Patient referrals can help a dental practice grow, but they are rarely created by a referral form alone. They often begin with the way a patient feels in the office. Wurzbach Parkway Family Dental, a general dental practice in San Antonio, Texas, offers a useful healthcare case study: after Dr. Kevin Klenke introduced the FISH! Philosophy, the practice reported stronger production and more referrals from current patients.
What did Wurzbach Parkway Family Dental do?
Dr. Klenke introduced FISH! to his practice after attending one of the first FISH! events. In a letter about the experience, he wrote, “I initially introduced FISH! to improve customer service, but the impact on our staff has been more profound.” The philosophy helped the team look for more chances to engage and uplift both patients and one another.
The practice began with the four FISH! practices: Be There, Make Their Day, Choose Your Attitude and Play. Shortly after the book FISH! was released, Dr. Klenke attended one of the first FISH! events. He then found a bookstore with enough copies for his whole staff.
The approach became part of how new employees were introduced to the practice. Every new employee got a copy of the book, saw the film FISH! and signed a commitment to the four practices.
The team also recognized that some people arrive at a dental office with little excitement about the visit. Office Manager Deby Williams explained, “We deal with people who don’t always want to be here, so we make them very comfortable and make them feel at home. We try to make their day. We try to go out of the way to make sure they’re having a good experience because it’s not always fun to come to the dentist.”
Dr. Klenke said FISH! gave employees “permission to bring lightheartedness and fun into their work, create memorable experiences for our patients, and our production has grown as a result.” He added, “I now judge how things are going by the laughter I hear throughout the office.”
What changed at the practice?
The production figures in Dr. Klenke’s letter were specific: “In the first year of our FISH! journey our production went up 35%, the 2nd year 27%, and we have experienced double digit growth every year since.” He also wrote, “Our patients tell us they love coming to our office because we are fun to be with.”
Dr. Klenke reported production growth of 35% in the first year and 27% in the second.
Williams connected the practice’s focus on service with new patients from referrals. “Over the past 8-9 years, we have seen an increase in new patients from referrals since we have started practicing the FISH! Philosophy,” she said. “We used to get five or six referrals a month from current patients. Now we get 15-20 a month. Patients are clearly satisfied with their dental treatment and how they were treated as a person, so they come back and refer their family and friends.”
Wurzbach Parkway Family Dental is one of many organizations whose results with the FISH! Philosophy have been documented. Its story stands out because it connects business results with something people notice in ordinary interactions: whether they feel welcome, understood and valued.
How can a dental practice get more patient referrals?
A dental practice can get more patient referrals by giving current patients a reason to talk about the practice in human terms. Clear care, easy communication and strong relationships still matter, but patients also remember how the front office and the rest of the dental team made them feel. That memory can become word of mouth when a family member or friend asks for a recommendation.
This is where the FISH! practice Make Their Day can add a useful lens. It means creating moments that leave another person better off by showing that their presence, effort or choices matter. In a dental office, that can mean noticing that someone is worried, listening closely or offering a sincere welcome.
The gesture has to be genuine because patients can sense when warmth is only a script. Wurzbach Parkway Family Dental’s reported approach was to make patients comfortable and try to make their day. Williams’s explanation also points to the reason referrals followed: patients were satisfied with both their treatment and how they were treated as people.
Why does the team’s mood affect how anxious patients feel?
People read the mood of a room quickly, especially when they already feel nervous. Dental anxiety can make a visit feel harder before anything begins.
A rushed greeting, distracted response or tense exchange may increase that feeling, while calm attention and warmth can help a patient feel more at ease. This article focuses on the workplace experience around a visit, rather than dental or medical advice.
Be There describes the kind of attention that helps. The practice asks people to be physically, mentally and emotionally present. That means paying attention to the person in front of you, listening instead of preparing a reply, and recognizing that a patient’s concern matters even when the concern seems familiar to the staff.
Choose Your Attitude supports that presence by asking people to notice what they bring into an interaction and decide how they want to show up. Hard moments can remain hard without dictating the team’s response, and “just be positive” misses that work. Leaders influence this practice most clearly through their own example, because a team watches how its leader responds to pressure, confusion and feedback.
