Ever watch a patient nod politely through your treatment presentation, then disappear forever? You’re not alone. Most orthodontic practices accept mediocre case acceptance rates as “industry standard.” Here’s the truth: your 50% conversion rate is costing you over $200,000 annually in lost revenue.
Brooke Oliphant learned this the hard way. As a treatment coordinator following rigid scripts, she hit the industry average and felt stuck. Her breakthrough came when she ditched the fill-in-the-blanks approach and started treating consultations like human conversations. The result? Conversion rates that consistently hit 80% and beyond.
Your consultation process has five hidden friction points that are killing your case acceptance. Fix these, and you’ll transform tire-kickers into committed patients.
https://youtu.be/NoroIHo2KEE
The Script Prison: Why Rigid Conversations Kill Confidence
Confidence sells. Scripts don’t.
Walk into most practices and you’ll hear treatment coordinators reciting the same rehearsed lines, word for word. The moment a patient asks something unexpected, panic sets in. They freeze, defer to the doctor, or worse, fumble through an obviously scripted response.
Here’s what’s really happening: confidence is contagious, and so is uncertainty.
When your TC loses confidence, patients feel it instantly. They start questioning your expertise before you’ve even talked about treatment. Scripts create this problem by making team members dependent on perfect conditions that rarely exist in real conversations.
Think about your best treatment coordinator. They don’t sound robotic because they’ve moved beyond scripts to frameworks. They have structure without handcuffs. They can pivot when a parent asks about payment options or when a teen shows resistance to braces.
The framework approach works like this: Know your key talking points, understand the logical flow, but speak like a human being who genuinely wants to help. When patients sense authenticity instead of a sales pitch, they lean in rather than pull back.
 
The Redundancy Trap: How Repeating Information Destroys Trust
They already told you three times. Start listening.
Picture this scenario: A parent calls your office and explains their child needs braces. They fill out new patient paperwork detailing the same concerns. Then your treatment coordinator starts the consultation with “So, what brings you in today?”
You just told them their time isn’t valuable enough for you to prepare.
Orthodontics is an attention-to-detail business. When you ask patients to repeat information they’ve already provided, you’re signaling that precision isn’t your strong suit. Why would they trust you to move their teeth correctly if you can’t manage basic information?
Preparation demonstrates clinical competence before the clinical exam begins.
The most effective treatment coordinators read scheduling notes and review paperwork beforehand. They start consultations in the middle of a conversation, not at the beginning. Instead of “What brings you in?” try “I see from your paperwork that Sarah’s front teeth are your main concern. Tell me more about what you’ve noticed.”
This simple shift proves you’re paying attention and sets a professional tone that builds trust from minute one.
Language Landmines: The Words That Sabotage Your Sales
Stop saying “just” and start commanding premium fees.
One word can destroy thousands of dollars in value perception. That word is “just.”
“It’s just phase one.” “It’s just six months.” “It’s just limited treatment.”