Is Your Website Putting You at ADA Compliance Risk? (E.332)

“The whole patient experience starts, you know, before they even walk in your door.”- Dr. Tessa Miller

Episode Overview

Dr. Tessa Miller shares why she took a closer look at her website after hearing about small businesses being hit with ADA-related website lawsuits.

The conversation goes beyond compliance and into what patients experience before they ever call, schedule, or walk through your doors.

In this episode, you’ll hear how your website can help:

• Create trust before the first appointment
• Make information easier for patients to access
• Support patients with different accessibility needs
• Reflect the real feel of your team and office
• Help anxious patients feel more prepared
• Make forms, photos, reviews, and navigation part of the patient experience

Important Note

This episode is for educational discussion only and should not be treated as legal advice. The accessibility icon or website tool discussed in this episode can support the user experience, but it should not be treated as a complete ADA or WCAG compliance solution. Website accessibility may require a broader review of your site structure, forms, images, captions, navigation, patient portals, and overall usability. Practices should work with their website provider and qualified legal or compliance counsel to understand what applies to their specific website.

Need help identifying potential accessibility gaps on your dental website? Schedule a website review with Phoenix Dental Agency.

What You’ll Learn

• Why website accessibility matters for dental practices
• Why an accessibility icon is not a complete compliance strategy
• How patients judge your practice before they ever call
• Why authentic photos build more trust than stock images
• How online forms can help anxious patients feel more prepared
• Why your website should match the care your team provides in person

Why Dentists Should Listen

Your website is not just a marketing tool.

It is often the first patient experience.

If your website is hard to use, outdated, confusing, or missing important accessibility considerations, patients may lose confidence before they ever meet you.

This episode helps dental practice owners look at their website through a better question:

Is my website helping every patient feel welcome, or is it creating friction before they ever call?

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TRANSCRIPT

00:00:00:04 – 00:00:02:15
Speaker 1
The Productive Dentist Academy podcast network.

00:00:02:16 – 00:00:22:11
Sara Hansen
The whole patient experience starts before they even walk in your doors. Thanks for tuning in to the everyday practice of dental podcast. I’m Regan Robertson. My co-host Sarah Hansen and I interview real dentists and experts who grow their dental practices using authentic marketing in a way that you can remember, repeat, and use in your own practice to get the patients you deserve.

00:00:22:12 – 00:00:54:20
Sara Hansen
Let’s dive in. Doctor, do you know that your practice should, in theory, meet wcaG 2.1 level AA standards to comply with HHS regulations? That is a mouthful salad. Yeah. Of, you know, to add it to your plate in addition to that word salad. There’s a lot of things as a dentist you have to be responsible for. And it can be really exhausting trying to keep up with compliance in every single area of your practice.

00:00:54:21 – 00:01:27:20
Sara Hansen
Today, we’re going to make it easier for you to look at your website and see what it should have or could have, or if anything, give you a baseline of what yours has compared to a site that is highly accessible, designed beautifully, and gives patients a great experience. So we have invited doctor Tessa miller on everyday practices. Sarah and I are very excited to jump into website compliance and accessibility and and learn Tessa’s journey and her experience so far.

00:01:27:20 – 00:01:31:16
Sara Hansen
Having a web presence. Tessa, welcome to the show. Hi. Thank you so.

00:01:31:16 – 00:01:32:22
Dr. Tessa Miller
Much for having me.

00:01:33:01 – 00:01:43:17
Sara Hansen
Absolutely. Sarah, how are you doing today to show to you I’m good, I’m good. I’m glad to be here. I love Doctor Tessa. So thanks for joining us today.

00:01:43:19 – 00:01:45:20
Dr. Tessa Miller
Of course. Happy to be here.

00:01:45:22 – 00:01:58:19
Sara Hansen
So so, Tessa, share with us a little bit so you can be our eyes and ears. Where are you located? What type of dentistry do you practice? How many how many team members do you have? Give us, like, give us the scoop. So we’re in your world?

