More on footballing dentists

Many questions about my last post – most of which revolve around “how do we pass the patients on to the associate when the principal has been looking after them for so long?” Here is a letter that we drafted with one of our clients:

Dear PatientImportant information about your next visit to XYZ Dental

 Your next appointment for a dental examination is now due. Regular attendance for routine dental examinations is an important part of your long term oral health and can reduce the need for specific treatment and extend the working life of your teeth and gums. If you allow us to help you look after your dental health then, over the longer term, the chances are that you will suffer less discomfort and require less treatment. As little as 10 years ago, most British dentists were only concerned with maintenance and occasional fillings for the majority of their patients. Nowadays you will have read about and seen that the range and complexity of available dental treatment has increased considerably. Patients are asking for tooth whitening, veneers, white fillings, invisible braces and dental implants to name just some. The effect of this is that more and more of our dentists’ time has to be invested in delivering more complex treatments.  The specific problem that this is creating in XYZ Dental is that the waiting list for appointments with Mr Dentist is getting so long as to be unacceptable — we pride ourselves on good customer service as well as clinical care — and we feel that we are falling short of our brand standards as the queue gets longer.. To provide a solution to this problem we are delighted to welcome Dr. Associate. Who is highly recommended …….CV stuff ………. and is operating to the clinical care and customer service standards in which we believe. The benefit of this to you will be a decrease in waiting times for both routine appointments and treatment that becomes necessary or desirable. Please call Mary  or Sue on reception to book your appointment.