Let’s say your patient needs a new crown. You’re about to mention this when something stops you. You realize the patient is wearing a faded T-shirt and ripped jeans. An hour ago, you saw them drive into the parking lot with an old pickup truck. And you overheard the admin staff say your patient is a construction worker.
That’s what we call a wallet biopsy.
You’re probably wondering, “What’s a wallet biopsy?” It’s when dentists judge a patient’s financial status based on their appearance. When a wallet biopsy happens, dentists talk themselves out of treatment before they even bring it up. They see the clothes, the car and the job, and they assume their patients can’t afford treatment.
Don’t judge a book by its cover! You can’t guess how much money a patient makes just by looking at them.
Forget how much it costs. Your number one priority is getting patients the dental care they need. Focus on communicating the value of treatment to your patients. When they see the value, they’ll find a way to pay for it.
A wallet biopsy sounds pretty ridiculous. Imagine if we actually conducted a biopsy on wallets! Well, you don’t have to imagine it, because we made a video doing exactly that.
Enjoy!
