Once you have decided to incorporate cancer screenings as part of your practice, whether as a new billable procedure, or as part of your regular examination process, your patient population needs to know that the screening is available.
We have found these simple 1.25-inch buttons worn by the office staff to be an excellent way to begin the dialog with your patient population about having a screening while they are in the office that day. The front office staff wears the "We look for it” or the “Have you had one? button. When a patient approaches them, the button raises the inevitable question " What do you look for?" Front desk staff now has the opportunity to respond with "Oral cancer. 54,000 new patients will be diagnosed with this very deadly disease this year in the US. In its early stages it does not produce symptoms that you might notice. A screening by our office will greatly improve your chances of catching this killer at a very early stage when cure is possible. While you are here today, we can give you a thorough screening for oral cancer etc. etc.”
The "I look for it" button is designed for the hygiene staff and the doctor. Again, the opening discussion is initiated by the patient through an answerable question. The "Dental exams save lives" and the “Is a killer hiding right under your nose?” are more general buttons, that while a statement, creates a question in the readers mind. They normally do not associate dental exams with life threatening events. Dental exams, when they include a complete oral cancer screening, definitely save lives.
Patient Buttons
When a patient leaves your office, they can become “practice messengers” and help spread the word regarding the need for an oral cancer examination. The “I had one” button will have their friends, and business associates who see them later that day, asking what they had… they will have the chance to tell others that at your office, oral cancer exams are done, and that it is a painless annual necessity. Not only will you be, through them, increasing public awareness of oral cancer, but potentially bringing more patients into your practice who are looking to have the examination. Because of the importance of spreading the oral cancer screening message, the foundation is providing these buttons in bulk to dental offices at our cost, plus shipping
Activist Buttons
These buttons are designed to have people ask you a question. When they do, the opportunity to begin a dialog about early detection and oral cancer screenings (Have you had one?) is possible. The same is true of the killer button; it creates a question in the reader’s mind that opens the door to talking about oral cancer, the risk factors, and the importance of seeing a dentist for an annual screening.
Reorder from: The Oral Cancer Foundation Inc.
Online at: https://ocfstore.org
Oral Cancer Foundation
1211 East State Street
Boise, Idaho 83712
(949) 723-4400