00:01:58:20 – 00:02:25:02
Dr. Tessa Miller
Yeah. So I practice in San Diego, California. I’m a general dentistry practice, so a lot of just bread and butter, dentistry, hygiene. We’ve got a very robust hygiene department. Restorative crown bridge, Invisalign, all that good stuff. My team. Gosh, I believe we have around, like, 12 team members. We have two associates. We have a couple specialists in our office.

00:02:25:03 – 00:02:37:14
Dr. Tessa Miller
So we’re pretty heavy PPO practice. So a lot of volume coming in and out. But it’s a great office and we’ve got a great team and beautiful location here in San Diego.

00:02:37:16 – 00:02:43:21
Sara Hansen
So sunny San Diego I love it. Yeah right. Is it sunny there right now.

00:02:43:23 – 00:02:48:06
Dr. Tessa Miller
It’s a little bit overcast to the sun is definitely peeking through.

00:02:48:06 – 00:02:53:11
Sara Hansen
So I share the coast with you. And I have some some gray happening right now, but it could change the flash.

00:02:53:16 – 00:02:55:11
Dr. Tessa Miller
Definitely, yes.

00:02:55:13 – 00:03:07:07
Sara Hansen
So Sarah and I have heard lots of rumblings about practices getting flagged or even sued over their websites right now. What are you hearing in the network of dentists that you’re speaking with?

00:03:07:09 – 00:03:29:06
Dr. Tessa Miller
Yeah. So I have like a group chat with some dental colleagues who are also business owners. And so one of my colleagues in the chat she put out there that it was actually her husband who was hit with the lawsuit, and he’s not in the dental field, but he is a small business owner. And it was like a $5,000 lawsuit for not being Ada compliant on his website.

00:03:29:06 – 00:03:39:01
Dr. Tessa Miller
So she was just reaching out to us, you know, just so we can all make sure that our websites are compliance for the American with Disabilities Act.

00:03:39:03 – 00:03:50:24
Sara Hansen
Yeah. You know, Tessa, it was crazy because I’ve been hearing this a lot in the industry, scrolling through social media, you know, seeing different articles coming out. And what breaks my.

00:03:50:24 – 00:03:51:08
Dr. Tessa Miller
Heart.

00:03:51:08 – 00:04:25:01
Sara Hansen
Is that sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know, right? And I know with doctors, you have so much on your plate already that, you know, I was I was proud when you called us and was like, hey, I’m hearing this thing like we’re all good, right? What breaks my heart for those doctors that aren’t, again, you know, if you don’t know that this is required or, you know, certain regulations need to be met, it’s like, oh, shoot, now all of a sudden all this is getting out, and now, you know, you’re you’re understanding or now learning that these certain things are required and that sort of stuff.

00:04:25:01 – 00:04:36:01
Sara Hansen
So what was it that that kind of made you give pause? And would you tell other dentists who are like, oh shoot, do I have this or not?

00:04:36:06 – 00:04:57:20
Dr. Tessa Miller
Yeah. I mean, I think there’s so much that we are responsible for as practice owners. We we have, you know, we have our patients to take care of. We have our team to take care of. So and then there’s so many things that we do have to be compliant on. So that was just something that came up. And I immediately reached out because you guys are all so responsive always.

00:04:57:20 – 00:05:03:14
Dr. Tessa Miller
So I was like, hey, I just want to make sure that I’m good here. So just one less thing to worry about.

00:05:03:14 – 00:05:04:18
Sara Hansen
But yeah.

00:05:04:19 – 00:05:22:16
Dr. Tessa Miller
We would hate to be with a hefty fine or a lawsuit. You know, our focus should be on our patients and on our practices. And anything else that comes up is, you know, adds that disturbances to our our day and our life and our stress levels. So we want to keep it as least stressful as possible.

00:05:22:18 – 00:05:44:22
Sara Hansen
Yeah. Yeah. You know, instead of just kind of focusing on, you know, are you Ada compliant or not? Right. I wouldn’t I know there’s probably a lot of doctors out there that are like, oh shoot, I need to check my website and make sure. But really what Ada compliance is doing for your website is really it’s creating this patient experience, right?

00:05:44:23 – 00:06:10:05
Sara Hansen
For every single patient. One of the things that our a previous team member of ours, who we love very much, but Kenny was really ahead and I think advanced of some of our website development. Regan, I know you have a cute smile on your face and we love him, but one of the things that he taught me was when on the mobile site.

00:06:10:05 – 00:06:37:22
Sara Hansen
So when you develop a website, yes, you want to develop not only for the desktop but for the mobile. And one of the things he taught me was, hey Sarah, did you know that oftentimes websites on mobile versions are geared for a right handed person because a majority of people are left hand or right handed. But what he did when he developed some of our stuff was he actually put it in the middle so that whether you’re right handed or left handed, that it will work for you.

00:06:37:22 – 00:07:11:16
Sara Hansen
And I was like, who thinks of that kind of stuff? Right? But for the person who is a left handed person that generally, you know, the world is not always made for that person, so things are always a little backwards. I was thinking like, that is so awesome, you know, to build, to think about that. And so that really is what these Ada standards are doing, is creating a version for every patient so that one, you know, they can take action, that they can get Ahold of your practice, that they’re getting the information that they came to the website looking for.

00:07:11:16 – 00:07:34:14
Sara Hansen
And you’re creating now not just something that has to be quote unquote compliant, but now you’re creating a patient experience for every single patient. And I think that’s what is so powerful about, you know, some of those things that that we have on your website, does that have you clicked on the little blue person on your website and has seen all of the things that it does?

00:07:34:16 – 00:07:40:15
Dr. Tessa Miller
I have I was actually going on and clicking around this morning and seeing how you can change the font size and the.

00:07:40:16 – 00:07:41:08
Sara Hansen
Yeah.

00:07:41:10 – 00:08:03:02
Dr. Tessa Miller
And the mouse size and change, you know, just the font in general to make it more, you know, easily readable. So it’s really cool. And then also how you can click down and learn about a lot of resources to for patients who are deaf and hard of hearing or for digital impurities. So it was really nice to see all that being included.

00:08:03:02 – 00:08:07:14
Dr. Tessa Miller
And so, you know, really welcome all patients into your practice.

00:08:07:16 – 00:08:28:01
Sara Hansen
Yeah. Yeah. So what would you say like as a doctor, knowing that your website has this sort of stuff, you know, for the patient experience, does that kind of give you the confidence of, hey, all right. We’ve got that that piece of the patient experience taken care of. And what is your team say about that as well?

00:08:28:04 – 00:08:51:21
Dr. Tessa Miller
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the whole patient experience starts, you know, before they even walk in your door. So a lot of times the patients, they’re doing their research, they’re going to your website, they’re looking at your photos and, you know reading everything on your website. So having that available for patients is so important to give them a great experience before they even walk into the door.

00:08:51:22 – 00:08:53:18
Sara Hansen
Oh, yeah.

00:08:53:19 – 00:08:59:09
Regan Robertson
Tessa, can you tell us your URL? And for the listeners.

00:08:59:11 – 00:09:01:22
Dr. Tessa Miller
It is.

00:09:01:24 – 00:09:03:12
Dr. Tessa Miller
Dental. Com.

00:09:03:13 – 00:09:25:09
Regan Robertson
Thank you. Tessa I know Sarah is going to pull this up, so if you’re watching our video cast on YouTube, you’ll be able to walk along with us. But I am particularly excited to have you kind of Tessa and Sarah walk through your website and and showcase it so we can really put visually like what is with, you know, what is accessibility look like?

00:09:25:09 – 00:09:28:20
Regan Robertson
How does it feel in the actual website experience?

00:09:28:23 – 00:09:49:08
Sara Hansen
Yeah, yeah. Tessa I mean, I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Your website is beautiful, and Reagan and I talk all the time about have authentic photos, have, you know, the patients looking for the team. What does this team look like? What does the doctor look like? How do they look and sound? You know, all those different things.

00:09:49:08 – 00:10:15:12
Sara Hansen
They want to know what the office looks like beforehand. And what I love about your website is you pull it up and immediately there’s the team, there’s the doctors, everybody’s there. You’re in this beautiful background of San Diego. You know, again, your site is beautiful. But what I wanted to show you, Reagan as well, is everyone should be looking on your website.

00:10:15:12 – 00:10:41:17
Sara Hansen
Doctors for the little blue man that is the Ada accessibility icon. And when you click on that and these are some of the things that Tessa was talking about was there’s even dyslexia friendly. So you know, people who have dyslexia, it will help condense or frame the verbiage on the website to make it easier for them to read and to understand.

00:10:41:19 – 00:11:02:18
Sara Hansen
The reduced motion is super cool. Again, for, you know, maybe patients that struggle with having a lot of flashing lights or a lot of movement that can. So again, there are so many different things that that you can do as I get older, I used to make fun of my mom for having the big text inner text messages and guess what?

00:11:02:19 – 00:11:36:16
Sara Hansen
Now I’m loving it. As a middle aged mom, I’m like, oh, this makes it so much easier. So again, whatever your patient needs, that is what that accessibility is there for. And I absolutely love that. Again, we are setting that patient out, Tessa, just like you said on the right foot of hey, they have something for me. And what I love is now it’s kind of setting the tone for what you and your team want the patient to know and to understand before they even come into the practice.

00:11:36:18 – 00:11:44:10
Sara Hansen
What are some of your favorite highlights on your website that you hear patients commenting about?

00:11:44:12 – 00:12:08:05
Dr. Tessa Miller
I love the just the photos that really showcase our team, and I feel like when they see our photos and they see the pictures of our office, they can connect with us without having even stepped foot in the door already. So just having it be personalized, you know, it’s not stock photos, it’s not generic photos. Its actual photos of the routine.

00:12:08:07 – 00:12:32:19
Sara Hansen
I love it, I absolutely love it. So what would you say from your perspective working with a team? So, you know, working with patients now that are a little bit, as you said, set up right from the beginning? How has that changed that patient experience for you that you’ve seen the patients coming into your practice?

00:12:33:00 – 00:13:01:15
Dr. Tessa Miller
I do think I’ve built a level of trust with the and as we know, as dentists, trust is so important in the doctor patient relationship because a lot of patients, they come in. They’re fearful or they’ve had previous, you know, experiences that, you know, they are scared or, you know, anxious. And so by setting up that level of trust ahead of time really sets them off at the right foot to get a good experience once they’re in the office as well.

00:13:01:17 – 00:13:13:23
Sara Hansen
Yeah, yeah. And what are some of those little extra things, Tessa, that your practice does for patients that, you know, differentiate you from the other dentists in the area?

00:13:14:00 – 00:13:21:12
Dr. Tessa Miller
One thing that we do have that patients absolutely love is we have a comfort menu for our patients. I should actually put it on the website, not.

00:13:21:12 – 00:13:22:13
Sara Hansen
That.

00:13:22:15 – 00:13:25:01
Regan Robertson
They should. What’s a comfort menu.

00:13:25:03 – 00:13:42:11
Dr. Tessa Miller
So when the patient sit down you have a menu that we can offer them headphones. And we have Netflix, you know, on the ceiling on the Teves weighted blankets, pillows we have like aromatherapy or chapstick so they can pick as.

00:13:42:13 – 00:13:46:14
Regan Robertson
It gets. Nice. My lips are always they go immediately dry every time.

00:13:46:17 – 00:13:47:17
Sara Hansen
Yeah.

00:13:47:19 – 00:13:56:17
Dr. Tessa Miller
The topic is definitely a hit. So you know, just the little things like that that help make the patients feel more comfortable when they’re there.

00:13:56:19 – 00:14:11:06
Sara Hansen
Do you ever have new patients coming in like, hey, so I hear this is the place for the aromatherapy and the chapstick, because I would that’s that that would get me to like, you know, come in right away, not put off my dental visit.

