Gloves Off: Want to grow your practice? Start "dating" your patients

Feb. 14, 2022
In Gloves Off, Dr. David Rice and Deana Zost talk about how to treat new patients (like a first date) and existing patients (like a marriage) so they'll keep coming back.

Welcome back to Gloves Off! Deana Zost and I will talk about “dentistry and the dating game.” It’s all about how we treat our new patients and our existing patients.

Think of your new patients as kind of like a first date. You want to put your best foot forward, establish some boundaries, and learn more about them.

Existing patients are kind of like a marriage, where you need to court and woo your spouse—i.e., keep dating those patients! We grow with our patients through their life events. As Tony Robbins says, “Treat people the way you did when you first met them, and the relationship will never end.”

In this video, Deana will share with us how to treat new patients and how to keep existing patients.

Send us your questions, dental pros and dental patients!

Gloves Off: Finding the magic minutes in the hygiene hour

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Through the Loupes newsletter, a publication of the Endeavor Business Media Dental Group. Read more articles and subscribe to Through the Loupes.

About the Author

David R. Rice, DDS | Chief editor

Founder of the nation’s largest student and new-dentist community, igniteDDS, David R. Rice, DDS, travels the world speaking, writing, and connecting today’s top young dentists with tomorrow’s most successful dental practices. He is the editorial director of DentistryIQ and leads a team-centered restorative and implant practice in East Amherst, New York. With 27 years of practice in the books, Dr. Rice is trained at the Pankey Institute, the Dawson Academy, Spear Education, and most prolifically at the school of hard knocks. Contact him at [email protected].

About the Author

Deana Zost, FAADOM

Deana Zost, FAADOM, works with Patterson Companies, aligning custom software solutions for dental practices to streamline for business efficiencies, practice growth, and the ultimate patient experience.

Updated February 14, 2022