A good patient experience depends on personal connection, but good patient communication takes clear data
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.
The addition of AI to your patient interactions has the potential to deliver 2 core outcomes:
How? Let’s look at 4 specific ways.
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:
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:
Speaking of virtual interactions…
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:
Whether patients are limited by time, mobility, or distance, virtual consultations give them the opportunity to seek valuable care.
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:
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:
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Pearl is a global dental AI leader assisting dentists across six continents with robust clinical pathology detection.
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Curious how AI can benefit your dental practice?