care if you take the time to explain the details to them. Also, they are more likely to accept the recommended course of treatment if they feel more connected to your practice.
Emphasize the need for treatment
Be sure to carefully emphasize the advantages of good oral health and hygiene to your patients. Avoid starting the discussion with the cost of treatments because the moment you do, your patient will only hear about the money involved and not the need for the treatment. Additionally, it will give the impression that you only care about their dental health in order to sell them dentistry. / Additionally, it will give the impression that you only care to sell them your dentistry and not so much their dental health. You need to make them realize that you truly care about giving them the best dental care possible. You need to instill in them that good oral health contributes to better overall health. Make them aware of the fact that the treatment plan you suggested will only enhance their overall dental health.
Make sure to do proper follow-up
Before making a decision, patients typically need to think over the proposed treatment plan. Therefore, once they leave your office, it is crucial to get in touch with them again in a week’s time or so. This gives them ample time to consider it, conduct independent research, and arrive at a decision. Also, if they still have unanswered questions or are simply afraid of what needs to be done, following up with them can help reassure them.
Schedule the appointment
Your practice should try its best to schedule appointments on the same day the patients accept the treatment plan by giving them a solid presentation of their dental condition. When patients take time to consider when they want to schedule their treatments, they frequently start debating whether they really want the treatment in the first place. In such cases, it will be challenging to convince patients to return to your office for treatment. If the patient requests extra time to consider the suggested course of treatment, make sure that your practice staff does proper follow-up to find out when the patient would prefer to have it done and fix the date for the treatment.
Eliminate patients fear
It has already been established that a patient’s decision to proceed with the care they require is significantly influenced by their feelings of fear and worry. Working to eliminate a patient’s fear is one strategy to boost the likelihood of them proceeding with the required dental treatment. Also keep in mind that reassuring a worried patient that you will explain what is happening at each stage of the treatment and that you will stop if they experience any kind of pain may help them feel better about going ahead with the proposed treatment plan.
Analyze the figures and monitor any alterations in your dental case acceptance rates over time. If you notice any significant rise or falls in your figures, consider reviewing your approach to see what you are doing right or wrong. Exhibit your interest in each patient by getting to know them, educating them, sharing the advantages of good dental health with them, and following up which would, without doubt, boost your treatment plan acceptance rate, leading to a more successful practice.
