Dental Front Office Success Means Dental Practice Success
Dental front office success also means better patient care. This all sounds very simple, doesn’t it? It does! But keep in mind, that dental office training is the key component here. If we truly want to see the dental practice succeed, dental front office training is a must. And it goes without saying, the best patient care is only possible when the dental front office is taught how to provide that.
The dental front office team is the most critical piece of the dental practice. Why? Because every single patient must pass through the dental front office system to receive their care. That’s all it is! But every phone call, most of the appointments, and many patient interactions happen through the dental front office. So, let’s be sure we are fully trained to do all that’s asked of us.
Formal training and education can be expensive. And might also interfere with daily patient care and the dental practice schedule. Nobody wants that! But you can certainly train right here with me and work while you work!
Dental Front Office Success Starts With Exceptional Customer Service
The importance of friendliness cannot be over stated. From the way we greet our patients, straight through to our farewell, the attitude and warmth of the front office team is vital! It’s critical for patient retention and just the overall atmosphere of the dental practice. And how the front office handles themselves under pressure will affect the patients and the practice. This is BIG job! In fact, it’s HUGE!!
Be proactive! No matter what we think we know, there is always more to learn. And we can easily begin to function on auto pilot without much consideration for our general attitude. The dental front office is often the heart of the dental office. And the front office becomes the face of the dental practice. What do your patients see when they see you? What do they hear when you speak?
Improve Success With Great Phone Training
Proper phone etiquette and training is even more critical today. Because the way we use our phones has changed, training is absolutely necessary. We just can’t assume that we know or that anyone knows how to do this anymore! Gone are the days when phone etiquette was taught at home. In fact, many homes don’t even have landlines these days. And each family member has their own cell phones to use as they wish.
Phone training was once part of our family teachings. Much like we learned how to eat at the table with our knives and forks. And that dumping our food out onto the floor just wasn’t socially acceptable. We were taught how to properly answer the phone and what to say when we did. And we learned how to ask who was calling and what to do from there. Society has changed. And we must accommodate with better phone training for ourselves and our team.
When we outshine and rise above with our customer service and phone skills, we truly achieve success! Do this for yourself personally, or for your dental practice as a whole. Work on your customer service skills to advance your career and your path. Or invite your employer to join in too! If you are an employer who wants to better the team, even better!
Dental Front Office Success Shows In Production Numbers
Our ability to reach dental office production goals is a measure of success. When we have the skills and the expertise it definitely shows! And because we work with people in dentistry, we must know how to work with people well! Of course there are a few other tricks of the trade that we must learn. But it all starts with people skills.
The dental front office team must have some understanding of the schedule. And how to make the schedule work! It’s not just plugging anyone into any old time. No. We’ve got to know what can be scheduled where and why. An understanding of dental procedures is helpful. But even more helpful is a template and a block schedule. Then the schedulers just need to learn how to schedule using the template. And the template takes a lot of the work out of the process.
Let’s not forget knowing how to fill open appointments! Or knowing the importance of handling dental emergency and new patient calls. How do we know who to bring in today and who can wait until tomorrow? This definitely takes a little thought and judgement. But it’s all available for you here!
Keep Your Hygiene Schedule Fueling The Practice!
Yes, your hygiene schedule does keep the entire practice moving. This is your energy and your fuel each day! The successful dental front office team member knows just how to keep the schedule humming along! And we do this with solid hygiene reactivation and powerful short notice call lists. Along with knowing just how to manage those patients who struggle to keep a scheduled appointment.
Sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? Well, it absolutely is! Which is why I tell you, get the best training you can get! Take it all in! Learn everything you possibly can to get this job done well. Because once you do, the rewards are wonderful! Your patients are happy! The dental team is productive and busy! And you just have a better dental office day.
Hygiene schedule templates also support the dental front office team’s success! Know where in your day you want to see perio patients and where you want patients who need no exams. Are there specific times when considering your restorative schedule that you would prefer to see children? Map out your day before hand and you absolutely will have a more successful day! It’s all up to you.
Dental Front Office Success Equals 100% Collections!
Do you believe it’s possible? It is! I know because I have done it throughout my career repeatedly! And if I can do it, you can too! But first you must actually believe it’s possible. We only achieve those things we truly believe we can achieve. If we think it’s never going to happen, guess what?! It’s never going to happen! Mission accomplished!!
When should you call a collection agency?
However, that’s just not my style! Success is more my speed. So let’s get you up to speed here too! My Weekly Management Systems are going to make all the difference in the world to you here. Never miss an outstanding claim or an overdue patient balance again! You can’t when you use My Weekly Management Systems. And I’ve got so many ways for you to access that here! Because repetition is how we learn.
Combine my Weekly Management Systems with exceptional daily collections on treatment performed, and you’ve got it! Keeping patients well informed is huge! And to support that, the dental office needs accurate insurance benefits. A crucial piece of treatment presentation and financial agreements are based on accurate insurance benefits.
My pre-payment plans are also key! Pre-payment options allow patients to finance care with no interest and one chasing them! Be sure to make this part of your dental office financial agreements to open the door for more scheduled treatment and increased collections too. See how to implement these ideas with this easy to follow collections course!
