#878: Treatment Planning: What’s Best For the Patient?

The Dental A Team Podcast

Tiff and Dana lay out the most critical piece when it comes to communicating with patients during treatment planning: Focus on the patient’s health, not money or insurance.

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Transcript:

The Dental A Team (00:01.506)

All right. Hello, Dental A Team listeners. We are so happy to have you back here with Dana and I, my most prized possession when it comes to recording podcasts. I truly love our time together and getting this time in when we're recording is one of the only times that we get to spend so much time together. So I love it. Thank you, Dana, for being here with me today. It's super special. And thank you, you guys. You have been like celebrating me today and

you, just had your celebration and it's huge. And it's so funny that there's so many of us right now at this time within this company. and so many years have gone by that we've all just spent so much amazing time together. And when I podcast with you, it just reminds me how much I appreciate having you here on our team. and a part of our community, I think our team is incredibly valuable and incredibly important. So Dana, thank you for being here with me today and congratulations to you. I'm celebrating you today.

You have been with us now for three years. That is huge. That is incredible accomplishment. And it's just a testament to the amazing opportunities that you've provided to so many of your clients. You've worked with a lot of people over those three years and just helped them grow so much. So Dana, hats off to you. Thank you for being here today and congratulations on your three years. How are you today?

Dana (01:28.703)

Thanks for such a warm welcome. You always make me smile in these introductions, so I appreciate that from you. I'm doing good and I, you know, get to celebrate you today too and I think that like I'm just so glad that I've been able to be a part of your seven -year journey with DAT.

The Dental A Team (01:32.533)

Good.

The Dental A Team (01:45.654)

Thank you, thank you. I am happy to have you here. And I'm excited to talk about today's topic. We've talked a lot about relationship building with our patients and within our team and the effects, the positive and negative effects that communication can have on one another. And today, I really, really wanted to look at that communication as far as treatment planning goes. How does it look from the treatment planning standpoint and really how that relationship affects the way that we think as well.

And Dana, I know you work with a lot of clients constantly and I know we work on handoffs and all of those pieces and treatment planning and we have systems and steps and processes. And sometimes I know when we were prepping for this, I talked about a client that I wanted to speak on and I, and sometimes we just get to watch it land for them. And it was really close. We're on a video call and I was talking about NDTR, which all of our listeners should know what NDTR is. If you don't go find a podcast, we'll talk about it again in the future. I'm sure.

We're doing NDTR, we're doing all of the pieces and I started reviewing treatment planning processes as far as problem solution problem, which is a system that I think we all implement with our practices, but it's something that I thought a couple of years ago just made so much sense and makes such a difference when it comes to really speaking to the patient about the issue rather than the solution. It's very easy for us to get caught up

treatment planning a crown, treatment planning a filling, treatment planning an implant, which is something that's outside of our bodies. It's unrelatable. It's not ours. It's not, it's like where I'm buying a tube of lipstick. It's not mine. And I can make the choice emotionally to disconnect from that tube of lipstick, right? In the moment I'm like, this is the color I need. It's going to change my life. I'm going to look so much better. But by the time I get to the front of the store, most of the time I've emotionally disconnected from the result and I'm ready to put the tube of lipstick back.

and not purchase it. So when I'm thinking about treatment planning, all of these solutions, treatment planning, the crown, there's not an emotional connection to that. And this is a space, unlike the lipstick, this is a space where you really need to be emotionally connected to that purchase because it's for your health. And when patients are treatment plans and we're not keeping that in mind, we're not keeping that emotional piece at the forefront of our minds and keeping that as an important factor,

The Dental A Team (04:08.81)

I truly think we're doing them a disservice. If I can do everything I can to ensure my patient is healthier when they leave my practice than when they walked in, I know I've done a dang good job today. We buy things on an emotional standpoint, like emotions. You know, I taught something the other day that was like, here I am saying like, I'm not going to buy anything. I'm saving all my money. I'm not buying anything. And then there's a 50 % off discount. And I'm like, I have to buy that. That's an emotional purchase.

everything is based off of emotions. So when I had this conversation with this doctor and I'm like, we're focused in on the problem. I'm not selling you a crown. I'm selling you a fix to your broken tooth, to your decayed tooth, to your infection. I'm selling a healthier tooth, not a crown. Her eyes just like blew up. But she was just like, my gosh. And this is a doctor who's really struggling.

treatment planning and treatment planning definitively because she feels like her patient base can't afford it or she feels like she's just after money and like all of those negative self -talk things that everyone in dentistry feels she's overloaded with them constantly and when I took it and said you're not are not selling a crown I'm not asking you for a thousand dollars for a crown or two thousand dollars in California I'm asking you to let me fix your tooth

She was like, my gosh, I'm so excited to go implement this because this is a game changer for me. You just changed how I feel about treatment planning and Dana, I think a lot of our clients feel that way. think dentistry in general, we feel really like we're taking advantage of people and the perception of dentistry infiltrates our minds and we become that. And we are so scared to help

that we hold back a lot, especially when we're not towards the end of the year and we're like, there are benefits. We start holding back from telling people the truth about what they need. And that's doing people a disservice. Dana, I know I've got my story and I know you've got a million stories of clients that you've worked with as well. But how do you see in your world as a consultant that focus on the problem rather than the solution?

The Dental A Team (06:24.063)

really comes into play and helps benefit your practices that you're working with all the

Dana (06:29.939)

Yeah. And I think it's focusing on the problem and solution and then ideal outcomes too. Like you as a practitioner know and team members too. So this is for TUP too for treatment when it comes to like ideal treatment planning is you know what will also give the best result for the patient as far as longevity, as far as function, as far as, and patients don't know what they don't know. And so it is challenging yourself to not just look at problem cause solution, but ideal solution, best

The Dental A Team (07:00.322)

Yeah. Yeah. I love that. I love that. And I love that you said they don't know what they don't know. And, they truly don't. Our jobs are to inform patients of what's wrong and that we can fix it. Or if we can't fix it, someone we know can, we can refer them somewhere else. And our jobs are, are to find those issues, celebrate the win, celebrate the healthy, find the issues that they're having and ensure that they know the path to success for a healthier

and a healthier version of themselves. That gets lost a lot of times. And honestly, Dana, I think it's really easy to lose it, like to lose that focus when we are focused on goals. You know, we're focused on the production and the collection and the treatment plan case acceptance and these black and white non -emotional results are the focus that we're looking at. But we have to remember that there are systems and underlying pieces that get us to those

And when we lose that piece of what we're working on, that's where I think we get lost in the minutia. So some of the pieces that really, really, really helped my doctor stay focused on that problem to my two favorite solutions to that is to forget everything, you know, about finances and cost. Don't think about their insurance. Don't think about their social standing or what you think they have in the bank account or what you think that

patient base can or cannot afford. I know in my practice years ago, I had a man come in who looked like he walked straight in off the street. He looked like this man has no money. We diagnosed him all kinds of treatment. He had got like $40 ,000 worth of treatment that he needed, but we did our due diligence and we said, this is what you need. This is our best place to start to get you out of pain, to get you moving towards healthy. The next day.

this man walked in with a grocery bag, okay, a grocery bag from like Safeway or Fry's or Kroger or wherever, a grocery bag full of cash to pay for his whole treatment. He'd just been waiting for the right place to invest that money and he decided that he was the right place. But had we gone off of our initial gut feeling of what this man could or could not afford, we may not have diagnosed everything that he needed. Or we may have said, you know what, this is a lot, let's start here. And only

The Dental A Team (09:26.593)

treatment plan five grand and left the other pieces to piece no later. So when we can forget the money aspects of it, insurance and cost aside and really just focus on the patient's health, I think that makes a huge determining factor. Like cancer patients or Dana, you've been through this. Like what if your doctor didn't tell you everything or tell you every option that you had to get healthy because they felt

this is a more expensive route, you should go through this one because it's more affordable. You're not gonna get potentially the results you want or it might take longer, but this is the more affordable path rather than this one over here that's gonna cost you more. From your experiences, things fly in my mind, but what would that have been like for you as a patient not being able to make the decision for yourself because somebody made it for you ahead of

Dana (10:20.169)

