The role of the exceptional new patient experience

American folk humorist Will Rogers once said, “You only get one chance to make a great first impression.” That advice could be given to anyone preparing for a job interview, a first date, or even a dentist when a new patient appointment arrives at the office. This universal truth is one of the tenets that S. Jerry Long, DDS, uses when helping others design a successful dental practice model as co-director of UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry’s PACE Practice Consulting services.

Long considers an exceptional new patient experience as one of the key ingredients to thrive inside a professional practice.

With over 40 years of dental practice experience, he has seen the stark difference between treating new patients as just another visitor and carefully managing new patients’ experiences for them to feel celebrated and comforted during their initial visit.

“Doctors and staff alike should treat the arrival of a new patient as the highlight of their day,” Long said. “If that first visit exceeds the patient’s expectations, future referrals are sure to follow.”

In his practice consulting, Long cites numerous polls and surveys that confirm over 90% of all consumers trust recommendations from friends and family. Even in the modern age of advertising, he believes that word-of-mouth is unique in that it is both cost effective and still the most powerful form of promoting a practice.

“New patients are the lifeblood of any dental practice,” he said. “That rings true whether the practice’s business model is fee-for-service or traditional insurance, preferred provider, a dental HMO, or even Medicaid.”

Long revealed that he didn’t realize the impact of treating the new patients differently until a colleague inspired him to create a process of welcoming first-time visitors. He bought into the challenge and likened the experience to a play, complete with actors, lines, and rehearsed entrances and exits.

He continued to follow the formal script of his practice’s new patient experience until his retirement.

“The new patient script is performed in two appointments: the personal chat and comprehensive oral examination, followed by dental hygiene session and a superbly prepared case presentation and consultation visit at the second appointment,” he said. “The ‘play’ ran about one-and-a-half hours for each appointment, but I was only ‘on stage’ for about 45 minutes of each performance. Improvisation was always encouraged depending on the mood of our audience — the patient.”

Long considers it his duty to impart the wisdom he has gained from his own extensive dental career and from the 10 years of providing consulting services for the next generation of dentists, and considers the new patient experience a crucial step in developing a continuous flow of new patients for any dental practice.

“The nuances of incorporating this strategy into every new patient visit must be fully understood by every staff member to create enthusiastic new patient experiences for your practice,” he said. “Coaching is essential to success even in the health care professions.”

To gain a full understanding of new patient experiences and how to implement it in an actual dental setting, an appointment can be made with PACE Practice Consulting. Consulting is available to all School of Dentistry students, residents, recent graduates, and faculty.