Is presenting dental fees in the wrong order an ethical issue? A case can be made that it is. The research is clear: presenting low to high produces worse outcomes for patients because they choose options below their clinical needs. Presenting high to low produces better outcomes because patients anchor on comprehensive care and step down only where genuinely necessary. A dentist who knows this research and continues to present low to high is, in effect, leveraging behavioral science against their own patients. The patients walk out with worse dentistry than they could have had. The dentist saves the discomfort of [...]

Is presenting dental fees in the wrong order an ethical issue? A case can be made that it is. The research is clear: presenting low to high produces worse outcomes for patients because they choose options below their clinical needs. Presenting high to low produces better outcomes because patients anchor on comprehensive care and step down only where genuinely necessary. A dentist who knows this research and continues to present low to high is, in effect, leveraging behavioral science against their own patients. The patients walk out with worse dentistry than they could have had. The dentist saves the discomfort of [...]

Is presenting dental fees in the wrong order an ethical issue? A case can be made that it is. The research is clear: presenting low to high produces worse outcomes for patients because they choose options below their clinical needs. Presenting high to low produces better outcomes because patients anchor on comprehensive care and step down only where genuinely necessary. A dentist who knows this research and continues to present low to high is, in effect, leveraging behavioral science against their own patients. The patients walk out with worse dentistry than they could have had. The dentist saves the discomfort of [...]