Dental Marketing | Dental Practice Solutions

Effective Strategies for Dental Hygiene Patient Reactivation and Retention

By: Debbie Seidel

August 31, 2023

Maintaining a steady stream of patients is crucial for any dental practice’s success. One of the most valuable segments of your patient base is those seeking dental hygiene services.

This blog will guide you through effective strategies to reactivate and retain dental hygiene patients, ensuring the growth and profitability of your practice.

1. Segment Your Patient List: Start by segmenting your patient list into different categories, such as active, inactive, and overdue patients. This will help you find the best patients to contact first.
Personalized Communication: First begin with a personal phone call to the patients best contact phone number.

When patients don’t answer your phone call (Which happens often!) do leave a very brief message with your name and office phone number.
- Your message will sound something like this:
  - “Hello (Patient Name), This is Angie calling from ABC Smiles about your dental appointment, please give me a call back at (Your office #). Thank you and have a great day!
- Why this brief message?
  - Your goal is to get patients to return your call and #2 is HIPAA compliance. You don’t want to leave any personal information.
- Next is to text patients who have not answered their phone.
  - People are most likely to see a text message faster than listen to a voicemail message.
- Your text message will appear like this:
  - Hello (Patient Name), please contact our office at your earliest convenience. We miss you and hope to talk to you soon. Then sign your office information and include your office phone number.
When patients don’t respond to your text message do send an email. In your email you should send content that is valuable.
- It works well to send video content. Possibly a video created by the dental hygienist talking about why preventive care is important and then add a message to click a link and call to schedule their hygiene appointment.
- If you have patients who need to schedule for gum treatment find a video message (find this inside your patient engagement software) and add this to your email.
  - In the subject line be sure to add [Video] and a few more words that you believe add value to your patients so they will call and schedule their appointment.
- If you are open to having patients schedule online it will work well for hygiene preventive care appointments to click and schedule.
  - Be sure you have blocked out hygiene appointments that are specific to preventive care on your hygiene schedule.
If all else fails, send a letter to the patient with a place where they can check off why they are not scheduling and enclose a SASE so they can send back a reason why they are not scheduling. Inside your letter have them let you know (add a checklist so they can easily respond) they won’t be returning to your office.
- This has worked well for patients who are overdue by 18 months or more. Some patients will call your office immediately and let you know the exact reason they are not scheduling.
- Many patients will tell you they want their records transferred. This is a great way to eliminate patients in your database that won’t be coming back. Edit these patients and mark them as inactive.

Send Reminders and Offers: Utilize email and SMS reminders for upcoming dental hygiene appointments. Offer special discounts or promotions to incentivize patients to return. Limited-time offers can create a sense of urgency.

This one thing has worked very well to keep patients on your schedule. The entire system helps to add more new patients and will grow your cosmetic cases. To learn more about this, I have added a link at the end of this blog so you can learn more.

Social Media Engagement: Use your practice’s social media platforms to engage with patients. Share oral hygiene tips, success stories, and showcase your team. Share specific incentives here. Encourage patients to follow your accounts for updates and useful information.
Educational Content: Create blog posts or videos about the importance of regular dental hygiene – preventive care visits. Address common concerns and dispel myths. Educated patients are more likely to prioritize their oral health.
Loyalty Programs: Implement a loyalty program where patients earn rewards for consistent hygiene visits. Rewards can range from discounts on future visits to free dental products. Check that link at the end of this blog to learn more about this ONE THING,
Surveys for Feedback: Send out surveys to understand patient preferences and areas for improvement. Use their feedback to enhance the patient experience and show that you value their opinions. Ask patients to give you 5 Star Google Reviews. This will help you with SEO and more new patients will find your office.
Flexible Scheduling: Offer flexible appointment scheduling options, including evenings and weekends. This can accommodate patients with busy schedules, making it easier for them to commit to regular visits. If you’re a new office you will do well if you offer evening and weekend appointments.
Telehealth Consultations: Introduce virtual consultations for dental hygiene advice and quick check-ins. This can foster a sense of care and accessibility, encouraging patients to stay connected.

