Who are Type Two dental patients and why does Paul Allen illustrate the category so well?
Type Two patients have the financial means to pay for major treatment and choose not to spend their money on it. Sometimes they say they cannot afford it, when what they actually mean is they will not pay your fee. Type Two patients exist in every income bracket including the very top. Paul Allen, the late Microsoft cofounder, sat on the Forbes list of richest people for decades and clearly needed dental work he chose not to pursue. The few photographs that exist of him smiling show it. Plenty of wealthy patients sit with conditions a comprehensive practice could address and decline to invest in fixing them. That is their right. The practice’s job with Type Two patients is to make the strongest possible case using evidence-based persuasion grounded in behavioral science, then respect the decision when they say no. No amount of pressure converts a Type Two patient who has firmly decided not to spend. Make the case once well, then move on.
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.
