A visit to your dentist means many things to people.
But my office team and I want every patient's appointment to contain these three things:
Aha! Hah Hah! Ahh!
Let's talk about them.
Aha!
My dictionary defines Aha! as an exclamation expressing, by different intonations, triumph or surprise. For us, this means that every visit should bring a learning experience to our patients. We want our patients to find something out. It might be great news, such as "You are amazingly healthy. It's terrific to see how well you've healed. You're doing a good job taking care of yourself." Or maybe it's not so great, like "Well, you have developed a little gum inflammation and you're beginning to lose some supporting bone around the roots of your teeth. But don't worry, because we have completely effective ways of stopping that, so you're gonna be OK." Or it could be something like "Did you know that chewing certain types of gum can actually prevent cavities? No, really. Chewing gum that contains xylitol is decay-preventive."
These are all examples of Aha! And a dental appointment should always provide learning. Because a Smart Patient is better able to have teeth he really likes all throughout his life. Knowledge is power. A dental office should be a place of education.
Hah Hah!
Here's a revolutionary idea: A dental office should be a place where you have fun. "What?", you say. I'm not kidding. Laughter feels good. Laughter makes everything better. Laughter is a great way to promote health. Who doesn't like to laugh? You should expect your dentist and his team to take their work very seriously, because it impacts on people. But taking your work seriously doesn't mean taking yourself so seriously. Life is tough enough without your dental office making it grimmer. If your dentist and his team doesn't look and sound like they're having fun, and if you are not having fun there, you should go somewhere else. Dentistry is a high tech thing, but it should also be high touch. One of my colleagues does magic in his office. What fun! We like to tell funny stories and jokes. We fool around a little. Laughter, love and a little Hah Hah! silliness provide a human touch and that goes a long way to making a dental office a fun place to visit.
Ahh!
This is what you say when something feels good. Good news. Relief. Pleasure. A great new smile. A very comfortable appointment that surprised you with how easy it was. A dental office should want you to feel an Ahh! at your visits. Attention to your comfort is important. A comfortable chair, great anesthetics that produce painless dentistry, lip balm for your lips, a soft touch, a hand on your shoulder if you're tense, appreciation spoken out loud for how great a patient you are, a phone call later that day or the next day to find out how you are doing – all these things and lots more create an Ahh! that makes your dental visit a great experience.
Aha! Hah Hah! Ahh! Part of what makes a great dental office great.
Check to see at your next visit if you're getting them.
