Nothing You Learn in Dental School Defines Your Success!

David Rice, DDS

Now that I have your attention, although your patients need you to be a great clinical dentist, our title is, sadly, actually the truth. The two top reasons you and I don’t succeed in practice are poor customer service and a lack of business acumen. Read all of that again. I need you to walk your clinical talk, but it’s not clinical skills that plays a starring role in your ability to win.

It’s easy to get down on your school for not teaching you either of the above, but here’s the truth– if you want to learn those right now as a dental student, I will teach them to you for FREE, if you reach out to me after reading this. We have a few hundred students from multiple schools that we bring this content to. You can absolutely be one of them if you connect with me.

For now, let’s chat about the challenges you’ll face and some quick wins.

Poor Customer Service

There are plenty of amenities you and I can bring to our practices that make people feel warm and fuzzy. There’s Netflix, music and headphones, warm towels and blankets, massaging chairs, and on and on. Sure, we have those in our practice, but all of it is a distant second to your ability to truly understand every patient who walks in your door.

Of all the things that bring your patients comfort, the top priority is the comfort they have because they trust you. Part of trust is that you can do the dentistry they want and need (yay dental school). But the bulk of trust is your ability to empathize. Do they believe you actually understand where they’re coming from? What makes them anxious? Why are they hesitating to say yes to you?

DO YOU MAKE YOUR PATIENTS FEEL HEARD?

Are you educating them to sell them, or educating them so they see and know what you see and know? Are you able to share that education with them in a language they understand rather than the dental jargon you and I need to speak to each other? Do you have any technology that makes that easier for them? Maybe a digital scanner or an intra-oral camera so they can literally see what you see? How about AI for your radiographs so they’re confident it’s not just your opinion–it’s your opinion plus?

Are you clear and concise with their treatment options so they feel like they’re making the best decision for themselves? Or do they feel this is a you versus them scenario? Do you consistently follow up after their appointments? Or does your patient’s clock stop the moment they’re out of your chair?

These are all amazing questions for you to think about right now as student. Head back to each one and be honest with yourself. How many would you be successful with right now? Which ones could you improve on?

Poor Business Acumen

This is the tougher one for you today. Most dental schools simply run out of time to teach you how to run a real business. And most dental schools that teach you how to run a business teach you from the perspective of a dentist. This is going to be tough to read, but that isn’t good enough anymore. You need to think like a true business person. Here are a few basic principles to think about now.

Marketing. Here’s what I promise you. If you and I were in any other business and sitting with our entrepreneur friends, sharing that we had a list of customers (patients) who knew us, liked us, trusted us, and purchased from us repeatedly. We also had their address, their phone numbers, and their emails… Those entrepreneur friends would salivate. We have what every business needs to succeed. Yet somehow the average dentist spends tens of thousands of dollars on marketing companies to reach people who don’t know them, likely don’t like them (who’s ever heard that from a patient before), have no trust, and who have never bought anything from them.

STOP! START THINKING LIKE AN ENTREPRENEUR!

Management. Here’s my next promise. You only need to control 3 things as a dentist to have a wildly successful career. Ready? Here they are: You need to control your finances, your systems, and your dentistry.

Again, we have a “yay dental school” moment. When you and I have one singular vision for what success is at our dental practice, then we add in people who want and work towards that same vision every day. We give those amazing people best practices they can follow so they know how to do everything we need them to do, and when we do all of that knowing that things change for our patients over time, we win!

Little things like knowing our patients are busy people, so being open and convenient to help them? Win! Recognizing that most people are amazing, but because they have kids, maybe aging parents, and crazy lives in general that we need to remind them in simple ways that actually work? Win! Thinking about our patients as people just like us and how we want things differently today than we did 2 years ago - heck, two months ago - meaning it’s super healthy for us to evolve over time? Win!

Bringing It Home

What you’re learning in dental school matters. It drives clinical control. That said, what makes or breaks your career has nothing to do with what you’re learning there. So, if you’re a student today, don’t stress that you’re not getting everything you need from school. Their gig is clinical control. Instead, connect! I am happy to bring you the systems and financial control for FREE if you’re a student. Just click here, and I will make it so.

Together We Rise,

David

David Rice, DDS, is on a mission to improve our profession by leading the next generation of dentists to grow successful lives and practices. The founder of igniteDDS, Dr. Rice speaks to over 35 dental schools and residency programs a year on practice building, team building and wealth building. Dr. Rice is a private practitioner, educator, author, and mentor who connects students, young dentists, and professionals from diverse dental-related businesses, “fueling passion beyond the classroom.” ignitedds.com