Greeting Patients at the Dental Front Desk
5 Tips For Happy Patients
Greeting patients at the dental front desk is one of the most important aspects of running a successful dental practice. The first point of contact with patients sets the tone for the entire visit, and it's important to make a positive impression. Patients who feel welcome and comfortable are more likely to return for future appointments, refer friends and family, and leave positive reviews. In this blog post, we'll share five tips for greeting patients at the dental front desk that will help ensure happy patients and a thriving practice.
Greeting Patients at the Dental Front Desk
- Warm Welcome: A friendly greeting goes a long way in making patients feel comfortable. Make eye contact, smile, and greet each patient by name. It's a small gesture, but it can make a big impact on their experience.
- Comfortable Environment: The dental office can be an intimidating place for some patients. Create a welcoming and comfortable environment by providing comfortable seating, offering refreshments, and providing reading material or a television.
- Clear Communication: Patients appreciate clear and concise communication. Make sure to explain any necessary paperwork, procedures, or insurance information in a way that is easy to understand. Answer any questions the patient may have and offer reassurance if needed.
- Timely Service: Patients value their time and don't want to be kept waiting. Make sure to keep appointments on schedule and let patients know if there are any delays.
- Follow-Up: A follow-up call or email can go a long way in making patients feel valued. Thank them for their visit, inquire about their experience, and offer any necessary follow-up care.
A positive patient experience starts at the dental front desk. By following these five tips, you can create a welcoming environment that will help ensure happy patients and a thriving practice. If you're interested in learning more about how to improve patient satisfaction in your dental practice, consider booking a demo with our team. We would be happy to discuss how our software can help streamline your operations and enhance patient experience.
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2023 Dental Front Desk Training Checklist: Dental Practice Management 101
Similar To: "Greeting Patients at the Dental Front Desk"
Hiring and building a great team is so important to the overall success of your practice — and an efficient front desk is a key to a productive practice. Your busy dental practice can create an exciting front office environment for your receptionists to help manage.
Your front office team has to do a huge range of tasks, with a lot of interruptions, throughout their day. Creating a dependable task flow helps your front office team focus on their most significant tasks, even with interruptions. Your dental receptionist is responsible for making sure that the operations of your dental office run smoothly so that you and your dental team can concentrate on patient care and dental treatment.
How to Know When Your Front Desk Staff Needs Improvement
Making a positive first impression is a powerful part of the front desk staff’s job in your dental practice. They’re the face of your practice! Proper front desk etiquette is very important, yet many skip formal training for their folks working upfront. Your dental office manager is the first person that comes in contact with the patient — so it’s pretty important that they are organized. Your dental practice’s success depends on having the highest possible level of organization for your office managers. If you are worried your front desk staff is falling short on their front desk manners, here are four questions to ask yourself.
- Is your front desk staff well trained?
- Does your front desk staff have strong interpersonal skills?
- Does your front desk staff exhibit proper phone etiquette?
- Is your practice a great place to work?
If you can honestly answer “yes” to the four questions below, you most likely have a good team. If you are not sure of your answers or if any of your answers are no, there’s room for improvement.
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How Do I Train My Dental Front Of The Office?
Dental front desk training checklists are valuable for a couple of reasons. They can be practical when training new front office team members. It’s also helpful if another team member is filling in. The checklist gives the new team members a place to start.
To meet your front desk team’s goals, here’s what the Front Desk Coordinator should be trained to accomplish in the first few minutes with a new patient:
Project energy and enthusiasm. Even on the worst of days at the office, they must rise above any negative feelings to create a strong positive impression of your practice. Language like “We love seeing new patients!” or “I can’t wait to meet you!” sends the right message.
Gather information, including interesting personal facts. In addition to the usual patient information, your coordinator should draw out some personal details. These will be documented so you and other staff members can use them to help build a strong practice-patient relationship.
Find out how callers heard about your practice. For the sake of your marketing, you need to know what strategies are working for your practice. If your new patients have been referred by current patients, asking “Who can we thank for recommending us?” sends the message that you really appreciate your patients, both established and new.
Build value for you, the team, and the practice.
Praise for A) You. Such as, “Did you know Dr. Smith is board-certified?”,
B) Your staff. Like, “We treat our patients like family!”
C) Your office. Something like, “We have an amazing new imaging system!”
These can all be interspersed throughout the conversation between your front desk and new patients.
Schedule the first appointment within seven days. By the end of the conversation, all callers should be scheduled to come in soon for their first visit before the positive first impression your front desk coordinator creates can fade.
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Dental Office Manager Documents & Resources: your dental front desk training checklist
Take the guesswork out of running your practice. Done Desk provides expert resources and training to help you establish, and maintain your COVID-19 compliance disciplines. CDC guidelines, OSHA, HIPAA, infection control, and employee awareness are all at the forefront of practice ownership. We help you train your people, keep them trained, and organize your training records.
Want a printable checklist to get your front office team on the same page and motivated?
Drop your details below to download Done Desk’s 2022 Dental Front Desk Training Checklist designed to help Office Managers run a busy dental practice and manage their staff.