Bad Attitude For Dental Business

This week brought me to my regular dentist for a tooth cleaning and checkup. Nothing amiss, just my regular visit.

As I was sitting in the office, it struck me that the dental practice must be a tough one to keep your clients happy in. Beyond the folks that absolutely fear the dentist, there are a lot of people who are happy to visit the dentist, but still walk in and receive an ego-bashing.

• The dentist tells you that you have a cavity (or tooth-decay, or gum disease, or some other dental issue)
• The dentist tells you you don’t floss enough (or you are brushing wrong, or some doing some other incorrect hygiene practice)
• The dentist tells you that you’re doing a great job of brushing and flossing! Then you feel great, until you realize that despite following all the doctor’s recommendations, you still can’t keep your teeth as clean as the dentist can make them. (This, despite the use of a tricked-out home dental system!)

So in the interest of running a better business, how can a dentist counteract these rather subtle actions which might make an exiting client feel worse about herself/himself than when she/he arrived?