If our patients fail to perceive a difference between our practice style and managed care, and if managed care dentistry saves them money, why in the world would they ever choose us?

      

After all, most of us would head to Kmart or Target to pick up that Igloo cooler for this summer’s last-minute picnic.  Would anyone dash to Nordstrom’s or Saks Fifth Avenue to get the same ice chest, paying possibly 20 or 30 percent more?  If our sole purpose were to acquire that type of cooler, it would be foolish to pay more for the same thing.

 

What about dentistry?  If private, fee-for-service style fillings, cleanings or crowns are not perceived as different from those provided in HMO, PPO or capitated plans, why would we even hope to retain or attract patients vs. the less-expensive alternatives?

 

Does anyone think it would be less stressful if we began seeing more patients per-day?  Or spent less time with each patient?  Are more changes in the doctor-patient relationship going to occur as a result of continued influence from third parties?  Would this be desirable?

 

Of course not.

 

Can predictability of our dental services and long-term retention of chewing system function remain supportable goals under poorly funded programs?  Can we continue to deliver quality dental services for less and less without compromise?

 

Hardly.

     

 

Have you ever heard the expression, “trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle”?  Think about the Sistine Chapel, as painted by Michelangelo.  His brush strokes were “trifles,” but those trifles helped make this masterpiece and artistic triumph, one that has stood the test of time.

 

So too, I would argue, will our relationship with our patient stand this same test, but only if w continue to offer them superior skill, care and judgment.  If we support patients with excellent workmanship and a maximum of personal attention in our practices, and if your staff is consistent, well-trained and respectful, our patients will naturally choose us over a less expensive model.

   

We all understand the quality, safety and performance differences between low-end and higher-end goods and services.  We choose according to our knowledge, needs and abilities those that we perceive to be the best value.  We don’t choose just the cheapest or lease expensive.  Rather, we choose the best fit.  To put it another way, we choose the best bang for our buck!  That’s why high-quality, service-oriented department stores like Nordstrom’s are thriving.  A large number of people value service and quality.  They also value quality and service in a dental office.

   

However, we can’t just talk about excellence and individualized comprehensive care.  We also have to “walk the walk.”  Patients will remember us by what we do.  We must strive for excellence each and every day.

   

Remember back to dental school: oral diagnosis, the new patient interview and examination, face-bows, and mounted diagnostic casts, thorough periodontal evaluation and occlusal analysis.  Are we still doing all of the things we were taught to do routinely in school?  If not….why not?

   

There isn’t much room for this type of quality care under some of the creative dental care plans directed at managing cost over substance.  When these plans dictate patient care, it will be quite challenging to remain committed to many of the ideals and principles that have distinguished our profession.

   

At The Pankey Institute, where I teach , we urge dentists to take their staff to lunch at three different levels of restaurants in order to illustrate what good value there is in excellent dentistry.  First, treat them to lunch at McDonald’s and discuss the level of service, seating comfort, the salt and pepper and ketchup displays, bagged food, trays, and so on.  Evaluate the cost of the lunch, which typically comes to three or four dollars per person.

   

Then, on the next outing, head off to TGI Friday’s or somewhere similar.  Notice the differences.  You’ll find wooden tables, real stainless, ketchup bottles, plates and a waitress to serve you.  Lunch here is likely to cost seven or eight dollars per person, or about double what McDonald’s costs.

   

Finally, take your staff to the finest restaurant in town.  More likely than not, you’ll see tablecloths, silverware, valet parking, real creamers (instead of those little plastic tubs), and a host of other real and perceived differences.  A total of $12 to $15 per person should cover the tab, but that’s at least 300 percent more than you paid for the first lunch you had at McDonalds.

  

In dentistry, by contrast, the cost difference between low-end clinics and high-end dental offices is probably not more than 20 to 40 percent.

   

What a bargain!

  

If we all strive for excellence in our skill, care and judgment, if we improve our technical procedures and train a quality-driven, service-oriented staff, our patients will surely perceive the difference.  They’ll see what a value we can provide.

 

Dr. Murphy is the Director of Marketing and Professional Relations at the Pankey Institute in Key Biscayne Florida and can be reached at mmurphy@pankey.org