Informing Your Patients about Dental Implant Procedures
Dental implant placement and restoration is an important procedure with considerable medical and financial implications, and therefore should be considered carefully. As a dental professional your role is to educate your patients and put them at ease so they can approach this procedure with confidence.
From talking to patients you probably know that there is a lot of misinformation out there. Patients come to you expecting all kinds of fast solutions, or alternatively are discouraged by false stories they read online.
It is therefore paramount that you take steps to establish yourself and your practice as their prime trusted information source, provide patients with clear and dependable information, help alleviate concerns they may have, and prepare them for the procedure to ensure the optimal outcome. And, as a general rule, it also doesn’t hurt to be considerate and informative to your customers – no matter what kind of business you have.
Here are some guidelines on how to set up good communication with your patients:
- Set up your preferable mode for ongoing communication. Common forms are an email newsletter or text alert forwarding to new posts on your website (that is, if your practice has one).
- Create a basic information page. This can be in the form of Questions and Answers or according to topics. It should ideally cover the different options for replacing missing teeth, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
- Create a pre-procedure page outlining the process, as well as a page for post-procedure care.
- Create scheduled updates on new implant procedures and technologies. For example, let your patients know when you start using new types of implants such as our Mono one-piece implants, mini implants, and our Zygomatic implants (which were recently chosen as one of the Top 25 Implant Products for 2020 by Dentistry Today’s Readers’ Choice).
Constant updates are important reminders to your patients that you are their prime and trusted source of information. The updates can also bring new patients who previously did not consider themselves candidates; and last but not least – those updates show patients your practice is up to date, helping you build a good name for yourself.
Ongoing communication with your patients is also vital in special circumstances, such as the current Coronavirus crisis.
There is no substitute for a doctor’s opinion and diagnosis. It is the most credible and precise information the patient can get. Make sure your patients know this and are tuned to you in all matters relating to their dental health.