They say there is a big economic decline ahead of us. We don’t want to run business around fear but there are so many valuable ways to use Telehealth Consultations and in the One Thing (See link below) you can use this via Telehealth appointments.

Showcase Patient Results: With patient consent, share before-and-after photos showcasing the positive outcomes of regular dental hygiene visits. This visual evidence can motivate patients to maintain their oral health. Share these on your social media posts and also have a portfolio on a coffee table in your office to show off case studies and your awesome dentistry!
Stay Updated with Technology: Invest in dental technology that enhances the patient experience, such as digital records, online appointment booking, and chairside education tools. We recommend various apps such as Dental intel to track KPI’s and help the team drive your productivity.

We also recommend patient engagement videos to easily send emails with videos and sms messages. See our list of recommendations at the end of this blog.

Create a Referral Program: Encourage current patients to refer friends and family by offering referral rewards. Word-of-mouth recommendations can significantly boost patient acquisition.

Conclusion.

Reactivating and retaining dental hygiene patients requires a combination of personalized communication, engaging content, and strategic initiatives. By implementing these strategies, you can strengthen patient relationships, foster loyalty, and ensure the long-term profitability of your dental practice.

Remember, a healthy patient-dental practice relationship is built on trust, excellent care, and consistent communication.

Resources.

1.Dental Intel. #1 ranked KPI System. Please contact us here for a discount and One Free Month. In your message write: Dental Intel Info

2. Patient Engagement. Click here and find out more about this #1 rated system

3. Discover your hygiene departments true potential. Schedule Here

Build A Thriving Cosmetic Dental Practice: Understanding Your Patient’s Desires

By: Debbie Seidel

July 25, 2023

A successful cosmetic dental practice goes beyond providing excellent services; it requires understanding what patients truly desire. People are more likely to invest in what they want rather than what they are told they need. By implementing a smile evaluation and asking open-ended questions, dental practices can discover what patients truly want, leading to increased patient satisfaction and the opportunity to grow the practice further.

Read this blog, and explore the importance of understanding patient desires. Learn how enrolling patients into a patient membership/loyalty program such as the Celebrity Smiles Club will significantly contribute to the success of a cosmetic dental practice.

Understand What Your Patient Desires

As cosmetic dentists, our primary goal is to enhance smiles and boost self-confidence in our patients. However, it is crucial to remember that each individual has unique desires and expectations. Using a smile evaluation and asking open-ended questions can help us uncover those desires effectively.

A smile evaluation is a comprehensive process that involves a thorough examination of a patient’s oral health, cosmetic concerns, and overall smile goals. Ask questions to understand what your patient wants. Make it fun when you’re asking your patient what they want their smile to look like.

One fun example. Background: We just had a multi-million dollar lottery.

Scenario: As you are seating your patient, while establishing rapport, getting caught up, with a smile on your face ask:

“Mr. Smith, when you win the lottery this week, what do you want your smile to look like?” Wink.

You are certain to get a smile from your patient when you make the questions fun.

By asking open-ended questions and actively listening to patients, we can delve deeper into their preferences and aspirations.

The Power of Open-Ended Questions

Open-ended questions invite patients to express themselves freely, giving us valuable insights into their desires. Instead of asking yes or no questions, we can inquire about their dream smile, the aspects they wish to improve, or the emotions they associate with their current dental condition.

This approach not only strengthens the dentist-patient relationship but also enables us to tailor personalized treatment plans that align with their wishes.

“People buy what they want, not what they need.”

Introducing the Patient Membership/Loyalty Plan: The Smile Club

One way to offer patients exactly what they desire is by introducing them to The Smile Club. This exclusive club offers cutting-edge teeth whitening solutions, ensuring patients achieve the radiant smile they’ve always dreamed of. Teeth whitening is one of the most sought-after cosmetic dental procedures, and by incorporating this into your services, you tap into a significant market demand.

