The Psychology of Case Acceptance

Dentists are presented with a handful of different cases on a daily basis ranging from that little, easier to talk about case, to the big case that is hard to even find the right words to say. As a hygienist and dentist it is important to explore the psychology behind case acceptance.

How do people make decisions? How can we understand what the patient is really saying with their yes or no to when it comes to spending money on dental treatment or on new shiny things. What can we say as a dentist or hygienist to have the patient say YES to treatment? What words are we using? Do we use technical dental terms with drawn out explanations or are we presenting emotional outcomes like beauty, youth and/or change in appearance?

The end result of spending is fun! Whether it be avoiding pain or gaining pleasure. Think about that one! According to Tony Robbins, people make decisions based on two things; avoiding pain or gaining pleasure. Think of that brand new shiny car. If you are trading in an old, high cost to repair car for the new shiny one, you are avoiding pain by pouring money into a clunker that is unpredictable or gaining pleasure by owning that new, shiny, leather smelling brand new car.

When it comes to spending money in dentistry, your competition is not the dentist down the street. Your competition is Apple, Coach or Porsche. People may choose not to spend in your office because they want to save the money so they can go on that cruise with their new iPhone6 carrying their Coach purse. It all goes back to discretionary spending. They want to save money to spend it on something else. It is a part of all of us!

How can we present dentistry to compete with this kind of spending? When someone goes to the Plastic Surgeon for a face lift, do you think the surgeon tells them the intricacies of the procedure like using a bard parker knife…etc? NO! He tells them the outcome of their youthful appearance or how people are going to notice how much better they look. Why don’t we do that with our dentistry? Why don’t we offer how much better they will look with a whiter smile? Or, how the 40 something single mom will look with her new smile that makes her look like a 21 year old girl?

When presenting treatment to the patient, are you arduous and detailed, losing the patients’ interest? Do you use terms like core build ups and preps? Patients want the emotional outcome of what you do. They want to hear how easy this procedure is for them to go through. They want to know how much younger they will look.

Watch this AMP video to learn more….