#106: Setting Expectations (The Most Underrated Skill in Dentistry)

In this episode, Mark Thackeray discusses the critical importance of setting expectations in dentistry. He emphasizes that unmet expectations lead to frustration for both patients and practices. By clearly communicating what patients can expect before, during, and after their visits, dental practices can enhance patient comfort, increase treatment acceptance, and foster trust.

Takeaways

• Setting expectations is crucial for patient satisfaction.
• Unmet expectations lead to frustration and negative experiences.
• Clear communication can reduce patient anxiety and increase compliance.
• Patients often fear the unknown aspects of dental treatment.
• Providing a roadmap for visits helps patients feel in control.
• Over-communicating during treatment can alleviate discomfort.

Chapters
00:00 Setting Expectations in Dentistry
02:56 The Importance of Clear Communication
06:09 Building Trust with Patients
08:38 Enhancing the First Visit Experience
11:49 Effective Treatment Planning
14:35 Managing Urgent Care Expectations
17:33 The Role of Referrals in Practice Growth
20:42 Creating a Consistent Patient Experience

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Transcript

0:01

Welcome back, this is episode number 106. setting expectations, the most underrated skill in dentistry. I'm your host, Mark Thackeray, and I'm excited to talk about this because it is the source of frustration for a lot of patients and frankly, a lot of practices. And what do I mean by that? Well, frustration comes as a result of unmet expectations. It comes from being surprised. Comes from not knowing what's coming around and you're blindsided by it. And that makes you frustrated. And It's funny this just happened not too long ago. had, we're about, our roof is old enough where we're looking into quotes and getting it repaired. We've had several people come out and one came out who said, won't take very long. did the measurements, did everything he needed to do outside, inside, and then came down. He's like, hey, can I meet with you? And lo and behold, he had a massive presentation. It took easily 40 minutes and had both of us, me and my wife, at the table. It was terrible. I was right in the middle of working and didn't want to be rude, but also at the same time, what the heck? know, I mean, who is this guy? know, and didn't set any sort of expectation that this is how long it would take and can you carve out that time for me? And as a result, I was totally frustrated, totally completely turned off by the guy and the company. And he's probably just learning. I don't know, but it was a terrible experience. And that's something that happens all the time, not just in with roofers, you know, or salesmen, but in practices as well. And surprises. when you're surprised it leads to anxiety, it leads to hesitation, complaints, negative reviews, it leads to fewer referrals. I mean, we could go on and on and on, but uh it's important to set the table of expectations so that they know what to expect, right? So for patients, it's a total mystery, and that's why this is so critical, is they don't have the experience that you have. They're not the expert in oral hygiene. expert in tooth repair and all these things you know and as a result they need to be informed and when they when they're not then bad things happen right people get frustrated and it's not just about education It's not just about communication, but it's really about trust building and showing that you're there for them, that you're concerned for them, that you are the advocate for the patient. I talk a lot about that on this podcast. Be their biggest advocate. Fall in love with your patients. Don't fall in love with your treatment, your clinical experience, your office. Fall in love with your patients and when you do, you're gonna go out of your way to do what's right for them, to do what's best for them. eh So let's talk about this a little bit. Why patients need clear expectations. As I mentioned before, are, we do not like to be surprised and we tend to have this fear of what we don't understand. So in this case, like I mentioned, it's a mystery. Dentistry is in general kind of a mystery to most patients. And as a result, that's where a lot of this fear stems from. They don't know, is it gonna be painful? They don't know, is it gonna take a long time? Is it gonna be exceptionally expensive? Is it gonna smell bad? Am I gonna feel weird? All those fears play on them because they don't know. And you see that day in and day out of the office. And that uncertainty increases pain perception. And so they might not be experiencing, but that perception is there. And as a result, it prohibits or impedes action. That's why some of these people aren't accepting treatment or coming into the dentist even. So when we can reverse that, when we can add clarity to that, you're gonna see compliance increase. You're gonna see more people come into the office and be more comfortable in the chair. You're gonna see more people accept treatment plans because they fully understand what that timeline looks like, what the recovery looks like, and all their questions are answered. And that results in confidence. And when patients are confident in your abilities and the experience that you deliver, it results in more referrals. which is what we all want, right? So as you're thinking this through, I want you to ask these questions. And this is a great exercise to do with your team. What answers can we give patients about this treatment or about coming into the office for the first time? They want to know things like what's going to happen? How long is it going to take? Will this hurt? What will it feel like inside my mouth? What does it cost? What do I do if something feels off? Those are questions that you can answer to make your patients feel more confident and more relaxed. And again, to demonstrate that you are the patient advocate, that you're there for them, that you truly have their best interest at heart. So that's a great exercise to do as a team. So let's talk about some specific instances that you can improve your expectation. setting for lack of a better term, where you can do better at setting those expectations beforehand. Okay, so the first one is before they even come into the office, what