Episode 123
123: The Turning Point When My Treatment Acceptance Went Up - Dr. Amanda Seay
Dr. Amanda Seay is a dentist who focuses on restorative dentistry at her private practice in Mount Pleasant, SC. She is a life long learner and started taking CE courses right out of dental school. She is a clinical instructor at the Kois Center, she has published articles on the art and technique of restorative dentistry, and serves on the board of many peer-reviewed journals.
On today’s show, Dr. Seay shares how she discovered the turning point that made her acceptance rate go up. She has always taken education, preparation, and dentistry seriously, but when she began to build trust and relationships before diving into the clinical details of treatment, her patients began to respond better. This is an awesome informative episode that reminds all of us to focus on the human side of our practice.
You can find Dr. Amanda Seay here:
Show Notes
[02:10] Dr. Amanda Seay went to dental school at NYU in New York City. She graduated in 2002 and went to an associate-ship for a year and then started a practice from scratch.
[02:48] Amanda believes that learning never ends. She started with continuing education right away and keeps learning.
[03:05] Amanda runs a strictly restorative practice. She doesn't do root canals or implants. She focuses on aesthetics. She lectures and publishes.
[03:58] When dentists first start out they don't really have a work-life balance.
[04:49] Amanda started to see a change in her practice when she started investing in herself.
[05:22] The turning point where Amanda's acceptance went up. A consultant told her not to talk dentistry.
[05:49] It was a challenge to slow down and think about how to get a person to trust her for their care without talking about dentistry.
[06:14] How dentistry is a lot like building a house.
[08:13] My dental acceptance rate went up when I stopped talking about dentistry and started building relationships.
[10:17] Role-playing is a great way to practice talking to patients.
[10:41] A change in perspective and how time went down when Amanda started connecting with people.
[14:41] Giving a range of fee options when doing a consultation. Using phases to make treatment plans affordable.
[16:00] Finding somewhere in between to actually treat the patient.
[18:45] Amanda charges a nominal fee for cosmetic consultations.
[19:11] She prefers consultations at the end of the day, because she likes to do her restorative appointments early in the morning when she is fresh.
[22:16] It's all about connection. Even in the second appointment as Amanda is gathering data for the treatment plan.
[23:19] The importance of realizing what the patient actually wants.
[23:40] Amanda has a standardized patient exam that she can keep under an hour or an hour and a half. If the patient wants something more complex, she will spend the time to plan it out.
[24:41] The importance of formulating your treatment plan according to the patient's needs.
[26:58] How you can't assume anything about anyone.
[28:11] How Amanda got her whole team on board on the learning path. The biggest thing they did was learn from other practices that were doing things really well.
[28:46] The importance of team coaching as well as personal coaching.
[29:20] the importance of keeping your practice philosophy congruent and sharing with your team.
[30:38] The importance of focusing on one thing and getting it done.
[31:27] Amanda also uses the one thing principle for her personal life.
[32:34] Get coaching, ask questions, and get help. Model people who are doing it well.
[33:33] Advice for young dentists is invest in CE from the very start.
Links and Resources:
