How to Add Value to Your Dental Practice

During these times of growth due to financial planning and lifestyle design, many find they want to make a career change at an earlier age. You must add value to your dental practice to continue growth. Most dentists today may practice for around 15 years before they decide to transition into another practice, become semi-retired, or change careers completely. Seasoned professionals in marketing and selling are the best partners to assist you in accomplishing your goals of more financial freedom by implementing some or all of these important steps.

Hire Quality Staff

First of all, prepare a job description to evaluate potential new hires. This will help with the interviewing process as you become more aware of the qualifications you are seeking and how others in the practice will relate to the position. The job description should consist of the title of the new team member, compensation, work schedule, reporting supervisor, and finally, the qualifications required. Make sure to update job descriptions frequently to prevent them from becoming outdated, and always consult with other team members for their perspective.

Invest in Marketing

Decide what type of potential clients you want to be able to find your dental practice. Target patients in the local vicinity of your practice. Using popular sites like Facebook is a good way to share the address of your practice, business hours, and a call button for directions. In order to book appointments, you can benefit greatly from click-to-call ads, which can be added to existing ads or as a call-only feature.

According to Google, most health-related searches are performed on a smartphone. Ads can be created for mobile devices with call-only campaigns. Use appointment confirmations to be sure your patients show up. Sending a card or an email is a great way to remind patients of their annual cleaning. Collect email addresses to reintroduce yourself to potential customers.

Use Advanced Technology

One way to add value to your dental practice is Teledentistry, virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), and 3D printing are at the forefront of how dentists are changing the way they deliver care.

Many dental offices were forced to close during the initial stages of COVID-19, which caused lower patient volumes. Teledentistry helped to bridge the gap and reduce the risk of viral transmissions, and comply with local health measures. It was a great help to determine if a true emergency needing treatment existed. Be sure the telehealth dentistry you use complies with health regulations.

The use of virtual reality can improve care for patients. A headset worn by patients can be an extension of mounted televisions to impact pain management. These relax the patient and reduce the pain, which establishes empathy with the patient. VR can also be instituted in training to allow students to experience dental procedures, especially issues which are an emergency that rarely occurs.

Dental technology is changing the landscape of dental care. AI algorithms are able to use billions of data decisions based on available evidence, making them far more advanced than humans at identifying specific conditions. AI can validate dentists results, but great care must be exercised to make sure people can’t be identified with these tools. In conjunction with anonymous dental data, these tools can improve accuracy of treatment plans and generate templates for students to use in treatment analysis.

Another element of technology that is cost-effective for patients and dentistry is 3D printing. An advanced 3D printer can reduce such costs as the manufacture of dental implants which can, in turn, reduce costs for the patient. It can create dental splints faster and cheaper to prevent tooth grinding. Also, new splints can be created in just over an hour.

Work on Leadership Development

Both vertical and horizontal leadership can develop teams in your dental practice that thrive. The vertical leader must have a clear vision for growth and take ownership in his/her teams, while the horizontal leaders are team members who seek ways to assist and support one another throughout the day. An annual performance review where team members evaluate themselves on what is working, what’s not, and what can be improved is needed for growth.

Team members should also assess the practice on a yearly basis as an input for positive change. Clear communication, responsibility, performance, expectations, and feedback with enthusiasm are musts for good leadership practices. The trust of your team is based on your empathy, competence, and ability to delegate.  Integrity is key. Be the leader in developing the common purpose toward your practice vision, mission, and goals.

Expand Your Services

Think about the experience your patients have when they come to your practice. You want to ensure your patients are getting consistent and high-quality treatment every visit. Make sure to ask your patients for feedback and how you can improve their experience. This could include offering services for older patients, such as tooth restorations, if you are located near a predominantly older population.

New equipment can make the difference in appearing outdated. State-of-the-art equipment is an investment in new upsell opportunities for existing clients and attracting new ones. For the above example of older adults, this could mean adding tooth restoration technology to your practice. Assess your existing equipment. Any existing and new equipment must integrate well with your current services, be easy for your team to use, and provide a return on your investment.

Engage with Patients

The better the relationship with your patients, the more you will understand and deliver what they seek. Find out what social media platforms your patients are frequenting, and listen and communicate with them. Find out what misconceptions they have and provide an answer for them with beneficial information. Always be consistent and reliable so as not to lose their trust. Be sure to communicate to your team the value of client relationships and to provide the best possible care for each patient. By engaging in this way, they will return to your office and refer you to their family and friends.

Take the steps above to add the most value to your practice and for your patients. For more information on how to train or coach your team to accelerate your dental practice growth, visit www.strategicpracticesolution.com.