Does professional dress in a dental practice actually affect case acceptance?
Yes, especially since 2008. Patients buying expensive elective services read dress as a signal. Casual or sloppy dress on doctor or staff registers as a casual or sloppy practice. Sharp professional dress projects competence and seriousness, which are the qualities patients project onto the clinical work they cannot evaluate directly. This same pattern emerged after the dot-com bust at the turn of the century. Markets that have endured economic shock raise their bar on professional signaling. The practice trying to win big cases while everyone in the office is wearing scrubs and athletic shoes is fighting a hidden headwind. Dress for the work you want to win, not the work you are doing today.
If the answers you are finding here resonate with you, my team and I work with a small group of clients each year. The next step is a complimentary Discovery Consultation and Practice Review with Dr. McAnally.