HOW TO NOT FAIL AS A DENTIST - Chapter 1
PART 1
PROFESIONAL INTELLIGENCE
by Dr. BAK NGUYEN
CHAPTER 1
“CONNECT WITH YOUR PATIENT ON A HUMAN LEVEL”
by Dr. BAK NGUYEN
If you are in a hurry and just need to retain one single concept of this book, this is it, plain and simple. Connect with your patients!
Connect in order to understand their needs and stress, connect in order to deliver the right care, medicinal and emotional wise. Connect to have a chance to share the knowledge and satisfaction of victory.
Because yes, each time you are performing a treatment and are easing pain, it is a victory that often, we are too busy moving to the next operation room to fully feel and share.
Too quickly, we, as dentists, fall into the trap of performance and production and is simply getting better and better just to solve one problem and jump to the next.
By the end of the day, all we have are some number showing us how we’ve performed and a money sign… that even if we knew or math pretty well, will be divided by two from the income taxes.
So why work as hard? You are there already, enjoy the ride! This is coming from the man seeing 30 patients on average a day. But trust me, I take the time to listen and to connect with every single one of them… or the majority of them (there are always some exceptions to every rule, some personalities are just harder to manage than others).
Connect with your patients, find a genuine way to be interested in what there are, not just their teeth and oral health. If with each name, there is a story accompanying it, you will find your day much easier to bear and to score.
I am telling you this from the confidence I gain being totally engaged with the people under my care. Some of them are now among my best friends.
Mdex & Co, the most ambitious private dental project ever financed by a bank as been vouched by someone I met on my dental chair. Today, we are addressing ourself as brothers, but I was Dr. Nguyen the first time I met with him.
“Be genuine and kind, you never know where Life will lead you!”
Dr. Bak Nguyen
As a dentist, I am looking to connect because I needed a way to escape my own reality. I told you before, I became a dentist to satisfy the desire of my immigrant parents. The only way they saw to regain the family honor was with the title “DR.” in front of your name.
I struggled to find my way as a dentist. I told that story in CHANGING THE WORLD FROM A DENTAL CHAIR. But here what’s interesting to you: if I made it because I had to cope, you can make it because you love it! Your path is straight forward compared to mine!
So how do we connect with our patients? The first thing is to listen to them. No, you didn’t hear me, listen carefully to them. Try to understand what they are really telling you… without words.
That seems to be a challenge by itself. Let me help you. At the dentist, let’s start by saying that the patient doesn’t want to be there. If you can understand that, you are on the right path to connect with them, with their truth.
Now, the real question is to understand why they do not want to be there. Once again, in dentistry, the answers are narrowing down to the following:
Pain
Fear
Money
Time
PAIN
Whatever their reason is, once you have identified it, tell them that you understand and you agree with them. If it is PAIN, show them where the pain is coming from and tell the why and the how, how it came to hurt.
Then, without further wait, give them the solution to their pain. This is our usual at the dentist, we’ve been trained to act as such. So why is it that so many of our patients have the feeling that we do not understand them? Is it because they were more concerned about one of the other 3 topics.
FEAR
Some will be stopped by FEAR. The fear of pain, of cost of… but the main reason is that they are insecure and fearful. To them, no words will ever call their fear. To each answer you give them, a new question will raise.
Once you have identified that insecurity in them, you have to gain their trust. This is about the feelings, not the wording. Find a have to give them in advance something that they haven’t been asking yet. Give them that answer.
For some of them, a comforting hand on their shoulder will start calming them. Sure, you still have to be professional and forward about your treatment, but the tone of your voice will make a big difference. Calm, low, even slow, that is a confidence that they will feel.
To do that, you need to stand your ground!
“The first rule of professional intelligence is never to leave your ground.”
Dr. Bak Nguyen
Allow me to explain. As a dentist, we have to open up and to listen to our patients. Reach out and ask them what you can do to help them. Show them enough trust, so they share with you their real concerns.
Then, hold their hands and lead them through your ground, professional and emotional. As a dentist, you are the only one with the knowledge and craft, to act, so it doesn’t make sense to leave your ground.
As someone who is looking forward to gain their trust, open up and understand their concern. Even if you are gentle and kind, DO NOT FOLLOW THEM IS THE EMOTIONAL GROUD.
Instead, bring them back to your ground, that will be the only solid ground upon which to build your relationship.
This is a very subtle difference that may improve your quality of care and of practice forever. Be kind and open, but do not leave your ground.
Even if FEAR was the main anchor of your patient, as they will be walking on your ground, they will feel the confidence and start to ground with you. Of course, for that, you will need to be calm and to trust yourself enough to be confident.
“In medicine, just like most in life, doubt is a poison that you do not need.”
Dr. Bak Nguyen
I did not say to be arrogant. But be confident. That is the only remedy to FEAR.
MONEY
What if the main issue is money? You have guided them through the whole process, hold their hand, and they keep wandering around and try to negotiate. What to do then?
If you ask me, I will be embracing their logic. Let say that they have, after 5 years without a dental exam, 10 cavities to fix. At an average of $200-300 a tooth, that’s a lot to swallow. On top of that, two of the teeth are so close to the nerve that you think that they might need a root canal ($500-1000/tooth).
Now you have to add the post and crown on top of it ($1500), twice! You are starting to be discouraged. They will feel that feeling and interpret it as you have something to hide. You are not connecting with your patient, but not at all.
I’ll start with the fact that: “I cannot change your past, but I can influence your future. The less I work in your month, the better we will love each other. That being said, here are what we need to address first…”
This will help to connect with your patient no matter if they were hooked on pain, fear, money or time. Then, if it is money that we are struggling with, do the math with them. Not the math adding up your fees, the math of fixing up their negligence over time.
