What’s the right wording to get a dental patient to bring their spouse to consultation?
Three reliable phrasings, all built around ‘because.’ First: ‘We need your spouse here because what we will discuss is complicated and there is no simple way for you to go home and explain what works best.’ Second: ‘The decision to have this kind of dentistry affects every part of your life and your finances together, so we need them in the room.’ Third, for active periodontal disease: ‘Because the dental issue you have is infectious, we need both of you here to talk about how to get healthy again.’ Each phrasing gives the patient a concrete reason to bring the second person. Surveys of practices using these phrasings show roughly 94 percent of patients comply. Without a ‘because,’ compliance drops to around 60.
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.