messaging should go out before their first visit? And this could be on the phone, could be via email, which is my preference or to do both really is my preference, but email is great because it's something they can fall back on and review if they need to. And that should include different things from the basics. know, if there's challenging parking situation, you want to address that, or if it's an address that is a little bit hard to find on Google Maps or Apple Maps or via navigation or just in general, point that out. Make it easy for them. You want to explain what's going to happen during that first visit. How long is it going to take? What should they bring? What do we need from them in terms of, you know, insurance? medical history, forums. I like to talk about the first, the goal of the first visit. What is it? Don't make that a mystery. You know, just again, express or communicate why you're doing this, why it's important to come in and really. it's important to also congratulate them, to recognize them for coming in. Because a lot of people don't want to, and they don't. And so when you can recognize that they're doing something, especially if they're not comfortable, applaud their efforts. Say, I know that this is hard. I know this is hard for you, and I'm so proud that you came in. That already is a huge step forward, and we're gonna make this a good visit. And here's how we're gonna do that. expectations. You lay it all out so that it's not a mystery. So it's clear, it's a clear roadmap in front of them. And you can do that, like I mentioned, very easily. It could be on the phone, it could be in the in email, could be in a video. That's a great way to do it where you don't have to repeat yourself again and again and again. But they still get the one-on-one interaction that comes with a video. If there are checklists or things that they need to cross off or to bring to the office, consider sending them a simple checklist and say, hey, these are a few things that will make your process, make your experience even easier and quicker. Just fill these out, make sure you bring them. So that all these things add to that clarity and helps. the patient feel like they're in control, helps them avoid those, can't believe this is taking so long, or I can't believe this is as painful as it is, those type of experiences. You definitely want to avoid those. Another instance is their, so we talked about before they ever arrive, their first visit, to kind of build on that. So you wanna go through, I mentioned some of them, what's gonna happen during the first visit? What is the goal of that very first visit? But you can also go a little bit deeper in that and say, and this is great to do in office when the patient comes in. Here's a basic line that gets used a lot. Here's what we'll do today. Here's why, and here's what happens after. Just that little statement sets the table and helps them pay attention and just know what's going to happen. Okay. So to go over, know, what will happen during that visit, how long each part is roughly going to take, what they're going to learn today, when they'll meet the doctor. And that's a good thing to kind of roadmap out and say, I'm going to meet with you first. Here's what I'm going to do. And then we'll have uh Dr. Zachary come in and he's going to, I love the sound of that by the way. Just kidding. He's going to come in and do a deep dive analysis, take some scans and really review everything that's going on inside your mouth. Again, just kind of storyboard that out for them so they know that, okay, okay, I'm right here in this path. And then this is gonna come and then this has come and then we'll be done. Those are great things to address just in person. Here's what we'll do today. Here's that line again. Here's what we'll do today. Here's why, and here's what happens after. If there are decisions that they're going to need to make, it's a great idea to plant that seed beforehand. Something like at the end, you'll know what you're going to decide. You're going to have two options in terms of what you'd like to do moving forward. And we'll explain what those are. We'll explain the benefits of both so you can make a good decision. and just encourage it because we want them to make a decision. It's imperative, not imperative, but it's very helpful for them to make a decision because it adds clarity for them and for you. All right, the next instance, really the next situation to set expectations is to during diagnostic and treatment planning. This is another big one. And one of the main reasons why patients do not accept the treatment plan. They don't fully understand the overall sequence of care. and most practices I would say do a pretty good job of this. You know, we've gotten better over the years of outlining or detailing. Here's why we're doing this. Here's how long it's going to take, how many visits roughly it's going to take. Here's how much time you'll spend during each visit. Here are the outcomes of each of those appointments and here's what you can expect in terms of pain and recovery and things like that. So I'd say this is the one area that Most practices get a better grade than the other areas. But it's again, I can't stress it enough how important this is to patients because patients are fine when they have what they expect them to have, right? Patients are fine with what they expect. They struggle with what surprises them. All right, next situation or instance is just general, know, specific treatment. You know, I mean, we will talk about treatment planning, but now when you're inside the treatment, so you see this pattern, you see this pattern. uh Show up in again and again and again So when they first call before they ever come in then when they come in you're setting those expectations again Don't expect them to have that memorized what you sent before they came you can't expect that to happen So you're reviewing that again. You're over communicating essentially You're just making absolutely sure that they know what the next step is. They know what's coming So there are no surprises is is not a mystery. So before they come in during the first visit during uh the treatment planning, the diagnostics, and then the actual during the treatment. Okay, so again, I'd say most practices do pretty well during this time. So I'm not gonna