The "It Factor" in Dentistry

I work with a lot of dentists from all over. Many of them are very good at what they do and they have good practices, but I have noticed a distinct difference between a dentist who is good, and a dentist who is great, and even the great ones are not always the most clinically gifted. That's right, being a great dentist is not all about performing the perfect crown or reconstruction. I could show you before and after pictures from all over the United States including some of them most talented clinicians and some of the most average clinicians, and the average person say, "I don't see the difference." The reason is not because there is no difference. The reason is because patients do not judge you by your clinical skills only.

When a patient shows up on your doorstep, most of them reasonably assume that you can do dentistry. What they are looking for is someone they can trust, and building trust is an art. Average dentists treat it as an extension of what they do. Good dentists know they must do it, but great dentists won't do dentistry without it.

Great dentists are students of their patients. That is the "It Factor." Now I am not talking about becoming an extrovert instead of introverted, and I'm not talking about building in 20 minutes of fluff time into your appointment to listen to a patient's life story. Being a student of the patient requires keen attention to what is most important to your patient. How many of the following disciplines are you following in your practice?

Call every patient by name. Every New Patient and especially returning patients need to be called by name, by everyone. So many systems allow you to integrate patient photos to make this easier. In my best practices, the hygienist or the assistant will write the patients name on the paper underneath the instruments so that the doctor can call them by name. Great doctors are determined to get this right every time with no exception.

Celebrate special events in a patient's life. Great teams take great notes on the happenings in a patient's life. They know if there is a graduation coming up, or the birth of a new baby or grandchild. They know if there is a birthday or a special trip coming. They know and they ask about it. They know and they celebrate it in the office. They take a moment and they make a moment to remember. Case in point, you may have heard that one of your patient's was receiving a special award for their contribution to local charity. Great offices have a card ready for them and say, "Hey Julie, we just wanted to add our congratulations to your achievement." Then they give them the card or even flowers. Could you imagine putting this on your social media instead of the same humdrum dental education that goes on their instead?

Give to those in need. They make a habit of hosting initiatives to give dentistry to those who cannot otherwise afford it. The best dentists I know do it in their office. They don't go to some place to join in, they make it happen themselves. They also find passion projects to contribute to and they invite their patients to join them. One such team I know had a passion for providing service dogs for those coming out of the military. This was not only important to them, but people found ways to give to men and women coming out of the service through their office.

Come alongside patients who suffer. They see patients who may be experiencing a tough time or a loss and they show that they care by sending a card or flowers. If appropriate they show up to visit or make a phone call to check in on them. Showing that you are human and that you care about them even when they are not in the office is one of the kindest things you can do to serve your patients.

Do the right thing. Finally great dentists do the right thing. They always look at what people experience in their office through the eyes of the patient. They admit when they did something wrong and they take responsibility for the actions of their team. Their highest pursuit is to treat people well and leave them with good feelings about their practice. No exceptions.

How did you do? How many of these relationship-building activities do you do with consistency? Really be honest. Most dentists won't do half of these with consistency. It won't make them bad dentists, but if you're in pursuit of the "It Factor" in dentistry, you will want to learn to do them all.