Dental Office Telephone Scripts Empower The Team!
Dental office telephone scripts remove barriers and create confidence! And phone scripts also empower any dental office team member to help answer ringing phones with expertise. A solid phone script will help take the stress out of answering those tough questions our dental patients ask every day. So many of the questions our callers ask are similar. So once we get the script down, we are good to go!
Equip the Team!
When telephone scripts are used in dental offices, schedules remain consistent. And new patients are more easily scheduled. There are less surprises in your dental day. When everyone knows just how to handle a situation, less judgement is necessary. Consistency creates consistency. And this is just what we want!
Dental Office Telephone Scripts & Our "Hello"
Simple. Warm. To the point. Try not to get carried away with lengthy introductions. Your “Hello” is the second most influential and important conversation in the dental office.
Each and every “Hello” must be handled well. And by the way… “Please Hold” is not a proper greeting! I know it’s become perfectly acceptable by the dental office. Rise above the current here! You’ll be glad you did!
“Good morning! Dr. Jones’ dental office. This is April. How can I help you?”
Dental Office Telephone Scripts: PATIENT With A TOOTHACHE & AN OVERDUE ACCOUNT BALANCE
What do you say when your patient calls to schedule an appointment and they have an overdue account balance? It happens! And you definitely need to help your patient. But what do you say? This is another conversation that is going to require excellent judgement and skill. It should go something like this:
“Hello Bob. Give me just a moment to open your chart. I’m sorry to hear about your pain. How long have you had this toothache? Is this an upper tooth or lower tooth?”.
Allow Bob to describe his tooth pain and what is going on before saying anything about his account. Be concerned for him and his pain. Then once, he pauses, you can continue. And this is just one of the scripts I have available for you in my phone scripts e-book.
The Price Shopper
These calls can be the biggest challenge for everyone that answers the phone. I have heard all kinds of responses to how this should be handled. How do we convert this caller into a patient?
“How much do you guys charge for a crown?“
This call is a new patient call. And our dental teams need the tools to manage the call well. Phone scripts provide our team with the words and the wisdom they need. Because many of our phone calls are truly the same!
Dental Office Telephone Scripts: The New Patient
Some new patient calls are simpler than the “price shopper” call. These appointments are quite easy to schedule. A new patient may call and identify themselves as a new patient. Perhaps someone has referred them to you, and they call asking to be scheduled. Here’s what they might say.
“Hello. I’d like to schedule an appointment as a new patient.”
“We are so happy you have called! What is your name?”
Always ask the caller’s name before you ask if they have dental insurance. I have heard dental front office coordinators who ask right at the gate what dental insurance the caller has. I understand the reason behind this, as it does save time. However, ask the caller’s name before asking any other questions. Connect with your caller as soon as you can in the conversation.
“Great! Hi Tom! Let’s get you scheduled! Do you have dental insurance you would like us to consider when making your appointment?”
Dental Office Telephone Scripts for Rescheduling
Great judgement is needed in managing the reschedule calls that come through the dental front office. Life is busy for people, and unexpected things come along in our days.
Learn to manage this very well! This is indeed tricky. But I’ve got just what you need to really get this down! You’ll see great improvement in your schedule when you implement my strategy. And the stress of these calls will be gone!
