How to Improve the Dental Experience for Patients

1. Minimize Hassle

Let patients know what to expect from their first point of contact. Use call waiting times on your phone queue to provide information that maximizes the volume of calls you can handle while also improving receptionist efficiency. You could include:

• Where to find new patient signup forms on your website
• Which insurance policies are accepted
• What to bring to an appointment (ID card, insurance documents, etc.)

3. Streamline Your Intake Process

Make the check-in process easy when patients arrive by utilizing additional software and technology. No one likes waiting in line. To avoid queues, you can install self-serve kiosks where patients can check-in, update their personal details, and book their next check-up or follow-up appointment.

4. Create a Lasting Impression

Dissatisfied customers tell twice as many people about a negative experience than happy customers tell about a positive one. So go the extra mile to make your patients feel comfortable and at ease. Visiting a dentist is a stressful experience for many patients. Little extra touches like offering a welcome drink (preferably nothing sugary) or a clinic orientation can go a long way to help people relax.

5. Minimize Waiting Anxiety

While having patients wait is often unavoidable, your patient experience strategy should include ways to minimize the anxiety this can cause. If possible, give people an expected wait time. Research shows that 80% of patients would be less frustrated if they knew how long their wait would be. You could also use digital signage with updates on the queue status. This has been proven to reduce perceived wait times by up to 35%.

6. Build a Strong Team

Patients, and particularly nervous patients, appreciate consistency in your dental clinic staff. Familiar and friendly faces are reassuring and vital in establishing positive patient interactions. It is, therefore, in a clinic’s best interest to attract and retain a strong and cohesive team.

8. Exam Room Ambiance

The exam room is where that big scary chair and all the dental equipment live. So it’s just as important, if not more so, that patients feel at ease once they enter. Popular options include investing in vibrant artwork for the walls and adding a bit of life with some pot plants or even a fish tank. Some dentists are incredibly inventive in their strategies to improve patient satisfaction. Many add artwork, puzzles, or even video installations on the ceiling, as this is where patients’ eyes are directed most of the time.

9. Educate Your Patients

Often, people are scared of things they don’t understand. Yet, research shows that many people find medical technology exciting. Use patient interest as an opportunity to educate your patients to reduce anxiety. Explain how digital x-rays work, show them how the equipment gets cleaned and sterilized, give them lots of information on new technologies and techniques, etc.

10. Encourage Self-Care

Every dentist dreams of a portfolio of patients who are proactive with their own oral health. But encouraging people to maintain good habits once they leave the clinic isn’t easy. By upgrading your software and offering online customer portals with resources and reminders, patients are much more likely to remain engaged and take better care of their teeth. Cloud 9 Software helps specialty dental practices connect with their patients with Patient Portal and other engaging patient communication abilities.