You have 8 teeth to fix at an average cost of $200-300. That’s 2K just there. But the real issues are the 2 teeth that are hurting you and will require more care. Those will cost you $2500 each. Don’t panic, we will get through, and I understand that you are having a budget issue.
It will cost you either way. If you let them be, all the 8 cavities will eventually cost you $2500 each. Let say that you do not treat those, the only other option will be the amputation (extraction). If your teeth were fingers, will we be talking about amputation?
And just to follow the logic, to replace each single on of those amputations, the cost of an implant and a crowd is $3500+. The math will ever get simpler…
Once again, I cannot change the past, only influence your future. So take my advice and start treating the easy ones first. With the cost of one complex tooth ($2500), you’ll be securing the faith of 8 teeth. That’s a must.
Then the other two ($5000), let’s look at a way to get you there without strangling you. There are financing options, dental insurance and tax credit program that will hep you through.
Have you noticed that I haven’t start with the insurances? Too often, the main error of a dentist is to build from the insurance plan. You are putting yourself in a box. It will be hard to cover all of your patient needs from that box. But once you are in that box, getting out will be nearly impossible.
Be upfront with them, tell them that the insurances will help to a certain extent, but there are other means to help them. They will appreciate the forthcoming and will appreciate even more the discovery of resources that didn’t know that they had.
“I cannot lie or change what you need to remedy your situation. But since we have to treat you, let’s make sure that you are having access to all the possible help… in other words, so it will cost you as least as possible over time.”
Then I refer them my team of coordinator who will take over to find the best possible scenario to help them.
I train and mentor many dentists. One of the usual objection to that situation is that they presented 3 treatment plans: an ideal treatment plan, a medium and a small one. Let called it for what it really is: negligence and insecurity.
As a physician, there should be one treatment plan, the one that you would do in your own month. Then, there is a cheap one, cutting some corners to save. The real question is: is that real saving or it will cost more over time? You patient have the right to know. Then, it is the bandaid!
Please do not judge your patient, thinking that they can or cannot afford the best of care. Just tell them the truth and help them navigate once the priorities have been set by your patient.
Of course your opinion matter, actually that is why they are trusting you! They want to know what you would do if it was you. Tell them without hesitation, and you will always sleep well at night.
Even if they do not have the means to afford such treatment, you’ll be surprised how many of them will appreciate that you took the time and treat them as equals. You’ll be surprised how many will come back to you once they have the means.
In the meantime, you have connected and genuinely helped a person in need.
“The first role of a dentist is to identify and educate. We should add to comfort to that list.”
Dr. Bak Nguyen
If it was as clear to you, they will feel it too and won’t be either fearful or defensive. You are a doctor first and foremost, not just a surgeon. Keep the point of view the patient, and they will relate to you.
You can’t change the past, that they know. They will appreciate the time you took to make sure of a better future, their future.
Keep in mind one last thing, if they have so much to do, that means that until now, they have never found a dentist, they trust enough to follow and to receive treatment.
The fact that you took the time might differentiate you from your predecessors. I am not saying that it will be an easy case, I am saying that you might change someone’s life from your patience and kindness.
But the main issue was money. Show them how much more money they will have to spend to correct what’s already in their mouth. To wait longer will only worsen both their health and financial situation.
Then, give them a solution. Flexible payment, lines of credit, those combined with their insurance and the taxes credit available are important help that one can benefit from.
Don’t handle the financial part yourself, you are the doctor and should be focussing on the medical issue. Don’t be shy to talk about money either, since it might show insecurity from your part.
Prepare them for what to expect and have a coordinator to take over the finance. That way, they have twice the support and knowledge.
By the end of the exercise, they know that it will cost them. The least the better, but for the right treatments. The key was to take the time to explain to them why and how.
For those of you facing a patient that just d not want to listen, my best advice is to agree with them and remind them that they already paid for as exam. They should at least benefit from what they paid already.
TIME
What about the people worrying about TIME, always in a rush? What they are really saying to you is that whatever you see in their mouth is not a priority to them.
Either they do not have the means and are too proud to accept the truth, in that case, you can’t help them. Or, really, they need more explanation, there are just not convinced yet. In the last situation, you’ll be surprised how they will be receptive as you took the time to explain to them, without forcing them to take a decision.
With 20 years of career, I believe in respecting the will of a patient to accept or refuse treatment. I learned not to judge people a long time ago. Some you will help, others, you might not.
“Keep your integrity, be kind and care! That’s why they are calling you doctor.”
Dr. Bak Nguyen
There is no magic formula to connect with a patient. But whatever the right formula is, truth, kindness and patience are part of the recipe.
Know who you are and be comfortable with your role in society. Only when you are secure, can you help others to secure their situation.
We are problems’ solvers, people are coming to us to fix their problems. That should mean that we should be ready to hear their problems and to help them find a solution to escape.
Remember that you are treating people, not teeth! Emotional intelligence is more than 50% of the equation. We will come back later in the importance of emotional intelligence and your success as a dentist, but for now, retain that you should:
be secure as an individual first
open up and listen to your patients
don’t judge anyone
show them respect by taking the time and by telling the truth, all the truth
believe in your treatments
read your patients, not just hearing what they tell you
“Everybody lies.”
Dr. Gregory House
This is MILLION DOLLAR MINDSET applied to dentistry. This is HOW TO NOT FAIL AS A DENTIST.
This book is not about understanding THE DIFFERENT FACETS of what it means to become a DOCTOR IN DENTAL MEDICINE
Dr. BAK NGUYEN