How many cups of SUGAR do you eat each day? SURPRISE!

About the time of Henry VIII–when they first got easy access to it–the British were really enjoying their sugar. They put it on everything, from eggs to meat to wine. Even though sugar was expensive, they consumed it until their teeth turned black, and if their teeth didn’t turn black naturally, they blackened them artificially to show how wealthy and marvelously self-indulgent they were.

In the following pictures (slide show), one cube equals one teaspoonful of sugar.

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What’s your favorite “snack food” after looking at this?

How about a bag of Cheerios and a small bag of carrots?

How do YOU acknowledge word-of-mouth referrals? How do you thank the referrer?

When someone thinks enough of you to refer one of their family or trusted friends, ignoring their kindness would be taken as an insult, while acknowledging their referral will encourage more referrals. It seems simple, but many dentists, surprisingly, just can’t figure out what to do.

 

What do you think of this idea?

A printed card is sent to the referring friend with a lottery ticket inside. The outside of the card says, “You’re worth a million to us.” On the inside where the ticket is attached, it is inscribed, “We hope you win.”
On the other inside flap there’s a personal note from the doctor, “Thank you for referring (patient) to us.”
Small cost, great value. I hope you can send 5 of these every day.

 

When one of your patients gets a winning lottery card, just think of the publicity you will receive, and ………… she may spend her winnings in your office, for that dentistry she needed.

Do you or a team member make calls, send cards, flowers, gifts, movie tickets, dinner certificates, or something even more creative? Or truthfully, are you taking the referrals for granted?

 

In your next TEAM meeting, mastermind a Program of Acknowledgements.  What is one referral worth to your practice? How would you thank a patient, friend, or associate who refers 5 patients? What about 10 referrals?

 

This ADA action would affect a lot of Dental Manufacturers and Marketers, and will make CE credits less available to Dentists.

The ADA Council on Dental Education and Licensure has proposed that “commercial entities”—defined by the ADA Continuing Education Recognition Program as companies that produce, market, re-sell or distribute health care goods or services consumed by or used on patients—should no longer be eligible to apply to become ADA CERP approved providers of continuing dental education.

The proposed change would only apply to companies that manufacture, distribute or market health care products or services. It would not apply to dental organizations or schools, education companies, or providers of patient care such as hospitals and group practices.

Read the full report from ADA News 2 January 2012:  http://www.ada.org/news/6645.aspx

All interested parties are invited to submit written comments on the proposed revisions by Feb. 1. Comments may be forwarded by email, fax or mail to cerp@ada.org, fax: 1-312-440-2915, or ADA CERP, 211 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.