Dentaltown November 2017 - 43

expectation the child will be coming back to our office after that round of treatment.
So in that above situation, when a new patient young kid needs lots of work, I'll usually
tell the parent it's best to see a pediatric dentist. I might use nitrous, which we don't use, as an
excuse, but I'll usually just say that the pedo dentist can do the work more efficiently and it will
be a better experience for the kid. We'll then say that in the future, if the kid needs one or two
fillings, we'll probably be able to handle them here in our office. The parent will usually schedule the six-month recall with us, with the assumption that the work will be done before then.
And finally, while we can be vague, the parent will want an answer to the big question of the
first visit ... how many cavities does junior have? You can try to dance around that, but they'll
probably want to hear a number.
After many years of referrals, I've learned that no matter how many cavities I say that I see,
the pediatric dentist will see more. So I'll give another song and dance that the pediatric dentist
might be a little more aggressive in the treatment planning, and to expect a little more work than
what I say right now. ■
8/30/2017

I refer back after the work is done, but I hate to ask, if you can't get routine X-rays during the
recall, does it make sense for you to expect them to come back for recalls? ■
8/30/2017

I didn't say anything about X-rays, but I've generally discovered that the parent prefers the
child stay in our office, especially if they already have siblings here. If the kid goes to pedo and
everyone loves it there, no problem. I probably won't even learn that the patient never came back.
But I don't want the parent to think we're banishing their child from our office forever, so I like
to frame it as referral for specific treatment, like a referral to any other specialist. ■

drifter57
Member Since: 12/08/09
Post: 21 of 28

saldoc
Member Since: 02/08/03
Post: 22 of 28

8/30/2017

When I graduate a kid to a general dentist, especially early for adult type of treatment needs,
I am banishing them from our office forever ... at least I hope. ■
8/30/2017

I like that. Graduate ... You can give them a little ceremony, walk them out the door, and
punt that little headache out of your office forever. ■
8/30/2017

It's easy to say: "Your child's condition and treatment is more complex than we can handle
in this office therefore we are sending you to Dr. Specialist who handles these types of cases all
the time." If they balk at cost you can add "don't you think your child is worth it?" Remember
to walk away otherwise it will be an attempt to negotiate for you to treat some of the problems. ■

Tooth Whisperer
Member Since: 06/11/07
Post: 23 of 28

saldoc
Member Since: 02/08/03
Post: 24 of 28

docsoc
Member Since: 01/11/04
Post: 25 of 28

8/30/2017

Great assortment of scripting. I guess I'll have to stop saying "Your kid is totally unmanageable and a brat and you're lousy at parenting so off you go to someone who specializes in people
like you." Just kidding! There's a special place for pedodontists in heaven! ■

Gr82thDoc
Member Since: 11/10/02
Post: 26 of 28

8/31/2017

Refer away!
Search: "What Do You Say"
What's your experience with referring your young patients to a pediatric dentist? Join
the discussion online and share your suggestions. Go to dentaltown.com and search the
message boards for "what do you say"-this conversation will be one of the top results.

dentaltown.com \\ NOVEMBER 2017

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown November 2017