“That’s expensive!”

Let’s be honest. Dentistry is expensive.

Dentistry is a bespoke service where every restoration is individually crafted for the patient. You can’t set up a machine to cheaply mass produce fillings. Dental equipment costs a lot, staff costs are substantial, materials are expensive and the treatment takes time to do well.

All these factors add up to a service that’s not cheap.

When a patient comes in with major dental needs the fee estimate can be substantial: as much as a new automobile.

When you quote the fee a patient can flip out:

“Wow! That’s expensive!” or “I’m paying for your holiday in Europe!”

How do you handle this? I’ve got a few suggestions.

First, remain calm and don’t get defensive. There is a temptation to be a smart aleck because the patient has just given you a verbal slap. You could reply by saying something like: “Is cheap important to you?” But, those words won’t win the patient over. In fact those words might well lose the patient from your practice permanently.

Second, you can try to justify the fee by explaining why dentistry is so expensive: “We wash out the cavity with yak’s tears prior to filling the tooth.” Early in my career I used this approach but I found that it doesn’t work well. It takes a long time and often turns into an argument.

Third, you can offer a discount but that’s a really bad idea. It signals to the patient that you are over-charging.

So, what is the best approach?

The simplest and best approach is to agree with the patient and humbly admit that dentistry is expensive. It’s honest and it gives the patient recognition for their point of view.

Patient: “Wow! That’s expensive!”

Dentist: “Yes, it is expensive.” (Said kindly and humbly with a gentle nod.)

Patient: (after a short hesitation) “Oh, OK let’s do it.”

It’s a simple, quick, clean response that often gets the patient to proceed with treatment.