Unproductive Dental Restorative Schedule Fix
The first step in turning around an unproductive dental restorative schedule is to accept responsibility and to take action. That doesn’t mean that you beat yourself up over the unproductive schedule. It simply means that you consciously acknowledge that it is within your power to make a change.
We Can Fix This
It is all too easy when the restorative or production schedule slows to begin to look for reasons outside of the office. “It gets slow this time of year”. “School is on vacation this week.” “The weather forecast is bad for tomorrow.” I may have said so myself. And I’ve heard them all too.
Our Dental Business is Expanding or . . . Not?
One of the things I have seen people do when their restorative schedule “lightens up” on any given day, is move patients up to an earlier time in their schedule and leave the office early.
Leaving the office early is a big mistake!
Keep the dentist in the office even when the restorative schedule is quiet or lose all hope of improving an unproductive restorative schedule.
Unproductive Dental Restorative Schedule
Might Point to Phone Management & Training Needs
Ask yourself some questions about the office phone.
Is there a trained team member answering the phones consistently during regular business hours?
How is the phone activity?
What kind of calls are coming in?
Are reschedules being handled well?
When are new patients scheduled?
Team Training and Systems Documentation
Flexibility and getting your emergency patients in immediately will improve the dental restorative schedule.
Make sure when your existing patients call that you are getting them in that day or worst case scenario, the next day! Even if you can only get them in to smooth a tooth, do a sedative filling, or prescribe an antibiotic, your patient wants and deserves immediate attention.
Unproductive Dental Restorative Schedule is Multi-Dimensional
Make sure you are not only getting patients in right away but communicating how important they are to you and that you will take care of them now!
You might be thinking that it is strange for me to say this. However, I have heard some strange things happen when patients call asking for emergency dental care.
True Stories Here:
I have heard the person answering the phone tell the patient that if they are not having pain, then it is not a true emergency.
A dental administrative professional once told a patient in distress to go to the emergency room because the doctor’s schedule is just too busy.
Then, there’s the time another dentist’s name and phone number were given to an existing patient who called their own dentist looking for help.
Yes, these are all true stories. That represent simply a lack of training and operational documentation. Our teams don’t know what they don’t know. And it’s up to us to lead the way.
