7 Ways Dentists Can Address Patient Expectations

Patient satisfaction is key for a successful dental practice. There are many varieties of treatments available in dentistry from preventive to restorative to replacement. For each of these treatments and conditions, patient expectations vary from person to person. While addressing patients, dentists needs to keep details of all the patient’s expectations. Some patients are highly demanding and some are happy with average treatment results.

Restoring single decayed tooth is different from doing the full mouth rehabilitation. In daily general dental practice the challenges are many and diverse; often the patient wants one thing corrected. They assume it is just a simple fix, “I just want all my teeth to have the same colour, and beautiful smile.".

Depending upon the initial situation, the amount of dentistry work required to provide a healthy, beautiful and dazzling smile can vary enormously. Patient’s medical and dental conditions makes treatment plans complicated and may hamper the final outcome.

7 Essential steps while addressing patient treatment

Careful evaluation of patient’s dental and medical condition

This is the main step after understanding the patient’s chief complaint. Careful evaluation of dental and medical conditions helps to formulate and make decisions about available treatment options. Ask patients about any bleeding disorders, previous history of diseases and medications.

Understand patient's requirements and expectations

This is the key to make the patient happy about the final treatment results. Some patients have a very clear and detailed outcome picture in their mind. Sometimes that may be realistic and sometimes they may be vague. The purpose of managing patient’s expectations in dental practice is to minimise the discrepancies between expectations and their actual experiences.

Whenever patient’s expectations are high, make him aware about his current situation and available treatment options and challenges while treating him. Unless and until dentists don't do this, patients will continue to be highly demanding. For example, sometimes a case of generalised periodontitis comes to the clinic and demands teeth whitening treatment. Likewise, some patients demand implants but there is an occlusal discrepancy or no space in bite. Some complete denture patients harbour expectations to chew nuts with dentures. We need to educate and motivate them to consider the prior procedures and corrections which may be required to reach their goals. Sometimes this may be just too expensive, not only in terms of money but also in terms of time.

No one wants time consuming dentistry, everyone wants instant end results, and we as dentists are often under pressure to provide that quick, inexpensive service without the time to consider all options. By structuring proper protocols and time to consider available options, we can reduce errors and one can easily deliver the smile that fulfills the patient’s expectations.

Use proper diagnostic measures

Diagnostic measures may include IOPA, OPG, CBCT, lab tests, plaster study models, diagnostic wax ups, intra and extra oral photographs etc. This helps to educate the patient about his current situation as well as formulating a treatment plan. Digital smile designing is a recent concept that plays an important role in patient education and treatment formulation.