After decades of client interactions with those that have provided expensive dentistry for their pets, I began to notice a pattern in statements made by these clients. When they came in for their post extraction rechecks, they were asking the same thing; "How did this happen? How did Diogee's mouth get so bad that he required 12 extractions?" I would then explain periodontal disease and the care necessary to keep oral health in check, and their eyes often glaze over. That look says it all; "I can't brush my pet's teeth and it is so expensive." Frustration ensues!
A light went on for me and I realized they do not know how to train their pets to have their teeth brushed and they do not know what products to purchase. I have also come to know that our clients do not know how to properly choose a chew toy, how often dentistry is required, the importance of dentistry, what a dental diet is and most have no idea that animals do not overtly demonstrate pain unless it is acute, but that they experience it the same as we do none-the-less.
That made me ask, what else do they not know? Do they know that halitosis is NOT normal? Do they know that often a fractured tooth is painful even if they are wagging their tails or purring? Do they know what steps the practice takes to safe guard their pet during anesthesia? Do they know that we will only continue the procedure if the anesthetist feels it is safe?
I then understood why the clients are all saying the same thing. They have not been educated and they feel like it is all out of their control. It is sort of how I feel when I pick my car up from the service station. I write a big check. I don't really understand what was done and I thought by changing my oil and getting my transmission checked, I had done what I was supposed to do to make sure my transportation is reliable. Frustration ensues! And, does that experience make me apt to swing by for wiper blades or will I stop by Walmart for them? Walmart! And, if a friend shared that they got service elsewhere cheaper, am I apt to switch? Unfortunately, YES! And, aren't these experiences similar?
What are you doing in practice to make sure all of these questions are addressed? Are you using brochures? Do you actually hand them out? Have you developed your website enough? And, if you have, have you tracked the success or does it just cost money and make you feel better? Do you brush your own pet's teeth everyday and if not, how can you teach a client how to do so?
Very commonly, practices today use the word wellness on their websites, but are we providing wellness if we are not educating our clients? Is it even possible to provide all of that information within the confines of a 20 minute appointment? I have found that it is not, especially since most clients do not bring their pets in specifically for oral assessments. Dentistry needs are most commonly discovered during the examination for some unrelated problem that needs to be addressed first!
So, a challenge for you all out there: If you believe your clients deserve oral health education, maybe it is time for you or one of your staff members step up and create an educational experience for your clients. This is something that I have done at the practice at which I work clinically. Once a month, I stay to provide a FREE dentistry seminar for our client base. The clients are invited by staff members for a variety of reasons; new puppy or kitten owners, owners that are reticent to provide recommended care, or owners that presented to the practice for an unrelated issue but dentistry needs were identified.
Has this been successful? Absolutely. For me, this experience takes about an hour and a half. I schedule the event at 7 pm on varying weeknights. My initial expectation was as I am sure yours is; they would be antsy and eager to get out the door. But, that is not my experience. With questions, the clients keep me an additional hour. They are thirsty for this knowledge and any animal knowledge. It is no coincidence that the Animal Planet is one of the most popular cable stations available.
I have found it helps your attendance to provide a 10% off discount for attending. The discount is the initial motivator! And, make no mistake, I do understand that there is NOT a wide profit margin on dental services. But, what the practice gets in return is an educated owner. That owner understands the wisdom of providing home care and the financial and medical benefit of frequent professional care and shorter, safer anesthetic experiences. That discount is recouped many times over by the increased care that the owner now provides.
There are so many benefits to this program:
- owners get the "tools" to maintain health and comfort for their pets
- owners provide more frequent care
- actual prophys are added to the dentistry schedule more frequently
- the increased numbers of prophys means less stressful dental/anesthetic experiences for the staff
- it gives the client a "behind the scenes" understanding of the support provided by the dentistry/anesthetic staff
- it bonds the client to the practice in a huge way
Finally, for me personally, I know that the practice has provided a system of education and ultimately we supported wellness when it comes to dentistry.
Is this tried and true? I have provided this seminar once a month for over 5 years. I also have been subcontracted to provide this seminar for another practice monthly for about 3 years now. I have had attendance numbers ranking anywhere from 12-40 clients per month.
For me this program is a win-win. The practice wins in many ways; a booked dentistry schedule, less stressful cases, better practice health and ultimately we rest knowing we are providing wellness services for our patients.
The client wins by understanding their pet's needs, their dentistry bills are more manageable and the pet wins by having better overall health and comfort. Isn't that what we all went into this profession anyway, to help pets because they can not help themselves. This is an awesome opportunity to fulfill that mission!
If you would like to create an experience like this for your practice, feel free to email me (Gr8vettek@aol.com) for an outline of topics you can use. All you have to add is your own energy, passion and love.
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