Why should the other dental treatment options be removed from sight once the patient has chosen one?
Because behavioral science shows that the cumulative regret over options not chosen can outweigh satisfaction with the option that was chosen, even to the point that the patient is less happy than if they had made no choice at all. The dynamic is counterintuitive but well documented. A patient who picked option two from a set of three keeps thinking about option one, what they gave up, whether they should have stretched financially to reach it. The regret accumulates and the satisfaction with their actual choice erodes. The fix is structural. Once the patient picks an option, the financial coordinator immediately removes the other options from view, focuses the remaining conversation on the chosen option’s benefits, and emphasizes the loss-minimizing capabilities of the selection. The unchosen options stop competing for the patient’s attention. Buyer’s remorse drops. Satisfaction with the decision rises. The mechanism is small operationally and significant psychologically. Get the unchosen options off the screen and out of the conversation.
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.
