Few people enjoy going to the dentist, and while dental providers shouldn’t take it personally, the way their office operates could be driving more people away. With anxieties and fears over appointments, busy schedules and challenging insurance requirements, a dental practice needs to be top-notch in order to develop a loyal base of patients. From ordering quality products like the Midwest tradition high speed handpiece to soothing color schemes and decor, there are several actions you can take to make a dental appointment more bearable for your patients.
1. Make Scheduling More Convenient
Many people aren’t excited about the prospect of missing work for a dental exam, so extending your operating hours to nights and weekends could see an increase in the number or regular appointments that are made. Consider working half days twice a week in order to work later hours on other days. You should also consider using your website or a mobile app to allow patients to schedule their appointments. This takes the pressure of your office staff and keeps fear from causing an individual to freeze when they are asked “does next Tuesday work for you?”
2. Update Your Environment
Stark and cold is a huge deterrent, so the least you can do is make the environment more pleasant. Use calming colors, offer Wi-Fi, have a phone charging station, use live green plants and so on to make the space more functional and inviting. The best waiting room meets the needs of working professionals, the busy housewife looking for fifteen minutes of peace and on the list goes.
3. Don’t Limit the Entertainment Choices
Allowing your patients to listen to their favorite podcasts or playlists can make the time go by much faster for your patients. Having Bluetooth speakers in each room is one way to personalize the patient’s experience or make it known that they can wear headphones or earbuds during their exam.
A few small actions go a long way in improving patient comfort concerning dental work. Happy, comfortable patients will be loyal, regular patients.