So close…

Sometimes, the difference between success and failure can be tiny.

Recently I’ve been watching football finals and there have been so many close matches. Matches that were decided by a single kick.

It’s not like the winning team was 10% better or even 1% better than the loser. Sometimes it just got down to the way the ball bounced.

All a coach can do is put into place systems and procedures that give an improved probability of success but nothing they, or anyone, can do guarantees success.

That got me thinking about case acceptance.

When you are consulting with a patient there is nothing you can do that guarantees that they will accept treatment. All you can do is tilt the probabilities in your favour.

For example, speak in plain English, not dental jargon. Or, present yourself in a way that inspires confidence.

Yet, when I consult with dentists I often find that they are aiming for perfection — 100% case acceptance.

They think that there is something they can do that will win over the patient every time. That idea is simply false. Trying to get 100% case acceptance has some serious downsides.

• It stresses you unnecessarily.

• It can lead to under-diagnosing. That is, you get so paranoid about rejection that you just diagnose simple things that the patient is almost sure to accept and ignore the rest.

My suggestion is to fully diagnose each case and present your findings honestly to every patient.

You will not “win” every time but if you do it in the right way you will “win” often enough for your practice to flourish.