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How To Raise Your Practice’s Treatment Plan Acceptance Rate

You know that the treatment options you offer your patients have the potential to greatly improve their oral health and quality of life. However, you can only deliver that treatment if your patients accept it.

Treatment plan acceptance is about more than just increasing cash flow—it’s about improving patient outcomes. Here are 6 proven strategies to increase patient treatment acceptance that can help you grow your practice and elevate patient care as a whole.

1. Build trust through clear communication.

Patients need to fully understand the risks and benefits of a given procedure before committing. They also need to trust you as their practitioner. Here are some communication tips to strengthen that trust:

  • Use simple, understandable language when describing treatments
  • Don’t just highlight the benefits. Help patients understand the risks as well.
  • Make sure your body language is not making you appear closed off.
  • Ask questions to understand each patient’s treatment goals.

Effective patient communication is an art. While it can take time to master, it eventually becomes second nature. That’s a great thing both for your patients and for your practice.

2. Present multiple treatment options.

Your patients are much more likely to accept treatment if you offer multiple options. Because cost is a concern for many, having choices available at different price points is vital. That’s not all that matters, though.

Because some patients are apprehensive about dentistry in general, it’s also wise to offer less invasive treatment options. For example, a patient may want to avoid replacing a tooth with an implant because they’re concerned about pain and the risk of complications. However, that same person may be willing to consider a dental bridge.

3. Use visual aids.

There’s a reason why before and after pictures are so common in advertising—they work! If a patient can clearly see the benefits of a given treatment, they are more likely to accept it.

However, before and after pictures aren’t the only visual aid worth considering. These are some other examples that might be helpful:

  • Dental X-rays
  • Brief videos explaining a given treatment process
  • 3D imaging of the teeth and jawbone
  • Physical models of the teeth and jawbone
  • Intraoral photographs of the patient’s teeth
  • Diagrams and illustrations

Visual aids can help patients stay engaged as they consider the benefits and drawbacks of each treatment. However, while visual aids can be extremely useful, they don’t necessarily mean your patients will completely understand every procedure. With that in mind, always invite your patients to ask questions.

4. Discuss the long-term benefits.

Dental treatment is an investment in oral health. Like most investments, patients are more likely to consider it if they see clear, long-term benefits. Keep in mind that while most patients care about their oral health, they also care about cosmetics. Make sure to highlight both the health and cosmetic benefits of any treatment you suggest.

5. Make financing options accessible.

Some patients are perfectly willing to accept dental treatment, but they simply cannot afford it. Many don’t have dental insurance, and those who do may have plans that only cover a limited range of services.

Patients may have the option to find personal loans or other financing avenues elsewhere. But that can be inconvenient or even impossible for those with poor credit, which means cost still presents a considerable barrier to treatment.

That’s why it’s a good idea to offer payment plans and other flexible financing options if you’re able to. When you do so, you’re more likely to see an increase in dental case acceptance.

6. Follow up with patients.

For some patients, it takes multiple discussions to fully understand and accept the benefits of treatment. While it’s important to avoid badgering your patients, you might be surprised at just how much a post-consultation follow-up and brief chat can increase acceptance of care.

However, avoid making these conversations sound like sales pitches. Ask your patients if they have questions, concerns, or reservations about any particular procedure and gently remind them of the benefits of the recommended treatment. It’s also important to emphasize that their long-term oral health is your top priority.

Improving Patient Treatment Plan Acceptance: A Multistep Approach

When patients can tell your dental team is genuinely committed to patient care, it makes a difference. And when you can offer multiple high-quality treatment options, patients will see that their well-being truly matters to you.

That’s where Williams GP Orthodontic Seminars come in. Our general dentist orthodontic courses help dental practitioners like you learn the fundamentals of orthodontics so you can start offering this type of care to your patients.

Through a combination of lectures and hands-on experience, our courses give you the skills you need to expand your practice with confidence. If you’re looking to grow your skills beyond what you’d learn in online orthodontic courses alone, get in touch with us to get started today.