Orthotown March 2023 - 68

Create opportunities to talk to your patients
about more than just teeth. Talking about
their new job or recent breakup makes them
feel heard-or, even better, seen.
drawer handles on our chairside cabinets
to brass handles from CB2. Th ese
furniture pieces and accents are not
something a dental supply company
would necessarily recommend to you,
so think outside the box and get some
" home design tips " or inspiration from
your local furniture store.
Create an upsell.
When you're in the checkout line at
Starbucks, you could also pick up a
new coff ee mug, a new roast they're
selling or even a candy bar. While you
didn't come into the shop with the
intention of buying something else,
you might because it was there. Guess
what: Th at Soul Cycle candle they
burn at the check-in desk? It's also for
sale. (Go fi gure.)
In your offi ce, you can create what
retail stores call an " upsell. " Place
a retail display selling Movemints,
chewies, sugar-free gum, toothwhitening
gels, electric toothbrushes,
and other items.
At Smile Pop, I display my line
of custom whitening products on
Restoration Hardware gold shelves in
my waiting room. My patients often
buy these products when scheduling
their next appointment, and we even
have customers walk in off the street
to purchase them, too! Like you, our
patients like convenience. Create an
opportunity for your patients to easily
get access to the products you recommend,
and you will make a few extra
bucks doing it.
Create an offi ce environment that
makes the patient feel special.
I think this is the hardest tip of all.
Not to keep going back to Soul Cycle,
but they bring in a birthday candle
for you to blow out at the end of your
birthday ride, and they make a big sign
on the app that says, " Congrats on
crushing your 100th ride, Dr. C! " It's all
about celebrating the little things, in
addition to the big things, to make you
feel special.
Most offi ces celebrate the big
things, like a patient getting their
braces off , but " little things " such as
birthdays, engagements, weddings,
starting a new job, moving into a
new apartment and dumping that
loser boyfriend are just as important.
Create opportunities to talk to your
patients about more than just teeth.
Talking about their new job or recent
breakup makes them feel heard-or,
even better, seen.
However, to do this, everything else
in the practice needs to be running
smoothly. Th is means you're on time
with patients, your front desk isn't
bullying the clinical staff and you're
not starving to the point that you're
" hangry. " When operations are running
smoothly, you have the capacity
MARCH 2023 | 68 | ORTHOTOWN.COM
to focus on each patient as an individual
and make them feel special. Part
of our mission statement at Smile Pop
is to " be the best part of our patient's
day and make each day feel like a
blessing, " but to do that, we as a team
need to make sure we're taking care of
ourselves. Th at requires analyzing our
schedule and staff interactions weekly
and monthly until we fi nd something
that allows us to do that. (So, yes, that
means team meetings and morning
huddles to keep the team symbiosis.)
Being an orthodontist is an amazing
career because we can have a lot
of infl uence on the people we interact
with every day. We can infl uence
patients verbally by cheering them
on at their appointments, but we can
also infl uence them by creating an
offi ce atmosphere that has, as the
Gen Zers say, " all the feels. " By simply
spending some time refl ecting on
all the details you love about other
places you like, you too can start to
incorporate those aspects in your
orthodontic practice. OT
Dr. Courtney Barry is a board-certified
orthodontist who practices in New York
at her private practice, Smile Pop.
Barry got her start at Southern Illinois
University, where she received a
Doctor of Dental Medicine, and upon
graduating continued her education with
a one-year fellowship in orthodontics at
the University of Florida and a threeyear
orthodontic specialty training
at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert
Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
Email: drcourtney@smilepop.com
http://www.ORTHOTOWN.COM
Orthotown March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown March 2023
