Dos and don'ts for patient satisfaction: Compliment every patient

Everyone enjoys receiving compliments. You probably know this from personal experience -- feeling good when someone flatters you, and seeing the positive effect when you compliment others. It's human nature. It's also great for improving relationships with your patients. Given the fact that you see many of your patients only twice a year and have limited time for interactions on those occasions, complimenting them can be a vital part of your conversational repertoire.

Look for ways to praise. The first step toward becoming skilled at giving compliments is learning how to identify praiseworthy attributes of patients. These can be either obvious qualities (attractive clothing, a cheerful laugh, calmness during treatment) or points you gather from conversation (running a 5K race, taking in an exchange student, winning an award at work). If you approach every patient looking for something nice to say, you'll find it.

Don't underestimate the positive effect on the relationship. Complimenting patients results in more than just more pleasant conversations. You'll also be increasing patient loyalty and trust, which in turn will result in higher case acceptance rates and increased production.

Roger P. Levin, DDS, is the founder and CEO of Levin Group, the leading dental practice consulting firm in North America. For the complete list of dates and locations where you can attend his latest seminar, visit www.levingroup.com/gpseminars.

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