Yeah, I think it would have been really obviously frustrating, right? Frustrating, I would have probably lost trust. And I probably would have gone somewhere else in that instance. And I think sometimes what is the eye opening, I just talked to a doctor about this the other day, he's been doing some more like larger cosmetic cases, and he's been getting really excited. And, and we were just talking about how it used to be like, okay, well, what are my options? And it's it's bonding, right in those front teeth. And then, so we were just talking about how ideally, right, when it even comes to finances,

some things that we do to protect patients finances or we think that that's what we're doing, right? Well, if I am rebonding you every six months and I have just done those veneers from the beginning, it's actually like sometimes an aha moment and that what we think is financially best for the patient when we make that decision truly isn't. And in the long run, they spend more money on the bond and bond and bond and bond than they would have just spent on the veneers and crowns had we started from the beginning with

The Dental A Team (11:19.356)

Yes, I totally agree. I love that. Or the bridge, the bridge, the bridge when the other two teeth were fine or maybe just needed fillings and they could have done an implant and making sure that they have those choices. And I think that's the next step in the process for getting the money. Forget the finances. You have options. Okay, doctors, like you have options. You don't need to worry about them. Your team knows them. Your patients will find them out. So forget the money.

Doesn't matter what the cost is and forget the insurance. You need to think about what's best for your patients. Give them the options. Here's the caveat to options guys. I have worked for doctors. I have worked with doctors. Dana has worked for and with doctors that give way too many options. This is just the case because you guys are in a world where you're making decisions for people. You're truly making decisions for people and a dentist beside

might make a different choice in that same decision, they might have a different opinion. That's just the facts of dentistry and that's okay. That's okay. What do you think is going to be best? When we give a patient too many options, it's confusing. When things are confusing and there's not a clear path, we lose trust. So then all of a sudden we're like, well, if I need all of these things, do I really need any of them? Or is it okay? Because this just sounds like everything that could happen.

to my tooth, you're trying to do something on it. So we lose trust in them. So our hard fast like standby is two options are always best. Three is the most. And three is like, you could do nothing. You could do an implant, or you could do a bridge, or do nothing, do multiple implants and a denture. Like that's my three options in most cases.

Dana, how do you run that with your practices that you work with when it comes to options? Do you to do two? I like two because it's like chocolate vanilla juice. That's very easy. But I am, you know, I'll go up to three. But how do you feel that benefits your clients when they start utilizing a similar structure?

Dana (13:25.577)

Yeah, I agree with you. I'm like a two, three person, like, let's go in with ideal, right? We've got one backup plan. Because two, like when we give too many choices, patients will always default to the easy one. When they're confused, when they don't trust, when they don't understand, like they will always default to what is easiest. Now for every patient, that's going to be different as far as it is it easiest financially? Is it easiest time? Is it easiest to understand? Right? But they're going to go into default mode, and they're just going to pick the thing that they

The Dental A Team (13:48.09)

Thank you.

Dana (13:54.119)

understand or fits best in their budget or whatever is easy for them at the moment. And so I think understanding that, that like when we overwhelm with choices, patient is always going to default to something that is easy and that's typically not what gets them the best result or is ideal.

The Dental A Team (14:11.29)

Yeah, that's beautiful. That's beautiful. I love everything you just said. You're 100 % on track. We as human beings are going to choose the easiest route. I think dentistry, like dental professionals, we think the easiest route is whatever is going to last the longest. So you're going to get longevity out of it. But honestly, as a consumer, sometimes the easiest route is whatever is going to get me the results I need right now, because I don't have time or finances in my mind to think about

future. So I'll deal with it when it comes back up again. But for right now, this is the option I'm going to choose to handle it today. So I totally I do that. Like I have done that in my life. I do that. That's why there's credit card debt. You guys. That's why there's debt in this country, because it's easier to choose that in this moment to satisfy whatever need emotional or physical we're looking at. And we're not thinking about the longevity and what that's going to look like in the future. Nobody looks

