A good patient experience depends on personal connection, but good patient communication takes clear data

Improve patient communication

Communication is everything! That might sound overstated, but there’s certainly truth to it, especially when it comes providing excellent patient care. Think of how many aspects of your daily business depend on effective communication with patients: scheduling, education, and case acceptance, to name a few. If patients don’t get your messages, or don’t understand your treatment plans, chances are you’re in trouble.personalized interaction between you (the dentist or team member) and the patient that drives the patient experience, but it’s the available data—the time since their last appointment, the practice’s schedule, the information in their record—that helps drive patient communication.

It's the personalized interaction between you (the dentist or team member) and the patient that drives the patient experience, but it’s the available data—the time since their last appointment, the practice’s schedule, the information in their record—that helps drive patient communication. Innovative, evolving technology such as AI can harness that data to enhance patient communication in your dental practice.

Key Takeaways
  • AI can improve efficiency. Automated reminders and AI-powered scheduling saves staff time and reduces human error.
  • AI can enhance patient education. AI can suggest educational materials tailored to individual patient histories.
  • AI can support patient care on the spot or remotely. Whether via virtual consultations or supporting diagnoses in the operatory, AI gives dentists the ability to connect with patients when it's most important.

The addition of AI to your patient interactions has the potential to deliver 2 core outcomes:

  1. More informed, and thus more effective, treatment planning and procedures
  2. Increased patient engagement, leading to better patient satisfaction during and after treatment

How? Let’s look at 4 specific ways.

1. Simplified appointment scheduling and reminders

AI-empowered chatbots are among the patient communication technology tools you can deploy to streamline scheduling. The familiar chat box pop-up is becoming more commonplace across a number of product and service industries, and more and more people are becoming comfortable with—or even looking for—online scheduling options that allow them the convenience of making appointments outside of office hours.

Integrating AI with your scheduling and reminder system creates an interactive system that helps minimize human error while improving efficiency. For example, AI can:

  • Suggest optimal appointment times based on individual patient preferences, specific dentist and/or hygienist availability, and required procedure times
  • Automate appointment reminders to help reduce no-shows and provide patients more control over their appointment scheduling

2. Customized, trusted educational materials

Your patients want to make informed decisions about their dental care and overall oral health. Relevant knowledge and education guide that process.

AI has the capacity to provide your patients with a knowledge base tailored to their personal medical history, their noted oral hygiene habits, and their dental treatment records. Not only is this information specific, it is curated to be accurate and up-to-date, unlike the results from your average internet search.

Envision enhancing patient understanding and trust through:

  • Customized dental education resources
  • Delivering these resources via multiple channels such as an interactive online platform, mobile applications, and virtual reality solutions

Speaking of virtual interactions…

3. Remote access to dental consultations

AI-powered virtual consultations enable patients to access your expertise even if they can’t come to your operatory. Real-time video conferencing allows you to share image analysis, assess patient conditions, answer patient questions, and provide an initial diagnosis prior to recommended treatment.

AI helps provide the necessary support for these interactions through:

  • Image analysis
  • Condition assessment
  • Treatment planning recommendations

Whether patients are limited by time, mobility, or distance, virtual consultations give them the opportunity to seek valuable care.

4. In-the-moment chairside support

Dentistry is a team effort, but dental operatories are not always team sized. Imagine having the benefit of a second dental assistant without having to find space for them! AI technology can provide that. AI supports dentists and dental assistants or hygienists with real-time chairside image analysis and enhancement that can be as illuminating to the patient as it is to the professionals. AI capabilities in this arena include:

  • Cavity detection
  • Deeper image/x-ray analysis
  • Communication support around diagnostic perspectives and treatment explanations

Dental patient communication has the potential to benefit significantly from AI technology’s impact on patient engagement and experience. Learn more about how AI can become a trusted partner in efficient patient interactions:

Advanced tech boosts patient trust and retention, survey says

AI in dentistry: A win-win for patients and providers

Upgrade your dental patient communication process with AI technology

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