Not Like Pulling Teeth

Arlene M. Joyner graduated from Howard University School of Dentistry in 1979 and became a specialist in pediatrics and public health. She opened her own evening- and weekend-only practice while she worked days as a public health dentist for Los Angeles County. After a few years, she went into private practice full time and now has two offices and between 8,000 and 9,000 active patients. She attributes her success to changing people’s attitudes about something most see as a negative experience: going to the dentist.

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When I was in the public health master’s program at UCLA, my professor told us that a lot of people did not access dental care even though low-cost programs were available, simply because dentistry is frightening to people. The reason we still see children with decayed and missing teeth is because of the way their parents view dentistry and the way they communicate it to their children.

I wanted to make sure that people incorporate dentistry in their time and money budgets, not just have them come in when they get a toothache and then never come back.

So what I have tried to do is behavior modification. If I can take a child at a young age and make him feel comfortable and happy, the mother will also be happy and we’ll get return visits. I decided early on in my practice to make everybody feel important, so coming to the dentist would be like a day out, not a bad day.

When patients come to the office, I greet 98% of them in the waiting room. I spend a lot of time socializing with the mother and talking to the child. I let them feed my fish. I find out what the child is doing, if he’s been in a fair or received an award.

I have an excellent memory for names and details. I’ve been blessed with that and I use it. My staff sends reminder cards and birthday cards. I give hugs, hold hands and get the child acclimated before taking them to the back. I give out treats, like sugarless suckers and toys. If they have to wait awhile, I let them come back to my office and watch TV. We have a contest here: If a child can spell his or her name by age 4, the child gets a dollar. We also have a monthly raffle where they can win a stuffed animal.

The kids are so happy to come here that they remind their mothers when they need to get their teeth cleaned. Sometimes the kids have their mothers bring them in because they say they have a toothache, but I can’t find anything wrong. They just wanted a visit.

Some of these children’s parents are working all the time, some are in bad situations--they are latchkey kids. This may be the only place where someone takes their hand, dances with them in the hall, asks about their grades, sympathizes with them and encourages them.

These days in medicine, a lot of this has been lost. The HMOs have cut our fees and we have to do our work more cheaply. But these are children--little human beings--not cigarettes going into a pack in a factory.

I have found that people will pay for good service. I have patients who have moved to Oxnard and Riverside who only come on Saturdays because they refuse to go see anyone else. It’s not because I treat their teeth better, it’s because they like me better. It’s all about the lost art of bedside manner.

AT A GLANCE

Company: Arlene M. Joyner, a Dental Corp.

Owner: Arlene M. Joyner

Nature of business: Dental practice

Location: Hawthorne and Gardena

Founded: 1985

Employees: 10

Annual revenue: $375,000