Dentaltown June 2023 - 22

MESSAGE BOARD 1
with a prejudice against the " superpowers " I have. I'm
starting to realize I could've been using this power to
convince patients to do the necessary treatment they
needed. I was so bent on being moral that I might've
been short-changing my patients all along. 
doing pretty much anything else. It wasn't worth the
headache for me, not to mention the scheduleclogging
number of appointments! I now can get
patients in quickly for toothaches or other emergencies
and I don't have a large patient base unhappy
with loss of function with their denture.
It has freed me mentally and fi nancially. No longer
barstoolpigeons
Post: 15 of 31
4/5/2023
Do you send a pre-estimate so it comes back and
you can show the patient? " Look! It's not covered
so you have to pay our fee. " Th en let them know the
conventional denture will be covered with their
in-network discount. 
doing repairs, either-the days of paying a lab $100
for a repair and insurance reimbursing me $105 are
over. No looking back! 
Cap Corona
Post: 22 of 31
4/7/2023
I use a prosthetic analogy as well, especially when
Dental Insurance Guy
Post: 16 of 31
4/5/2023
Absolutely not! PreD that forces you to wait only
serves to decrease patient acceptance. Itemizing
what is covered and not also is a no-go.
" Your total cost for this treatment after insurance
is $X. When would you like to get started? "
Going into codes and treatment/insurance details
only serves to confuse most patients. Talk to them
like humans, not dental professionals. 
people with good teeth come in wanting dentures.
I have the same problem, too, though: It never sinks
in. I think it's because they have friends who've had
dentures for years and those patients have learned
how to use them and forgotten how much better
real teeth are. So, they tell their friends that they eat
anything and get along fi ne. I understand now that
dentists only do a lower denture if it's attaching to
implants! 
cookaw
Post: 21 of 31
4/7/2023
I'm a small-town rural GP and dentures used to be
an everyday part of my practice. Especially immediates.
I did the extract/deliver, followed up with a few
soft relines, and then hard reline at six months. I had
a come-to-Jesus meeting with each patient explaining
what a compromise dentures were functionally,
even comparing it to losing a leg and having a prosthetic.
For some reason, patients could understand
that losing a leg would be a major adjustment, but
never could fi gure out that losing their teeth would
be an equivalent adjustment and expected them to
work great.
I eliminated dentures completely last year. By the
time I completed all the necessary steps plus all the
follow-ups, I made more money per appointment
JUNE 2023 | 22 | DENTALTOWN.COM
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Dentaltown June 2023

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