How many items can a dental patient hold in working memory during a case presentation?
Seven simple items. Three or four complex ones. The classic finding from cognitive psychology, originally documented during the rotary-phone era when seven-digit phone numbers became the standard, holds today. Most humans can manage seven items of equal simplicity. Phone numbers are seven digits because that is the comfortable limit. Once the items grow complex (multi-step treatment plans, financing structures, clinical option trees), the limit drops to three or four. This sets the upper bound on what can fit in a case presentation. Listing more than four treatment considerations overwhelms the patient’s working memory. The patient simplifies in self-defense, usually by choosing nothing. Stay within the cognitive envelope. The patient who can hold the choices in mind is the patient who can decide.
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.