go dive, a deep dive in there, but you obviously wanna cover the what's going to happen. uh steps, duration, pain, tolerance, what we're gonna do to mitigate that, uh communication during that. And I love, we mentioned this beforehand, I love planting the seed that here's what you do if you're ever feeling comfortable. Just raise your hand or tap me on the arm, tap one of us on the arm and let us know, can I have a break? Can I have a minute? Or this is feeling a little sensitive. let them know what they can do to stay in control. There are so many patients, especially kids, that don't fully understand that they can stop the treatment at any given moment to make it more comfortable, to reduce the pain, but they don't know how. They are subservient to authority, essentially. They are They don't feel like it's their place that they could do that. They just think this is the way it is. I need to suck it up. It's not comfortable, but they can. They have that ability to change that and to alter or improve that experience. So planning that seed is very, very helpful as well. One thing that I will include in this that I don't see a whole lot of practices doing. is or doing very well, I should rephrase that, is outlining the or spending enough time on here's what's likely going to happen if you do not move forward with this treatment. And some will mention that, but they don't really go into too much detail on what that looks like. the way I, the way, excuse me. The way I uh consult all of my clients to do is share a story. Find a story of a patient who did not follow through with the treatment plan and then came back months, years later with total regret that they didn't act on it and just share that and just say, this is, it's not guaranteed to happen. but this is why I tell you is be so you'll know. In order to make the best decision, you have to fully understand what's likely going to happen if you take this treatment, what's likely going to happen if you do not. And that's the way I spell it out and people are responding really, really well to that because again, you're just being honest and open. Don't think you have to pressure them at that point. think you just... you just lay it all out there for them. And then most people are like, well, yeah, I don't really want to come back here in a heap of pain and have a bill that's twice or three times as much as it is as it could be right now. So I'd leave it up to them, right? But again, outline that expectation. of what is likely going to happen if they do not move forward with treatment as well. And then the last one I would say, well, there's two more, two more I wanna share, two more situations. One is more urgent care, emergency care, discomfort, things like that. This is a great thing to do. Again, it's, and when you're taking all this in, you can think, man, this is just a lot of information to share if we're doing this before they come in, right when they come in, during the chair, in the treatment chair, and then after. But you'll start to see where these fall into place and it becomes habitual and it's not it from a patient, it's not, you're not getting fire hosed as much as it may seem right now because a lot of the stuff they recognize, you know, and this one's similar with the urgent care. Most people understand this, but it's great to articulate and really spell it out for them so that it sticks a little bit longer. But if you... Again, just something simple as if you ever experienced something abnormal, you've sensitivity, broken tooth, chipped tooth, you know, things like that, things out of the ordinary, call us. The best thing you can do is just call us. You know, if you are ever unsure, pick up that phone, dial our number. We'd rather talk to you at a level two than see you at a level 10. And more often than not, we can walk you through what you need to do so that again, there's no mystery so you can feel confident moving forward. So that's great if there's explain their after hours options. know, weekends, again, if it's late at night, what do they do? And just so again, so they, so they understand that. And you can also add in their insurance. When does insurance come into play on these type of cases, you know, in this situation? So those are great things to outline. You could even, that could be a great referral card to pass out as well. This is something. that we've done a similar variant to this, but just gone out to at a community outreach level, reaching out to different urgent cares because they don't treat medical. send you to a dentist anyway. So just say, hey, we'd love to just share these. If anyone needs one, they can pick this up and, you know, outline some common things, but then also gives them a way to contact us any really any time of the day, you know, or just make it obviously appropriate for your practice if you're not going to be up all hours of the night but just something that they can latch on to that makes it easier for them. So that could be something you could print out for your patients and that could be included in the welcome bag. Just say make sure you punch in our phone number, save our phone number so that you can call when you need us. We are here and we want to talk to you, we want to walk you through it. It's a great great great other situation. The last one is more of uh marketing. So and I really categorize all this as marketing because it's the experience you deliver which translates into patient trust and that translates into advocacy from a patient point of view about the practice. But this one is specifically regarding referrals. and planning that seed and kind of setting that expectation that they are a part of our referral strategy. You that they are part of growing the practice. And I've mentioned this on the podcast before, but I think you can do an easy job of this by articulating that, hey, we could. in order to get new patients, we could spend tens of thousands of dollars on TV commercials, radio announcements, billboards, trying to get more patients in. But instead, we've chosen to invest that money into delivering a better patient experience through improved technology, the latest technology, the better training, and... But as a result of that, we ask our patients to help spread the message about our practice. So when you have had that amazing experience with our