Purchase on a credit card that I know I don't know a single human being that looks at the purchase on a credit card and thinks Okay Well if I spend this $500 for this thing on my credit card by the time I pay it off It would have cost me then by then it's gonna cost me 700 no one thinks about that in our minds It's just 500, but that's not the case. We're getting the added, you know percentages They're not thinking if I do a filling today at $300 it's gonna cost me

potentially six months even as soon as six months, it's going to cost me in whatever time period it looks like another two grand on top of that 300 to get the crown or five grand for an implant of the extraction and an implant and an implant crown. They're not thinking that. So if we're not saying it to them in ways that make sense and like Dana said, making it easy for them, we're doing them a disservice. And the reason I say

is to express the reason like Dana and I speak like this is to express the importance of understanding. And that's part of that relationship building we talked about. It's not fair for patients to leave confused, in my opinion. And we have the opportunity, the space and the knowledge and the education to make it really simple for them. A lot of doctors will argue and say, I mean, they need to know everything.

The Dental A Team (16:34.219)

And I agree, I think they do need to know everything. That's where the options come into play, but they are not capable of making the choices and the decisions that you've been trained to make. It is your responsibility to make sure that we're looking at what is the most important thing, what is the most important factor for this patient and what's gonna be the best for them short term and long term and give them those options.

Money aside, insurance aside, like delete all of that, forget all of it, focus on what's best for the patient and the patient's health, and then give them the options that they deserve. Again, we like two to three because it cuts down the confusion and makes things super easy for them. In my opinion, this is really, really, how you treatment plan for patient needs.

on the flip side of that transferring to your front office and your treatment coordinators and making sure that they understand going back to that problem, right? That problem cause solution, problem solution, problem, like sandwich it. Make sure that the person who's reviewing the financial aspects knows why the patient needs that treatment as well. Cause they're now selling a crown, but they're not, they're still selling the solution to the problem. And I want you guys talking about the problem.

because that's the emotional piece that patients need to connect to to understand how important it is that they get healthy. It's not to get them to where they say yes every time. Like they're still not gonna say yes every time, but you've done your due diligence to ensure that they are tied to their health, not just tied to purchasing something from you. I've heard dentists and I think it's amazing say all the time, even if you don't get it done here, I don't care.

I just want you to get it done. want you to be healthier. And that to me is caring. That's the relationship. That's the piece. And that's when patients are like, okay, maybe I should believe you. Like maybe, maybe I should go get a second opinion or maybe I should believe like that's pretty ballsy to say something like that. Like maybe I should invest in this. But those are those pieces you guys where they've deleted and removed some financial aspects and focused in on that patient's health.

The Dental A Team (18:48.455)

So here's your tips for today, actionable pieces that you can take away. Always transfer the reason, the why. Transfer the problem to the patient and to the next person. Focus your treatment planning chair side with your patient and financials on the actual problem and tell them you've got the solution for that. So we're focusing on the problem and we're giving them the solution. Always, always, always.

forget the cost, forget the insurance, forget the money, and put the patient's needs and health at the forefront of everything you do. I think if you can implement those three things right away, or one of those three things right away, you're gonna see a change. And I hope it helps you feel better about your position and helps you feel more purposeful in what you're providing your dental patients across the country. So Dana.

How excited are you for these doctors to implement these pieces? We've seen it. We've seen it work. We've seen it work with hundreds of practices, just in our own consulting separately, and then also our group consulting. We see it work constantly. How excited are you for our listeners today to get this bundle of information, go implement it, and completely change how they think?

Dana (20:03.343)

I am so excited because I really feel like this is a game changer and a final piece I just wanted to say as far as like building confidence in doing this. If you go to like anywhere as a consumer and you go to the electronic counter, right? And you ask, Hey, what is the best X, Y, or Z? Right? You are expecting them to tell you.

better or best, not just okay or good or will do. And so if your expectations on your interactions with people in any service industry or what they're going to recommend is better best, hold yourself to that same standard.

The Dental A Team (20:38.533)

That was beautiful. Hey guys, and on that, we are wrapping up. are closing with that, Dana. Thank you so much. Thank you for being here. Thank you listeners for being here. As always, reach out to us. [e-mail]. We are happy to help work through this. Again, we have systems for it. We can pop them over to you. We do have group coaching, group coaching and consulting that work on this kind of stuff constantly together. So if you're interested in any of that, please don't hesitate to reach out. We are here to help everyone.

in the best ways that we know how to. Thank you and we'll talk with you soon.