00:14:11:11 – 00:14:25:08
Dr. Tessa Miller
I’m like, hey, my friends, homey, you have the best chapstick. And I get that chapstick. And so we definitely have requests for it. Our patients will come in and they’ll be like, oh, my wife asked if you could grab me some more of that shit.

00:14:25:10 – 00:14:26:14
Sara Hansen
Yeah.

00:14:26:16 – 00:14:30:17
Regan Robertson
That’s better than floss. I like that, I like that.

00:14:30:19 – 00:14:31:10
Sara Hansen
I agree.

00:14:31:11 – 00:14:53:23
Regan Robertson
Yeah, well, Tessa, you know, you speaking to how much you care about the patients experience is it’s it’s motivating and it’s inspiring. I would hope that everyone that you work with as a dental practice is able to give you that type of experience yourself. And what I love that you said was when you you called, I guess, Sarah and Sarah’s team, you said that they were responsive.

00:14:53:23 – 00:15:10:19
Regan Robertson
I’m wondering if you could share with me what it’s been like going through, you know, the website design process and making that selection of who you’re going to work with for a website and then you know what matters to you from a from a dental, not just a dentist, but a practice owner perspective.

00:15:10:21 – 00:15:27:18
Dr. Tessa Miller
Yeah. I mean, I think having a beautiful, functional website is so important because really, that’s how patients are finding us these days, even if they hear about us from where the mouth from a friend’s or from their insurance website, what are they immediately going to do? They’re going to Google you and they’re going to go to your website.

00:15:27:18 – 00:15:50:23
Dr. Tessa Miller
So you really want a website that reflects who you are like as a practice. And so, in in a couple of years ago, I went through a whole rebranding with our practice. And so we did well, goals and new colors. And after that rebranding, our previous website wasn’t really reflecting what we represented. And we remodeled our entire office.

00:15:50:23 – 00:15:54:06
Dr. Tessa Miller
So I wanted everything to really kind of match the theme.

00:15:54:06 – 00:16:09:04
Regan Robertson
And congratulations on that, by the way, and kudos for taking the in-person experience and translating that to your line presence. So they actually, like, know where they’re going to show up. And it feels familiar already. That’s huge.

00:16:09:09 – 00:16:28:24
Dr. Tessa Miller
Absolutely. So I wanted everything, you know, to kind of go along. Like when they go to the website, they’re going to get the same feel as when they walk into the office. So there was a lot of work to do on the website, but the team really helps, you know, put everything together as far as like using our brand colors, our logos.

00:16:29:03 – 00:16:41:21
Dr. Tessa Miller
When we took new office photos, they helped arrange the photos and they created a beautiful websites and we get a lot of compliments on it, a lot. Some patients, they say, oh, I picked you because of your website. So it’s really.

00:16:41:22 – 00:17:03:22
Sara Hansen
Yes, really. Wow, I love that. I mean, what I love about this is it’s like you and I know this from a marketing perspective, right? But what I love, Tessa, is that, you know, we can say this all day long, like how important your website is, how important it is to have brand congruency. And, you know, the way that you show up on the website, right?

00:17:03:23 – 00:17:30:23
Sara Hansen
Having those personal photos and all of those things that make you like you said, Tessa, build trust, but you are living it in real life, you know, as that example of, yeah, it really is working. So and I love it. So I mean, we know that, you know. Yes. Beyond the legal risk of having yes, we need to have it Ada compliant, you know, and we need to have updated photos.

00:17:30:23 – 00:17:39:16
Sara Hansen
But beyond all of that, what do you think practices are actually missing out on when they ignore some of these pieces?

00:17:39:18 – 00:18:09:20
Dr. Tessa Miller
I think you ignored not having, I guess, not showing that you’re invested in your office. And I think having, you know, updated technology is super important and a nice looking website. It shows that you’re with the times you know, you’re up to date on, you know, not only like your clinical skills, but the patient experience and the technology that you can offer to your patients as well.

00:18:09:22 – 00:18:36:11
Sara Hansen
Yeah. You know, technology is one of those things that for the longest time, you know, us and dentistry, we we knew what a machine was. And you know, we know all these like yummy big words. Right. But patients are starting to now really understand what that means. And so I’m glad that you made a call out to that about making sure that part of that patient experience is your technology.

