But attracting new patients into your practice is only part of the solution. Do you realize that if you want to grow your practice you can do so by expanding on the services you currently provide? What if you were to add a new service to your practice? What if this new service would save millions of lives, would position you on the leading edge of your profession and would add significantly to your bottom line? Oh, and by the way, it is staff delegable. What if on top of all this the ADA has encouraged all their members to incorporate it into their practice? Wouldn't that be great?! Well, all the above is true when you incorporate tobacco cessation and prevention into your practice.

Sixty-eight million people will try to quit the tobacco habit during the next year. Most will try cold turkey. Most will fail. Doctors, especially dentists, are the logical place for them to go to seek help. As dentists we see smokers, chewers and dippers in our practices every day. We see the stained teeth and the leukoplakia in the oral cavity long before the pulmonary specialist, cardiologist or oncologist sees any effects of tobacco use. We know the tremendous health benefits of being free from this nasty habit. So why don't we treat it? The answer heretofore has been that we didn't know how. Ten years ago we didn't know how to whiten teeth either, but today almost every dentist dispenses at-home bleaching systems.

More than 30 years ago, the ADA House of Delegates passed a resolution stating "...members are encouraged to inform patients of the health hazards of the use of tobacco and to warn against acquiring the habit of cigarette smoking." Many state dental boards now actively encourage dentists to involve themselves in tobacco cessation counseling and therapy for patients. In January 1995 the ADA established an insurance code for "Tobacco Cessation Therapy for the Control and Prevention of Oral Diseases." The code, 01320, serves as an incentive for practices to institute counseling and treatment programs.

So what are the benefits of incorporating tobacco cessation therapy into your practice?

• 1) You can be instrumental in saving lives
• 2) Tobacco cessation provides you with unique marketing opportunities for your practice
• 3) Tobacco cessation is a profitable treatment that can add significantly to your bottom line

If you're ready to incorporate this wonderful service into your practice, let's look at what to do. First you need a product you can use to help patients as they quit. Patches and gum, which most people know about, are only about 30% successful and actually put nicotine back into the system. A product that I have used with great success for two years, the all-natural Easy Quit, actually helps to rid the body of nicotine. It is an all-natural herbal smokers support system consisting of five parts:

• 1) An anti-addiction capsule which helps calm the body
• 2) A de-nicotizing capsule which helps rid the body of nicotine
• 3) A maintenance capsule
• 4) A bottle of aroma-therapy oil
• 5) An audio program.

Patients use the first two parts, the anti-addiction and de-nicotizing capsules, for the first week. Most will have stopped smoking during this period. They take the third part, the maintenance formula capsules, for the rest of the month using the aroma-therapy as needed under their nose and on their temples. The audio program is used as needed to calm and motivate.

Let's look at how you go about recommending this tobacco cessation program to your patients: You are going over the medical history of either a new or existing patient and you come to the question that asks, "Do you use tobacco?"

"Jim, it says here that you use tobacco. Have you ever thought about quitting?"

"Yeah doc, all the time. I've tried cold turkey, patches and the gum and I can't seem to do it."

"Well Jim, one thing we now offer in our practice is a tobacco cessation program. We use an all-natural capsular system that we've had great success with. In fact, most patients have stopped tobacco use in the first week. If you would really like to quit we can start you on the program anytime you are ready."

Do you see how nonthreatening and easy that was? Look at what you do currently when you realize a patient uses tobacco. I used to say something like, "Jim it says here on your chart that you use tobacco, you know you really shouldn't do that." And Jim would say, "Yeah, I know doc," and I moved on to other questions because I had no service to offer. It's now great to have this life saving system to offer.

When Jim decides to go on the program here's what we do. He will have a 15 minute appointment with either the doctor or a staff member. In this meeting Jim will be told to throw away all tobacco products, ash trays and cigarette lighters. If he is serious and expects to quit, why would he keep these things around? He is then given his Easy Quit system and told to follow the directions in the package. We will see Jim at day two and day five after he begins the program. Jim is told to expect possible side effects like nausea, diarrhea, and headaches. We tell him this so that if he does experience any of these symptoms they're not totally unexpected.

Jim is scheduled for a 15 minute appointment two days later. When he comes in, he is asked how he is doing. A typical reply is, "I haven't smoked, but I have felt nauseous." "Well Jim, you're on your way. You have taken the first few steps. Some nausea is very normal. Remember, you are trying to get the toxins from all those years of smoking out of your system and it's normal for an adjustment period. Keep up the good work."

Jim is scheduled for 3 - 4 days later. At the next appointment we do the same thing. We ask Jim how he is doing and offer support and encouragement. Do you see how this is very similar to providing at-home bleaching systems? We just offer support and let the system help the patient.

I mentioned earlier the marketing potential of a tobacco cessation program in your practice. In most practices about 25% of patients are tobacco users, but every patient knows someone who would like to quit. So when you get the word out to your patients about this life-changing new service you offer, encourage them to tell their tobacco-using friends, relatives and co-workers about it. Here is a sample letter:

Dear Patient,

Our office is committed to providing the latest techniques to improve the health of you and your family. That is why we are so excited to tell about our newest service.

The harmful effects of tobacco use have been widely reported for years. We are frequently the first to see these effects as we notice the changes to the teeth and gums. Previously we had no safe, proven and effective means to assist people in kicking the tobacco habit. That is why we are pleased to inform you of our tobacco-cessation program.

At the heart of our program is an all-natural herbal system that has a 90% success rate with thousands of users. Our program does not put nicotine back into the system, nor does it use patches or gum.

If you know anyone who uses tobacco and would like to rid themselves of this nasty habit once and for all, please call our office as soon possible. We will be happy to discuss their qualifications for our tobacco cessation program.

Yours in health,

Doctor

Treating tobacco use in your practice is staff delegable. Hygienists are key personnel in making the program work in your office. When patients want our tobacco cessation service, they are frequently appointed with the hygienist who will dispense the Easy Quit kit and be the support person for the patient in the office.

As far as setting a fee for your program, look at what is happening in the marketplace. Week- long camps to quit smoking cost $3,000 - $4,000; people buying the patches will spend, on average, $800 just to quit and who knows how much more for maintenance, and the costs for nicotine gum are about the same. Our fee is in the $300 range. If the patient needs more of the Easy Quit product, which does happen occasionally, there is an additional charge.

If you are ready to start treating tobacco use in your practice, here is what to do:

1)Reaffirm your commitment to your patients' health and to ridding people of their nasty tobacco habit.

2)Call us at 800-547-6713 and we will tell you how you can get the Easy Quit product for your office.*

You can grow your practice by expanding on the services you currently provide to include tobacco cessation and prevention. This service can save lives, position you on the leading edge of your profession, and add significantly to your bottom line.