If you have decided that you do not want a "usual and customary" practice, you and your team have to be proactive at not only deciding what sets you apart from the usual and customary practice but also at living this difference on a daily basis. What you do speaks louder than words. What you do, not what you say, creates your reputation in your community, creates the "face" of your practice that others recognize. When your name and practice come up in a conversation your patients might have with friends, family or colleagues, what are they saying?

Without a doubt, the most powerful way to differentiate your practice is with an exceptional new patient experience. I have also observed through the years of meeting and getting to know thousands of dentists, that it is also the most difficult. I believe it is difficult because we are so ingrained in dental school, by what insurance companies "will pay for", and by what a lot of consultants are teaching to do it the usual and customary way. That is, seeing the hygienist first, performing an exam at the same appointment, developing a treatment plan and fees and "presenting" it at the first appointment. Overwhelming for the majority of patients! And it forces you into a "tooth-fixing" mode. What else can you focus on? You can't think comprehensively with a shot gun approach such as this.

And sure you can have the latest and best technology to assist you. You may use digital photography, computerized periodontal charting, powerful dental software that will chart and generate a treatment plan right on the spot. This may all certainly impress the patient, but what kind of impact does it make? Does it help them see that you have listened and understood their concerns? Does it help them understand their condition and the implications of their condition? Do they begin to see the connection between your findings in the exam and their concerns that brought them in to see you in the first place? Have you generated interest? Have they learned something? I am not saying you shouldn't use technology. Just don't forget that there is a huge human side to what we do.

To be effective, what must we accomplish with the exam? Technically, both we and the patient should learn about the status of their entire masticatory system so that we can come up with a diagnosis and lifetime master treatment plan to achieve and maintain health. And if we say we are comprehensive, that means TMJs, muscles, teeth, perio, occlusion and esthetics. Yes, on all patients that we want to be a long term part of our practice. Not just the one's that we think need treatment. The purpose of the exam is not to look for things to do. It is not a symptom based exam, it is a system based exam. We are not just looking for problems, we are assessing the status, painting a clear picture of their masticatory system. How else can we counsel our patient on a personalized approach to a lifetime of oral health? And yes we may fix some teeth but this is a means to an end rather than an end in itself. …And we need time for this comprehensive approach.

What about from a behavioral, human perspective? First of all, they will be more interested in what we have to say if we first prove to them that we are interested in what they have to say. Listen to their concerns. Understand their concerns. Ask probing questions to help you understand. They will be more than happy to tell you. They will be thrilled that you cared to ask and listen! Once you begin the clinical exam, remember that our patients don't learn by telling. They learn better by interacting, asking questions, getting involved, our encouraging their input. They really become interested when your skillful exam and interaction begins to make connections with their concerns. Now they are beginning to see a story being built around their concerns. They are beginning to see it is about them and not you and what wonderful dental "things" you have to "sell" them.

Do you schedule the time to do this? Do you schedule the time to totally focus on the patient? If you don't, you are missing an opportunity to differentiate your practice by light-years! If you have generated this kind of interest during this exam, I can assure you that you will have a much more interested patient when you have them back at the appropriate time to help them understand how optimal dentistry can benefit them.