Dental Practice Management: Improving Your Communication Skills

Dental practice is constantly growing and modernizing as new breakthroughs are made in this field. Additionally, more and more people are frequenting the dentist's office seeking advice and professional treatment. The dentistry course itself is also experiencing a boom in the number of students pursuing a degree in it.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, for every 100,000 Australians there are 74 oral health care specialists and this ratio is growing ever smaller. As you may have probably guessed by now, it is essential that you possess a unique set of dental practice management skills that set you apart from the fast-growing crowd of dental practitioners, to attract lasting client loyalty.

Why Improve Your Communication Skills?

The ability to adequately communicate is essential for every dental office. It is an absolute necessity for every dental team in all dealings with patients. In return, you will notice increased customer loyalty as your patients tell their friends about your excellent practice and recommend or refer them to your office.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2 in every 3 people over the age of 5 have had some form of oral health care procedure in the past year. By creating customer loyalty, you will ensure that a good chunk of such potential clients are drawn to your clinic. Additionally, healthy internal communication nourishes team unity in your office.

What Can You Do?

Some dentists are indifferent to their clients' special needs, minimizing the possibility of return visits. They assume that a simple, "How are you doing today?" is sufficient to calm the patient.

There are several steps you can take to reinvigorate your dental practice and ensure great patient satisfaction:

1. Revise Your Team's Communication Policy

Ensure your team members know each other at a personal level, not just professionally. Create an atmosphere that fosters communication within your office and you will increase the team's efficiency and quality of service being given to clients.

2. Stimulate The Skill Of "Active Listening" In Your Practice

Active listening includes paying attention to your patients' non-verbal cues which include gestures, body language and facial expressions. Encourage your patients and your dental team to share everything on their minds, to make your dental practice that much more effective and humane.

3. Institute A Viable Reward System

As the head of your dental team, show involvement and interest in your team members' lives through simple gestures like birthday cakes, anniversary presents and Christmas parties. In addition, you may come up with annual team-building events where you and your team get away from the hustle and bustle of the office.

When it comes to your relationship with clients, show that you and your team are constantly thinking of them. Send them birthday cards and invite some of them to your office Christmas parties.

Take note, before you think of introducing the steps enumerated above, carefully evaluate your dental practice and make sound judgment of what needs to be implemented and what doesn't. The field of dentistry is becoming ever more competitive and several dental offices have already implemented a few or all of the above steps and are reaping the rewards.


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For more insights into how you can improve your dental practice, contact Dr. Jesse Green. He will answer all your enquiries. Dr. Green is highly regarded for his contribution to the management of dental practice, visit http://drjessegreen.com/ .