Video Transcription:

Armond: Let’s be honest. Going to the dentist isn’t something people
often put at the top of their fun things to do list, yet dentist Steve
Marsh has won several awards in patient care and satisfaction. What’s he
doing that actually has people looking forward to getting their teeth
treated? Let’s ask him. Thanks for joining us.

Dr. Steve Marsh: It’s my pleasure, Armond, thank you.

Armond: All right, so you’ve won awards, you’ve gotten all kinds of
recognition for clients’ satisfaction. How do you keep your patients happy?
And how should a dentist generally do that?

Dr. Marsh: You know what we’re doing right now, where we’re sitting
together and getting to know each other? You really need to have a dentist
who’s enthusiastic, just like an attorney who’s enthusiastic or an annuity
person who’s enthusiastic. So one of the things we do is we try to sit down
and get to meet people.

We don’t put you in a dental chair and I think all dentists should do it
and get a sense of what the patient wants and patient needs. And we try to
receive the patient. We don’t have you wait. That’s all very important.
Here’s a picture of our office, of Amy and Karen and our staff. They always
have smiling faces and they answer the phone with a smile because we know
that it’s not everybody’s favorite thing.

Armond: This is my favorite part of your office.

Dr. Marsh: No question. So in our reception area, we don’t call it a
waiting room because we try not to have people wait, we actually have some
snacks. We have fairly healthy snacks and coffee and water and some snacks
because we know that we do all we can to make it pleasant.

Now this is very important these days, Armond. This is a sterilizer.
There’s been a lot of media attention to the sterilization in medical and
dental offices. This is sterilizers that every patient should have the most
sterile instruments. The sterilizer does it in six to ten minutes. And so
in most dental offices, you have to be very careful that everything is
taken care of in a very kind, considerate way. And Amy, our hygienist here,
her room is actually wrapped in plastic, whether it’s the light up on top
that she uses, whether it’s the chair itself, she’s using a gown, which is
also something that increases the sterilization and makes sure that
patients are comfortable. And we need to make people as comfortable as
possible.

Armond: It’s critically important. So how does a person check out a
dentist’s credentials? Is there any way to do that, you know, what their
practices are, before they sign up?

Dr. Sharp: Well, again, it’s not unlike with an attorney. One of the
things, we all have websites today. I think the website gives you a little
clue as to what the dentist thinks is important, that sort of thing.
There’s a thing like Angie’s List, you mentioned a national magazine.
That’s one of the ones that’s given us some attention. It’s been very
gratifying. And also friends. But I think what’s really important is for
the patient to come in and ask if they can meet the dentist, and sit down
together.

Armond: Will a dentist do that?

Dr. Sharp: Most dentists do and also should, the same way you as an
attorney, you need to do your due diligence. And then you get a feel for
the person’s passion. Again, you really need someone who loves what they
do.

Armond: And I know you get a lot of letters from people with nice things,
statements in it. I’ve looked through some of these. I keep saying, wow,
wow, unbelievable. You get very nice comments. You’re doing something
right, right?

Dr. Sharp: Well, thanks. Again, it’s because we’re trying to focus on what
the patient wants and what they need, and that’s very important. So it’s
not so much what I want, but why are they here and what do they want?

The patient that you’re looking at her letter, her name was Sharon and she
said for years she hadn’t smiled. She’s in her 40’s, was ashamed of her
look, also felt that people didn’t respect her, Armond, which is really in
a sense very sad, because of the way her teeth looked. And she was actually
a Golden Opportunities viewer and an Angie’s List person.

She came in and said, “I have a limited amount of money. I want to focus on
my upper teeth.” So on the lower teeth we did some reshaping. We did some
whitening. We were able to do that with some porcelain veneers, just four,
again. She said, “We’ll do it in stages,” again because that’s what she
could afford.

So the key was to listen to what Sharon had to say. It’s always bothered
her. What could we do in a nice way? A Golden Opportunities viewer, she
once joined us here. Very spiritual woman, took care of everybody, and
thought it was her time to get herself a bright smile and actually, she
said she learned a lot from this show. So again, very gratifying.

Armond: That’s great. Well, thank you, Steve. Thanks for pointing out the
sorts of things that people should look for apart from what actually goes
into the mouth.

Dr. Marsh: Thanks, Armond.

Armond: Very important.

Dr. Marsh: It’s really my pleasure.

Armond: Before selecting a dentist, check him or her out. Check references
like you do for any professional. We can all appreciate how challenging it
can be to appreciate your dentist. If you’d appreciate more information,
give Steve a call. His number’s up next.

Announcer: See what Dr. Steven Marsh can do for your smile by calling 440-
461-1003 or visit www.clevelandsmiles.com. Next, checking into a Cleveland
landmark.