practice, we ask that you share that with your family and friends. something simple as that. It's not you're not asking them if they will do that, but you're just setting that expectation. And there have been practices that have made it a condition of that doing business really is giving them referrals. And if you are really intentional about what you do and the experience that you deliver, it's not people. I've done this with my agency and people respond really, really well to that. And it's just how you articulate it and helping them understand this is why I do what I do. This is how I can do that. But I need your help. And only when you have had that amazing, incredible experience, then they will do that. And so they have they have to receive that experience first. and that makes them feel good and really more than when they do they are happy to. Honestly I've had several come back and say oh absolutely you guys nailed it you hit it out of the park and I was so surprised at how well things turned out. Happy to share this with other people. So that's the final situational share uh today in this episode. There's lots of other ones, I would just, these are great ones to start with. And I want to again, encourage you to take some time with the team and outline these kind of main areas, right? Before they come into the office for the first time, when they get there for their first visit and really every visit, it's a good practice to get in the habit of just outlining what's going to happen today. to expect and then during diagnostics and then treatment and diagnostics and planning and then during treatment and then finally the emergency or urgent care and then with setting the expectation of referrals. So, and it's interesting because I look outside of dentistry and those businesses that do the really excel the most that are at the top of their class are the ones that set expectations and deliver on those expectations and often over deliver on those expectations. and I'll give you an example. A common example is McDonald's and I won't say they over deliver. They're not ones that is usually over delivers, but we all would probably agree that they do not have the world's best hamburger. They do not have the world's best salad or the fries made debatable. You know, some would definitely be in that camp. But what they do exceptionally well is deliver same experience every time. They deliver on the expectation. And they have even gone as far as installing or inscribing really uh a line on their cups. That's where they fill their ice to. Like it's the same amount just so that they can have that consistency. every single time. So it's very, very powerful. So take some time. This is a great exercise to do with your team and you can spread this out over a couple of weeks if you're meeting weekly. Dedicate one month to coming up with how are we going to clearly communicate the expectations for these different situations so that our patients can feel more comfortable and more confident. Help your team understand that it is going to help the patient experience. It's going to help improve how they feel about your practice. It's going to reduce the amount of complaints that they get, the refunds, the confusion on treatment, the second opinions and cancellations. And you're going to start to see an improvement on referrals, on compliance, patient loyalty, online reviews. I mean, the list goes on and on and on. So that's a great thing to do whenever possible to Think about how can I replicate this? How can I do this once, once you've decided on what your expectation is at that given situation? How can I? share this, how can I produce this once and then share it multiple times? So you don't have to necessarily do it every single time. Yes, there's going to be moments in the office where you're going to have to do that every time. When it's verbal, when you're in person, when you're walking them to the chair, when they've just sat down and you're explaining what's going to happen today, just that's going to have to come be part of your process. But other things like pre-appointment videos or treatment roadmaps, recovery, things like that. You can create those once, create a video or create an email template or a printable card or something like that and then just use that again and again and again. that's what's been on my mind recently is how can we deliver a better consistent. uh mystery free experience for our practices, for our patients in particular. And so I encourage you to do that this year. Make this part of your new process, elevate your practice, elevate that experience with your patients so that you can increase that trust and improve referrals, improve loyalty, compliance. The more they trust you, the more treatment they accept. That's the bottom line. That's the more, the more they trust you, the more they refer. The more they trust you, the more they talk positively about your practice. And that's power of this and it's really fun. It's kind of the magic behind the process of the business, you know, and it's really engineering this so that you can see these type of results and these reactions for patients where they feel more comfortable. And you'll see those transformations from a patient perspective where they were so nervous to come in and now since they know each step along the way, they feel so much more confident. a different person when it comes to coming into the practice. They no longer, you know, gripping the arms and white knuckling everything and sweat pouring down. They still might have some of that. That probably won't always go away, but they will feel better about coming in and be a lot less reluctant. So I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you have uh any questions, I always love to hear feedback and input if there's a topic on your mind that you are trying to crack. If there's a tough nut that you're trying to crack, let me know. You can let uh my assistant know, Maria, maria at markthackeray.com. And if you have liked the show and you want to leave a review, show your support. That would be tremendous. That would be so awesome. Just rate us, give us a review. That would be awesome. Wherever you're listening to us, whatever podcast, outlet, iTunes, Spotify, whatever it is, we would love to hear from you. And till next time, my friends, be good.