You know what it takes to manage a dental practice – but do you know the secret to managing a successful practice?
It’s not perfect logistics. Sure, your dental practice is a complex business that synchronizes multiple concepts and responsibilities.
It’s not the technical side, either. You may have the most modern equipment in the industry, and you may maintain your dental tools better than any other dentist in town. Perhaps you also use the latest technology to help you adhere to industry rules and regulations. You may even use some other snazzy software to keep track of your practice’s financial obligations, which are always changing and in flux.
We’re strong believers in good logistics and streamlining your processes. We also love that you’re using the latest and greatest technology.
But guess what? Logistics, streamlining, and the best technology in the industry certainly help your dental practice, but they’re not the secret to a successful practice.
So what is the secret to managing a successful dental practice?
You just might be surprised.
The Secret to Success in Dentistry
A dentist recently said to me, “I can handle the clinical side of dentistry. That’s the easy part. But when it comes to making my practice successful, I feel lost. Where do I begin?”
My answer was simple. I replied, “You begin with the people.”
And that’s the truth: people – and more importantly, how those people are treated – are at the core of every successful dental practice
Take a moment and consider the sheer volume of people you interact with each day in your practice. You have a staff. You have colleagues. You have associates in the industry. You have vendors and sales representatives. And, of course, you have patients.
Each person that you interact with in your dental practice—be it a patient, a team member, a vendor, etc.—is looking to you for guidance and care.
And the quality of your interactions with each individual that you encounter is where the true secret of the successful dental practice is found.
Here’s where it gets good.
As a business leader and dental provider, you will be more successful if you regularly practice empathy. (Don’t click away! I’m going somewhere with this).
Empathy may be a bit of a buzz-word lately, but when it comes to the success of your dental practice, there’s nothing superficial about it.
From Patients to Team Members: Success in Dentistry Starts Here
Successful dental practices are built on the foundation of quality interpersonal relationships – and here’s where empathy goes beyond a buzz-word and gets downright real.
All human beings want to be heard and understood. People need to feel like they matter.
As employees and colleagues, we want our hard work to be recognized.
As a vendor, we want recognition, and to be treated like a valuable partner in the business.
And as patients, we want more than just our dental needs met: we want our fears and anxieties understood and addressed with kindness.
Everyone you interact with—your team and colleagues, your vendors, your patients—is seeking and ultimately needs your empathy.
And you thought you were just a dentist! Not quite.
Life would be so simple for dentists if they only needed to focus on teeth! But to be truly successful in this industry, you need to act from a place of empathy towards your patients, your colleagues and staff, and any external business partners.
Start Focusing on the People: 4 Simple Steps to Help Dentists Build a More Successful Practice
Worried that empathy doesn’t come naturally to you? Or, do you feel good about your professional relationships?
Whether you need a ground-up guide to empathy, or you just want to check that you’re on the right track, here are a few simple steps you can follow.
I promise: adopting these techniques will lay the foundation for a successful dental practice.
First, let’s go beyond the buzz by defining empathy and exploring its importance to your practice.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another – and this simple act of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes has a profound effect.
Employees who feel like their bosses appreciate and understand them will work harder and more efficiently.
Patients who feel like their dentists are genuinely concerned about their dental fears, their financial woes, or their busy schedules are more likely to trust their dentists, and adhere to their dental care programs.
Here are some ways to practice empathy in your day-to-day routines.
1. Pay attention to those around you
It’s easy to fall into the humdrum routine of polite back-and-forth conversation, and then getting down to business. Try to find out what’s really going on with the people you interact with every day.
Look into their eyes when they talk to you.
Put down your phone or clipboard. Sit down if possible.
Have a conversation, not a question and answer session.
**Ask your employees how they are doing, and show them that they’re being heard by engaging with their responses.
**When a patient seems especially anxious, ask them why, and pay attention to the answer. Acknowledging the patient’s feelings (i.e., “I can see why this would worry you,”) and offering a simple solution often works wonders.
2. Share
Divulge something about yourself.
You want to maintain professionalism at all times of course, but there is power and strength in a little bit of vulnerability. It’s OK to put yourself out there, perhaps even admit that you don’t like going to the dentist!
Sharing these kinds of things about yourself shows others that you understand where they’re coming: it means you care, and it means you empathize.
**It’s easier for others to put their trust in you, to shed their own fears and doubts when they feel your sense of empathy.
**With patients, the truth created by empathy is even more crucial: It’s easier to arrive at accurate diagnoses if the patient talks openly and freely with you.
3. Withhold Judgment.
When an employee is late, the instinct is to feel frustrated or impatient. Don’t they care about their job??
Patients can be another source of grief from time to time. When a patient hasn’t been maintaining regular check-ups or has missed an appointment, it is easy to jump to the conclusion that their dental health is not a priority for them.
Stop for a moment.
4. Put yourself in other people’s shoes. Use your imagination and remember your own past experiences.
Is your employee going through a personal struggle that caused her to be late? Or was this just a one-time thing on an otherwise perfect record?
And what about the patients? Is Patient X juggling school, a career, and a family?
There are various reasons and explanations for why people behave the way they do.
Your dental practice will benefit if you take the time to understand your staff, colleagues, patients, and others as human beings – whole people, whose lives go beyond the label of “dental patient,” or “dental hygienist,” and more.
You will find that empathy benefits all – and this is what lays the groundwork for a successful dental practice. Not only will your employees and patients feel more secure, respected and cared for; you will feel more job satisfaction, more pride in your work, and more in touch with your reasons for becoming a dental professional in the first place.
Dentists who operate from a place of empathy focus on total patient care, which is the best way to create long-standing, loyal patients. Similarly, empathetic dentists are sensitive to the needs of their team members: this almost always results in a close-knit, loyal, and dedicated staff.