00:18:36:12 – 00:18:58:03
Sara Hansen
Like, yes, it was a big investment, but you did that because one, it makes you and the team more efficient. But two, it really is about the patient and their experience and how that improves overall. And so again, what I love is that, you know, the website is like the way that you get to tell the patient about that experience what it’s going to be like.

00:18:58:03 – 00:19:20:00
Sara Hansen
Why did you implement this technology into the practice. Right. It is really about them having less time in the chair, being more comfortable, you know, streamlining procedures. And I think sometimes that’s a missing piece of, you know, we think that patients maybe don’t necessarily care about that kind of stuff, but we think it’s really cool. But they really do.

00:19:20:01 – 00:19:21:21
Sara Hansen
Have you seen that in your practice?

00:19:22:02 – 00:19:47:14
Dr. Tessa Miller
Yeah. They comment on it all the time. And just from a patient education standpoint to having technology really helps them understand their conditions and what’s going on in their mouth and, you know, their overall oral health as well. And so they definitely appreciate and comments on it. So because they a lot of times, you know, have never experienced anything like that before.

00:19:47:15 – 00:20:00:21
Dr. Tessa Miller
And there’s so many advances in the dental field and it’s only getting more. So I do think it’s important to stay on top of the, you know, technology and that how we can best serve our patients as well.

00:20:00:23 – 00:20:32:11
Regan Robertson
Inclusivity is really inspiring to me. And and it feels like it feeds back to a deeper philosophy that you carry, probably as a business owner, and that is your intentionality. And and I’m curious where that comes from in your life. Either it’s inherently given as a talent or you learned it along the way from mentors. But but what helps you slow down enough to be able to pay attention to these really critical intersections that often get overlooked in the patient experience.

00:20:32:13 – 00:20:54:21
Dr. Tessa Miller
And I really think it’s kind of all in the details. It’s like the little things that you can do and provide for that patient to give them a good experience, you know, really getting to know the patient and where they come from and their background, and it really makes a difference in the whole patient experience.

00:20:54:23 – 00:21:14:09
Sara Hansen
You know, I, I love that you are really highlighting the patient experience, because even one of your key characteristics that you have in your marketing is patient centric excellence. What does that mean to have that as your key characteristic? Like how does the team embody that.

00:21:14:14 – 00:21:40:23
Dr. Tessa Miller
So, you know, we see each patient as an individual and it’s not a one size fits all. We’re really. Looking the patient from a total health standpoint. And you know what is their what is their history, their medical history. Their dental history. What are their goals. That’s the huge question to, you know, and how can we help them achieve their goals is what we really want to focus on.

00:21:41:00 – 00:21:41:11
Regan Robertson
Yeah.

00:21:41:12 – 00:22:07:06
Sara Hansen
And so walk us through then because this is my favorite part I think of a patient transformation. So patient comes in with the goal. You know obviously you’ve provided now a really great patient experience through all the touch points of the practice. And then what does that feel like to you when you know they have that new smile you’ve now hit the goal that that you collaborated on together?

00:22:07:12 – 00:22:16:24
Sara Hansen
How does that benefit your life or how does that feel like as a doctor, to kind of come in and and help with all of that.

00:22:17:04 – 00:22:41:03
Dr. Tessa Miller
And that’s the most rewarding thing, you know, that’s why we do what we do, because when we’re able to help a patient feel confident with their oral health and with their smile, that’s life changing for them. They’re able to go out into the world and smile confidently and, you know, just be happy and not hide behind their smile anymore.

00:22:41:05 – 00:22:45:08
Dr. Tessa Miller
So it’s really why we do what we do.

00:22:45:10 – 00:23:06:17
Regan Robertson
I Tessa, I quickly looked up your Google reviews. I hope you don’t mind to see how this reflects. And I’m always on the hunt. Like is the actual experience? Does it line up with what the doctor is saying or what the website is saying and and about being thoughtful and listening? And one thing, you received a five star.

