Mistakes dentists make (part 2)

In my seminar "Master the Art of Case Acceptance" I warn against the 23 case acceptance mistakes that dentists commonly make. Last week this week and next week I will give you three of the major ones. These mistakes waste time and often result in patients deferring or rejecting needed treatment.

Mistake #2 — Teaching Dentistry 101

So often dentists think that the way to get case acceptance is by giving the patient a tutorial on dentistry. Such dentists rattle on about technical details of dental disease and treatment. I've even seen a dentist draw diagrams and explain to a patient how decay spreads at the DEJ. 45 minutes later the patient was bored, frustrated and no closer to a decision than they were at the start.When a patient asks a question like "What's a root filling?" they want a simple, non-technical explanation of why they need a root filling. You can answer that question in 15 seconds. They don't want a long dissertation on where the reamer goes and the internal anatomy of teeth.In my seminar I advise dentists to stop teaching Dentistry 101.