Helping Patients To Understand Dental Implants
Let’s face it, in this day and age dentists are required to do more than simply fix teeth. They have to advise patients of the best way to look after their teeth, or to deal with a problem. They might have to calm fearful or nervous patients so that they can administer treatment, and finally they have to be able to market the benefits of a potential treatment that they believe would cure a patent’s teeth problems. However it’s when helping patients to fully understand a particular treatment that many dentists fall short. Take dental implants in Richmond for instance. It isn’t because the dentist isn’t keen to express the benefits of them, it’s just that sometimes they go about it in a way that patients find hard to understand.
Why do dentists often do this?
The reason is that they simply think differently from patients. Let’s explain….
A patient might come along to a Richmond clinic for example because they’ve seen or heard about how a dental implant might help solve their missing teeth problems. However that’s as far as their knowledge goes. They don’t really understand what dental implants are or what’s involved in the process.
It’s at this point that many dentists assume that the patient understands as much about dental implants as they do and because of this takes it for granted that the patient is up to speed on the basics. They then go on to talk at length about technical points such as the technology available to aid fitting and the composite make-up of dental implants themselves. This is all well and good, but for the majority of lay-people, all this does is baffle them further.
So how should you go about it?
Typically a patient will ask three questions
How much does it cost?
How long will it take?
Does it hurt?
Clearly these questions need to be answered but if you stop there it isn’t really going to help the patient. Instead you’ll need to ‘sell the sizzle’ as well.
The majority of patients considering dental implants are desperate to solve their missing teeth problems. It could be that they’re fed up with wearing dentures and the issues that they bring, or instead they simply want to be able to smile again without feeling embarrassed. Once you establish the reasoning behind why they’re desperate for change, you can them explain how dental implants can help them PERSONALLY. Using the above examples you could suggest for instance that dental implants are hassle-free in that you never have to remove them and just like your normal teeth, they’re easy to clean. In addition, they’ll stay permanently in place, and as a result the patient can eat anything they like while retaining a natural looking smile.
Tapping into what the patient really needs does take a little psychology, but by asking the right questions you should be able to identify the issues that are important to them and therefore make it easier to help them understand how implants can help them.
If you want to find out more about dental implants in Richmond then check out our website at www.sheendentalimplants.co.uk where you can find a wealth of information. Alternatively, why not book yourself a free no-obligation, consultation where you can get all your questions and concerns answered so that you can make a fully informed dental decision. Contact Dr Kalsi and the team on 020 8876 5277 today.