For a dental office, the practical question is simple: what does a patient encounter when they enter the office? The answer is shaped by the whole team, from the front office to the treatment area. Attention, respect and a shared intention make warmth feel genuine rather than performed.
How does dental office culture support practice growth?
Culture becomes useful when it guides everyday choices. A slogan on a wall cannot create patient loyalty by itself. A shared culture can, when employees understand what it asks of them and have room to use good judgment.
That is one reason onboarding matters. When every new employee receives the same book, watches the same film and commits to the same practices, the team has a common starting point. From there, new team members can connect the ideas to their own roles and help shape the culture as they become part of the practice.
Each role in a dental office applies the same foundation in its own way.
The four practices give a team a shared way to move from awareness to action. Be There focuses attention on patients and coworkers, while Make Their Day turns that attention into a meaningful moment. Choose Your Attitude shapes the response, and Play adds curiosity, creativity and lightheartedness while keeping respect at the center.
Play brings energy and creativity to the way work is done while clear standards protect patients and coworkers. Leaders can support it by setting boundaries and giving employees room to find a better or more human way to handle a situation. A team becomes more willing to improve its service when people can try, learn and adjust without fearing every mistake.
Should a practice use referral programs or paid marketing?
Referral programs, referral software, relationships with referring providers and paid marketing can all serve a business purpose. They can help a practice communicate, track activity or reach people who have not heard of it. But those tools cannot replace the experience that makes a patient want to recommend the practice.
The strongest time to ask for a referral is after a practice has built trust. Before making that request, the team can review the full path a patient takes: how the call is answered, whether the front office communicates clearly and whether the patient feels recognized. If those points are weak, new software may only make the process more efficient without making it more appealing.
Every touchpoint helps decide whether a patient feels comfortable recommending the practice.
The Wurzbach Parkway Family Dental story offers a different starting point for thinking about how to get more patient referrals. Its reported results followed an emphasis on treating patients well as people. Other practices may find different results, but the story shows why small business growth can begin with the quality of ordinary interactions.
How can a dental team make the ideas practical?
Start with a conversation about who the team wants to be while doing its work, then connect that answer to moments employees already face. At the front desk, ask what being present looks like and how someone can make a patient’s day without sounding scripted. The team can also discuss the attitude that helps after a difficult exchange and where safe, respectful creativity could improve the work.
Leaders can also listen for the office’s emotional signals. Dr. Klenke said he judged how things were going by the laughter he heard throughout the office. In another practice, useful signals might include whether people greet one another, share ideas and ask for help without fear; production, appointments and new-patient totals are only part of the picture.
The best next step is small and repeatable. Invite the team to choose one interaction to handle with more presence, one sincere way to make someone’s day and one place where more curiosity or lightheartedness could improve the work. Revisit the conversation as the people, patients and business change, because FISH! is built around an ongoing discussion of culture.
Try the FISH! Philosophy with your team
If your practice wants to explore how culture can shape the dental patient experience and patient referrals, try the FISH! Philosophy upgraded trial. It gives your team 30 days of access to the FISH! film and its digital guides, so you can discuss Be There, Make Their Day, Choose Your Attitude and Play and begin putting the ideas into practice together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between patient referrals and referrals from other providers?
Patient referrals come from current patients who recommend a practice to family members, friends or other people they know. Referrals from other providers come through professional relationships, so each channel may need a different communication process even though both depend on trust.
How can a dental office improve patient loyalty?
A practice can support loyalty by making the full experience consistent, respectful and easy to understand. Patients are more likely to return when they feel that the team remembers they are people, not only appointments, and when the office follows through on the service it promises.
How can a practice make a referral request feel natural?
Ask at a point when the patient has a clear reason to feel confident in the practice, and use plain language instead of pressure. The request should support a relationship that already exists rather than replace the patient experience that makes a recommendation meaningful.
How can leaders support a healthier dental office culture?
Leaders can model the attitude, attention and respect they want the team to bring to patients and coworkers. They can also notice everyday signs of trust, invite ideas and give employees room to use good judgment within clear boundaries.
How can a practice tell whether its culture is improving?
Look for patterns in how people treat one another and patients, including whether they listen, offer help, recognize good work and feel safe raising ideas. Business measures still matter, but everyday signs such as trust, warmth and genuine connection can reveal changes that a spreadsheet may miss.
