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Home > About Us > Dental Industry News > Dental Industry Articles > Why Patients Leave

Why Patients Leave

THE RICHARDS REPORT
By Fred Joyal
CEO, 1-800-DENTIST

April 11, 2007

Dentists generally show rabid concern about how many new patients are coming in, but few ever focused on patients who are leaving the practice and why. After talking with hundreds of practices and interacting with millions of potential patients, here are the major reasons we've found why dentists lose patients:

#1 They move away. Dentists seem to forget that people move. 16% of the American population moves in any given year, and 8% move out of their current county. Even though they might make the trip back for a year or two, eventually they'll find another dentist.

#2 Their insurance changed, or you stopped taking it. Not much you can do about that, right? Wrong. Let these patients know that you would still be happy to treat them, and submit their insurance for them. Some will stay, because in reality people hate trying to find a new dentist. And some will come back when they don't like the care they've gotten somewhere else.

#3 Your practice doesn't offer what they want. They've heard about Invisalign® or lasers, or same day restorations with CEREC® or they saw a news special on conscious sedation, and you don't offer these things. If you don't stay current, your practice will erode.

#4 They don't know what you do. Even if you offer everything they want, if they don't know you do it, and they see an ad from a dentist who does, you might lose them. And telling patients what you do just once is not effective. People only pay attention if it's something that matters to them right at that moment. Remind them often of all that your practice offers.

Find a Dentist Now
• Thousands of quality dentists
• Dentists screened and selected just for you
• 98% customer satisfaction
• Over 7 million happy patients
FREE MATCHING SERVICE
Find a Dentist Today
Start here — We're available 24/7.
Enter Your ZIP Code:    Please enter a new ZIP     


#5 They think you're too expensive. Which translates to one thing: they don't value your care. Which means no one is effectively building the value of the dentistry you do in their minds--not you, not your staff, not your office environment. Gotta fix it.

#6 They are embarrassed about how long they've put off their recall. This one may seem strange, but people feel uncomfortable about being chided for neglecting their exams and cleanings. They get too embarrassed, and switch dentists. Don't make your patients feel guilty, and don't judge them. Just help them keep their teeth as a priority.

Closing the Back Door
It comes down to this: you can do something about every one of these except patients moving. The simple solution most often is communication-the kind of interaction that shows the patient that they are in a relationship with you about their lifelong oral health. Successful practices make it a priority to let patients know that they care and that they know who the patients are as individuals. Show them you care, relate to them, equip your office with the latest technology and, for goodness sake, tell them what you do. Getting new patients is tough enough. It's worth the effort to keep them.

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