\u201cOral health literacy.\u201d Yes, that\u2019s a thing according to the American Dental Association (ADA). And it could be a key factor for increasing awareness and education about the value of oral health.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the ADA\u2019s specific definition of oral health literacy:<\/p>\n
\u201d\u2026the ability for patients to \u201cobtain, process, and understand basic oral health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.\u201d [1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n This perspective would help confirm the more practical reality that over 40% of Americans say they wish they went to the dentist more regularly. From your perspective, this is a significant portion of Americans, roughly 40% of the population that you could target for new patients and activating recall appointments.<\/p>\n That might seem like the million-dollar-question. No doubt, your passion, training, expertise, and knowledge of dentistry creates an unquenchable drive to reach those who are often ambivalent about dental care.<\/p>\n But disinterest isn\u2019t the only reason people don’t prioritize or outright avoid dentistry.<\/p>\n A blunt yet somewhat accurate perspective might help you get inside the minds of a hesitant public.<\/p>\n \u201cLet’s face it, the dental office is not a comfort zone for our patients. From their point of view, we invade their personal space, stick them, poke them, give them doses of radiation, deliver bad news, and then we reprimand them! It’s no wonder we meet up with unwilling attitudes.\u201d [2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n In fairness, too there are personal issues you\u2019re aware of that cause people (even some of your patients) to keep dental care at arm\u2019s length.<\/p>\n It helps to realize that every patient or potential patient is different. Each holds a preconceived idea about oral health care.<\/p>\n It\u2019s common to emphasize education. But going a step further, it\u2019s more about the type, timing, and tone of your patient and public education process.<\/p>\n You might wonder what \u201cmarketing\u201d has to do with oral health education. A lot if you shift your narrative.<\/p>\n Dental marketing brings to mind promotions and premiums. You can keep those in your hip-pocket.<\/p>\n But a dental marketing<\/a> re-think involves a substantial change in the type of information you share. An emphasis on the value of oral health (generally speaking) can be packaged within your core marketing messages.<\/p>\n Dental service promotions can be lost on your patients or non-patients if the primary barriers to their buy-in aren\u2019t confronted.<\/p>\n A more compelling marketing narrative will reach the core emotions that eventually lead them to prioritize, schedule, accept treatment, and follow-through on their recommended procedures.<\/p>\n Know your audience<\/strong><\/p>\n Create and share relevant information<\/strong><\/p>\n Today\u2019s marketing success has much to do with the level and quality of useful information you share. It can help shift patient and public oral health perspective more effectively than solely relying on promotional campaigns.<\/p>\n Confronting a patient about their brushing and flossing routine or how long it\u2019s been since their last check-up is well-intentioned. But it can also alienate them.<\/p>\n It\u2019s best to reward their initiative to finally reach out, schedule, and\/or show up for a dental visit.<\/p>\n Proactive conversations and language have a greater long term impact than diminishing ones. (More on tone in a moment).<\/p>\n The timing perspective relies somewhat on the fact that a current or new patient has taken initiative to schedule and show up for their appointment. Given that it\u2019s a reactivation or new patient visit they\u2019ll likely spend most of their time with a dental hygienist<\/a>.<\/p>\n Think of this hygiene chair-time as prime educational time.<\/p>\n Again, the way you frame oral health conversations and the information you emphasize helps determine a patient\u2019s attitude about it. A reactive, confrontational tone will build unnecessary barriers between you and your patients.<\/p>\n Patients and the public are bombarded with negative energy about dentistry and oral health care. This reality opens the door to establish yourself as a positive voice-of-the-people.<\/p>\n Give your patients the impression that you understand their perceptions (positive or negative). Talk casually about their oral health concerns and avoid talking down to them or increasing their guilt about poor health decisions.<\/p>\n Every patient has their reason(s) for avoiding oral health care. Often, it\u2019s the baggage they\u2019ve carried for months or years that started with a fear-enhancing or guilt-inducing conversation around dentistry.<\/p>\n Tone it up and you\u2019ll perhaps tone-down the negative \u201cnoise\u201d in their heads.<\/p>\n Oral health literacy will increase as the result of a new mindset about marketing, patient education, and the \u201ctone\u201d of your professional voice.<\/p>\n On theme – take a look at another resource in our Practice Builder series:<\/p>\n Practice Builder: Dental Patient Recall Strategies for the Summer Season (Or Anytime You Want to Fill Your Schedule)<\/a><\/p>\n The more patient-facing the better your patient relationships – including a boost in patient production<\/a> from your recall systems<\/a>.<\/p>\n You might find the cloud solution like Denticon to be a more seamless and low maintenance platform<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n Thinking about or ready to update your dental practice management software? Contact us<\/a> or request a demo<\/a> of the Denticon platform\u2026before you decide!<\/p>\n [1]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>https:\/\/www.ada.org\/en\/public-programs\/health-literacy-in-dentistry<\/a><\/p>\n [2]<\/sup><\/a> https:\/\/www.rdhmag.com\/patient-care\/radiology\/article\/16404420\/a-recipe-for-patient-education<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cOral health literacy.\u201d Yes, that\u2019s a thing according to the American Dental Association (ADA). And it could be a key factor for increasing awareness and education about the value of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1416,146,138],"tags":[621,622,623,624,625,191,378,42,13,14,626,305,286,627,495,170,118,327,68,628,629,630,548,631,508,312],"class_list":["post-5847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth","category-practice-management","category-trends","tag-acceptance","tag-americans","tag-avoid","tag-awareness","tag-conversations","tag-costs","tag-decisions","tag-dental-practices","tag-dentistry","tag-dentists","tag-educate","tag-education","tag-health","tag-hesitant","tag-hygienist","tag-insurance","tag-marketing","tag-oral-health","tag-patients","tag-perception","tag-prioritize","tag-public","tag-recall","tag-tone","tag-treatment","tag-visit"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetdds.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What\u2019s keeping people from prioritizing their oral health?<\/h2>\n
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How to shift the perspective about the value of oral health<\/h2>\n
Rethink your marketing<\/h3>\n
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Timing is everything (or close to it)<\/h3>\n
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Watch your tone<\/h3>\n
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Refine your patient-facing strategies<\/h2>\n
Consider a cloud-based solution and use the built-in tools to improve your patient\u2019s oral health perceptions.<\/h3>\n
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