What distinguishes a ‘good’ case from a ‘bad’ case? The answer to that question can be surprisingly complex. Interestingly, social media can have a powerful impact on the perceived success or failure of a case.
A case where the patient was excited and pleased throughout might feel more enjoyable than one where you were able to use a clinically advanced technique but found the patient challenging to work with.
In this blog, Dr. Farmer describes the power of social media marketing and also how patients can decide on treatment over time. The experience showed him that sometimes the most ‘fun’ cases are ones where the patient loves the process and the result.
When Patients Take Their Time
Every now and then we can get discouraged with cases that have not come to fruition. We need to constantly give ourselves a pep talk that ‘no’ just means ‘not right now.’
One my patients was an ‘every 6 months’ type of patient and always followed through on single tooth recommendations. She was a faithful and enthusiastic follower of my social media accounts and always liked our posts of before and after cases. Finally she asked us to do her smile this fall.
Selfies, Temporaries, & Social Media
On prep day she went out that night with her temporaries and took selfies at the restaurant. Then, on the day we seated her case, she took selfies with about half of the office.
It was certainly not one of our bigger cases, but definitely one of our most fun because of her enthusiasm. Her last question out the door was: “Do I get to be on your Facebook page and Instagram page this week?”
What’s one of your favorite recent cases at your dental practice and why? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!