Part 3 of the Serving vs. Selling Series
By: Candy Velez, CRDH, BSDH, IgniteDDS Dental Hygiene Coach
Missed part 2? Catch up here.
Overtreatment Isn’t the Only Risk
When conversations about selling in dentistry arise, the focus is often on overtreatment. Patients worry about being recommended something they don’t need. Clinicians worry about sounding pushy. Practices worry about being perceived as sales-focused. These concerns are real.
But in my experience, I often find the opposite to be true.
When Good Intentions Lead to Silence
Most dental professionals care deeply about their patients and genuinely want to do the right thing. The challenge is that, in our effort to avoid sounding like we’re selling, we can unintentionally become hesitant to have the conversations patients genuinely need to hear.
And when that happens, silence can become its own barrier to care.
None of this comes from a lack of caring. In fact, I believe the opposite is true. Most clinicians care deeply about their patients and want to provide the highest level of care possible.
But patients cannot make informed decisions about conditions they don’t know exist. They cannot ask questions about findings that were never discussed. And they cannot take action on risks they never had the opportunity to understand.
Sometimes silence doesn’t come from neglect. It comes from good intentions. A desire to avoid overwhelming the patient. A concern about their finances, priorities, or ability to move forward. An effort to avoid sounding alarmist or pushy.
So the conversation gets softened. The finding gets minimized. Or the discussion gets postponed altogether.
Yet patients deserve the opportunity to understand what we’re seeing and decide how they would like to move forward.
What Patients Say When They Reflect on Their Journey
Perhaps that’s why this topic resonates with me so deeply.
Much of my clinical career has been spent caring for a population in which the average patient was over 65. Over time, I had the opportunity to care for many patients in the later stages of periodontal disease, tooth loss, decay, and other chronic oral health conditions.
What sticks with me most isn’t the disease itself. It is what patients say when they reflect on their own journey.
Rarely do I hear patients express regret for learning about a condition too early. What I hear instead is:
- “I wish I had done something sooner.”
- “I wish I had taken it more seriously earlier.”
- “No one has ever shown me this before.”
- “I didn’t realize it could affect my overall health.”
Why? Because early awareness creates options. When concerns are identified in their earliest stages, they are often easier to manage, less invasive to treat, and in some cases, even reversible. The longer a condition goes unidentified or unaddressed, the fewer options remain.
This is why thorough assessments, diagnostics, and patient education matter. Not because we’re looking for treatment. Because we’re looking for opportunities to prevent future disease.
The Real Difference Between Serving and Selling
To me, that’s the real difference between serving and selling.
Serving isn’t convincing patients to accept treatment. Serving is helping patients understand their health well enough to make informed decisions.
Sometimes that conversation leads to treatment. Sometimes it simply creates awareness. But every one of those outcomes begins with a complete assessment and an honest conversation.
A Challenge for Your Team
This week, ask yourself:
- What conversations might we be avoiding?
- Are there findings that patients would benefit from understanding more clearly?
- Are there opportunities to improve assessments, documentation, or patient education?
- Are there conditions being monitored without a meaningful discussion about what they mean?
Remember, patients don’t benefit from what we know. They benefit from what we help them understand.
The goal isn’t to find more treatment. The goal is to help patients understand their health early enough to have choices.
Because the greatest disservice isn’t recommending treatment. It’s remaining silent when a patient deserves to know.
Ready to Build Confidence in These Conversations?
As we wrap up this series, remember that fostering open, honest conversations isn’t always easy but it’s essential to truly serving our patients. If you or your team would like support building greater confidence and skill in these important discussions, IgniteDDS Coaching is here to guide and empower you.
⭐️ The next step is to schedule a call with IgniteDDS Coaching to discuss the next steps in your personal journey with coaching!
