The Importance of in Office Patient Engagement

I am always amazed at the lack of patient engagement in dental waiting rooms. It is perhaps one of the few businesses that I go into as a consumer of services where I am not being shown the latest and greatest products and services. Too often the only form of engagement is a television showing a program that is completely unrelated to what the dentist can offer me in terms of enhanced services or treatments. In a recent issue of Aesthetic Dentistry Magazine there was an article that talked about this very subject and why it is important to engage your patients while they wait. We encourage dentists to actively create engagement opportunities in their waiting rooms. Doing so is an effective way of seeding those conversations that allow patients to get an understanding of the amazing things that modern dentistry can offer. Unless they are working in the dental industry chances are your patients have no idea about full mouth reconstruction and the benefits of sleep dentistry or dental implants. Most dentists are not natural self-promoters and as such are not comfortable starting a conversation with their patients about smile makeovers and other advanced dental treatments. With the proper engagement in your waiting room you will have patients asking you about ways you can improve their appearance and oral health. If this is done properly the patient comes to see the dentist as more than just a biannual insurance subsidized interaction and the dentist gets to do more of the kinds of dentistry that changes lives. At Arrowhead we are working on some exciting engagement materials that we are hoping to make available to dentists very soon. Stay tuned to future postings for more details.