Intra- and inter-office communication: Important in achieving optimal treatment outcomes and patient satisfaction

Optimal communication between practitioners, their patients and staff requires a clear and focused understanding of what the mutual treatment goals are. Education is the key to making such communication successful and at all levels it needs to be clear and consistent. It begins with the initial phone call and reinforced by all members of your practice team using coherent language to build trust. The use of visual aids helps to educate and explain treatment plans supporting the parental/patient confidence in their decision to proceed with care. Social media can help us stay connected with our patients/parents as well as referrers creating a de facto “dental family or home base.” Generating a close relationship with our referrers and their team through contact and “learning opportunities” is a substantial tool to create the consistency and focus on our shared goal of optimal patient care. Through clinical scenarios the above concepts will be discussed along with potential strategies offered on how to implement them into practice.