Why ask dental patients “What questions would you like to ask to help you feel good about choosing an option?”
Because the phrasing invites the patient to surface lingering doubts in a frame that assumes a positive outcome rather than a confrontational defense of the recommendation. Standard “do you have any questions” framing often produces silence even when patients have real concerns. The patient does not want to seem critical, slow, or skeptical. Reframing the question around what they would need to ask to feel good about choosing shifts the social frame entirely. Now the doctor is helping the patient get to a yes, and the patient’s job is to surface whatever stands between them and confident commitment. Concerns that would have stayed buried come out: worries about recovery time, anxiety about a specific step, doubts about whether they can manage financing, uncertainty about timing. Each surfaced concern can be addressed in the room. Unspoken concerns walk out with the patient and kill the case later. The reframed question pulls them into the conversation when they can still be resolved.
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.