00:23:06:17 – 00:23:24:18
Regan Robertson
You have many five star reviews coming in at a 4.9 with over 500. So congratulations right off the top of the bat. Thank you. One of the areas that’s highlighted, which is interesting and it does touch on accessibility. So three days ago someone said I had a new patient appointment today. The front desk staff was nice and efficient.

00:23:24:18 – 00:23:48:02
Regan Robertson
And then in little parentheses I pre-filled my forms before coming. So having that accessible is really important. I know that that’s one of the things that get hit on my head. Dennis. Danny, who was extremely sweet, warm and accommodating and explained in depth everything that was going to take place. She even showed me short video clips about the prescribed treatment, which I appreciated.

00:23:48:02 – 00:24:02:00
Regan Robertson
As a patient who is really fearful of dental procedures. Lastly, I saw Doctor Tessa who was equally as sweet and warm. Highly recommend this place. I think this has been the best experience I’ve had at a dentist ever.

00:24:02:02 – 00:24:27:17
Dr. Tessa Miller
Oh thank you. Yeah, that was that was so rewarding to get that review because I remember this patient specifically and she had pre-filled reforms out and on our forums we do ask like, how do you feel about coming to the dentist? Like, does it make you anxious? And she said, yes, extremely. So you know, we knowing that coming in, we can tailor ourselves to a patient who is anxious and do everything.

00:24:27:21 – 00:24:47:23
Dr. Tessa Miller
Of course, for every patient we do everything we can to make them more comfortable. But knowing that ahead of time we really know that. Okay, let’s stop and slow down and really just patient a great experience. Check in with them, make sure they’re doing okay to just give them, you know overall great experience.

00:24:48:00 – 00:25:08:02
Sara Hansen
I love that you spoke to slowing down in dental practice is we say that time is often something we don’t have very much of. So what does slowing down look like in a busy dental practice with a team that’s as large as yours? What does that look like?

00:25:08:07 – 00:25:36:20
Dr. Tessa Miller
It can be hard, but it’s so important. I think slowing down really means listening and asking the right questions. Sitting face to face with your patients and seeing where they’re coming from and letting them talk out, you know, any of their concerns or fears and reassuring them that they’re in good hands and that we’re going to take great care of them and we’re ultimately here for them.

00:25:36:22 – 00:26:00:00
Sara Hansen
I love that, you know, when you build something correctly from the beginning, right, that patient experience it, then you don’t have to go back and fix it later. Right? It’s like you’ve built just the perfect journey from before the patient even sees you. You’re giving them the accessibility that they’re looking for. Obviously, your team has nailed the relationship part.

00:26:00:01 – 00:26:21:05
Sara Hansen
The trusting part. Your team is able to navigate what each patient needs based on what they’re telling you. So I love that you talk about the listening part. What would you say is as a team when you talk about listening? How did you help train the team or get the team aligned with that listening part?

00:26:21:07 – 00:26:47:08
Dr. Tessa Miller
So we do weekly team meetings, you know, once a week for an hour in the morning, and we go through different modules and whatnot. And one of those is the patient experience. And we kind of went through like a list of questions, open ended questions that we can ask their patients to get them to open up. So with our whole team we role play asking open ended questions.

00:26:47:08 – 00:27:05:21
Dr. Tessa Miller
And then we put it into practice. And it’s really telling, you know, when you can ask a patient an open ended question versus just a yes or no question, because they will open up and they will, you know, let you know what is so important for you to know.

00:27:05:23 – 00:27:26:15
Regan Robertson
I think customizing that experience by showing that you’re listening, starting from the very first moment that they Google you and they find, you know, the website with the accessibility and then it just you just keep up that momentum. It’s such a it’s a gift. And I know it’s so common to focus on the macro. You know, it’s so common to focus on getting more patients and or focusing on the numbers.

00:27:26:15 – 00:27:43:14
Regan Robertson
And, and when you’re able to stop and turn around and say, well, what is the actual experience meaning for that one individual, and how can we custom tailor it so that they have the best experience possible, actually allows you to go farther, faster? I think you’re proving that to us in that what is what is on your horizon.

