100% case acceptance
I’ve seen advertisements for courses promising 100% case acceptance. Is that an achievable goal or is that unrealistic?
It all comes down to how you define case acceptance.
In my 30+ year career I went through four recognisable stages with respect to case acceptance:
Whatever walks in the door
We all start here. Whatever the patient asks for, give it to them. Easy and low stress but unsatisfying. Lots of patch up work. Very little quality dentistry.Jam it down their throat
Learn some “smart” communication tactics (e.g. the infamous 5 slides). Enjoy some successes but also lose a lot of patients to the dentist down the street. Patients hate being pressured!Win / lose
Present comprehensive treatment and have a win if they accept but feel the sting of rejection if they don’t. Retain most patients but still lose a few. A roller coaster of emotions.100% case acceptance
Relax. Find out what patients want. Ask questions. Clarify. Outline alternatives. Let the patient choose. Whatever they choose, you win because they stay in the practice. If they stay in the practice you’ll get to do their work in the future.
Where are you with respect to case acceptance? Maybe you can recognise these stages?
Some dentists spend their entire practicing career at level 1. That’s like being stuck in the doldrums; never getting to do your best work for patients.
I wish that I’d never visited level 2. It was a painful learning experience that lasted a month. Level 3 is better but you’re still pushing and hoping for a result.
Level 4 is mastery and letting go of the result. You’re simply happy to be in the flow. Amazingly, when you stop striving for a result, patients say yes to comprehensive treatment much more often. It’s a state worth attaining.