00:27:43:14 – 00:27:49:03
Regan Robertson
Can you tell us what what the future holds for you and what you look forward to this year?

00:27:49:05 – 00:27:57:06
Dr. Tessa Miller
Well, I looking forward to dropping more POS.

00:27:57:08 – 00:28:02:03
Regan Robertson
Excellent. So you’re coming to unrestricted in September? That’s what I’m hearing you say.

00:28:02:05 – 00:28:05:19
Sara Hansen
Yes you should. You need to.

00:28:05:21 – 00:28:10:12
Dr. Tessa Miller
Really allow me to slow down even more.

00:28:10:14 – 00:28:26:00
Dr. Tessa Miller
Looking forward to just doing more of the dentistry that I love to do. And, you know, connecting with patients and growing our practice in a in a meaningful way, you know, not just numbers but in value.

00:28:26:02 – 00:28:51:16
Sara Hansen
Yeah. You know, I think what’s really clear from this conversation today, Tessa, is it’s not just about, you know, you’re avoiding a lawsuit because your website’s Ada compliant, but it’s really about the standard that you chose from the very beginning to operate as your practice. Your website is that very first interaction a patient has with you. And whether they realize it or not, they are forming trust.

00:28:51:16 – 00:29:23:01
Sara Hansen
And I love that you spoke to that. And what I appreciate your approach is that this isn’t something that you put off and said, okay, we’ll do it a few years down the road, but you did it right from the very beginning because it aligns with how you want your patients to experience your care. And so doctors, for anyone that’s listening, it’s really important that you all take a moment to look at your own website and ask, is it truly serving every patient that comes across it?

00:29:23:01 – 00:29:47:05
Sara Hansen
Because I think we talked about intention earlier. When you lead with that level of intention, you are not just, you know, protecting your practice, but now you’re really elevating it to a level that patients deserve. Doctor Tessa, thank you so much for being here and sharing your perspective. Anything else as we say goodbye today?

00:29:47:07 – 00:30:12:12
Dr. Tessa Miller
Thank you so much for having me. And I just want to say it’s been great working with you guys on our website. And we’ve been so responsive. Whenever I want an update or want to change, you know, it’s same day response and your your websites are so beautiful the way you design them and customize them to like you’re speaking to the way that you know, we customize our patient experience.

00:30:12:12 – 00:30:29:06
Dr. Tessa Miller
You customize our experience with working on your website. It’s not a cookie cutter website. It doesn’t look like all the other ones that are out there. So it’s really creating a, you know, a unique experience for us as well. So I appreciate that. Thank you.

00:30:29:08 – 00:30:31:18
Sara Hansen
Oh thank you Regan.

00:30:31:19 – 00:30:52:09
Regan Robertson
Yes. Thank you both. This is a mutual admiration group today. I’m really grateful, Doctor Tessa, for coming in and sharing your story and and helping other practices out there who deserve to have a great, accessible website. So. And then for the extra tips, you you pulled it all the way through. So I thank you for your time and knowledge and sharing all of it.

00:30:52:10 – 00:30:56:07
Regan Robertson
And I wish you the best for the rest of your year and and beyond.

00:30:56:10 – 00:30:58:00
Dr. Tessa Miller
Thank you so much.

00:30:58:02 – 00:31:00:14
Sara Hansen
Yeah. Thank you everyone.

00:31:00:16 – 00:31:17:21
Regan Robertson
Hey, thanks for joining us on Everyday Practices Dental Podcast. It would mean the world to me if you could leave us a like or a review on iTunes, or go to Productive Dentist Academy through Google and leave us a review there. You know, we are here each week to talk about what’s possible when you leave your practice with clarity and courage.

00:31:17:21 – 00:31:35:07
Regan Robertson
If you are ready to build a business that supports your life and not the other way around, investment grade practice coaching powered by productive, dense academy can help. Visit investment grade practice to schedule your free 60 minute coaching session so you can start designing the practice and lifestyle you’ve been dreaming about all along.