Teeth whitening is exploding since 2020! Never in our history have so many people sought-out whiter teeth. Unfortunately, patients are not buying their whitening products from their dentist. Let’s create a paradigm shift and tap into this simple, easy profit center.

A turn-key system is included when you use Celebrity Smiles Club whitening products. The system will grow your dental practice with more new patients and more patients will schedule cosmetic cases. The turn-key systems included with The Smile Club, when implemented, sustains high productivity in your dental practice for years to come.

No need to see more patients or increase your overhead when you implement The Smile Club web-portal of resources.

Benefits of Your Smile Club Patient Membership

Patient Loyalty!
- - Patients join The Smile Club and pay a nominal fee for a take home whitening kit.
  - No impressions, no trays to fabricate, no added patient chair time.
  - Patients agree to your “change of appointment procedure.” Last minute cancellations and no-shows become a distant memory.
  - Patients agree to pre-schedule and show up for their routine preventive care, dental hygiene appointments.
  - Patients buy more whitening products from your office at a reduced fee. buy and save.
  - You buy your teeth whitening products at wholesale and now you can afford to give away a whitening pen as a reward for pre-scheduling and keeping their appointments.
  - Patients buy and save. You passed along the savings and created more profitability with less overhead!
Quick and Effective Results: The Celebrity Smiles Club patient membership/loyalty plan, uses advanced teeth whitening techniques, delivering fast and impressive results.
Patient Reward
- Free whitening pens at routine hygiene appointments are the carrot used to grow your dental practice new patients, enroll more cosmetic cases and a lot more.
- The Smile Club keep patients returning to your dental office.
- You buy whitening products wholesale and pass the savings on to your patients. You give them a toothbrush and floss and what they really want are whiter teeth! Consider this a win-win.
Fast, effective, no-sensitivity
- Dental grade, no-sensitivity teeth whitening, is highly appealing to patients seeking immediate smile enhancements.
- Ten minutes to a whiter-brighter smile.
- Celebrity Smiles Club uses Carbamide Peroxide + Potassium Nitrate ingredients combined with Cool Light Technology Blue and Red LED Lights mouthpiece.
- * Red LED lights have evidence-based science stating they soothe, comfort and heal mouth sores, canker sores, etc. Great for post-op care! *
  - Think: Photobiomodulation.

** Teeth Whitening is projected to reach 11.6 Billion Dollars by 2030. **

Most people buy teeth whitening online or in a drugstore. What’s wrong with this picture?!

Let’s change this statistic and have our patients get their teeth whitening from their dental office. It’s easy money. No added time to your schedule or more patients in the chair.

Enroll for free and receive access to the resources, the system, included with The Smile Club. Discover how to create a $70,000+ net production profit center in your dental practice annually, and without more patient time or increased overhead when you tap into the sizzle of teeth whitening in North America!

Click the link at the end of this blog and implement the free resources.

Think: No impressions, no pouring models, no need to make whitening trays. No need for patients to return and pick up their whitening trays.

Increase This Simple Service & Profit Center: By offering a very popular and super simple service like teeth whitening using Celebrity Smiles Club whitening products, you will motivate and inspire more patients to consider cosmetic dentistry. Using the Smile evaluation opens the door to additional cosmetic services that both you and your patient may have initially overlooked.

Think: Teeth whitening simplified. More cosmetic cases: more veneers, Invisalign, implants, and crowns, etc.

Grow New Patient Numbers: Members of your patient rewards program, The Smile Club, are more likely to share their positive experiences with family and friends. This is a great way to attract new patients to your dental practice which will increase your reach within the community.
Market the Smile Club benefits everywhere possible: on your website, social media, and your monthly newsletter, etc.
- Use The Smile Club marketing images around your dental office and on your website.
Enhanced Patient Retention: Enrolling patients into the Smile Club establishes a long-term relationship with your patients. Patients are motivated to return for routine preventive care dental hygiene appointments because of The Smile Club benefits.
- When patients enroll they agree, they understand your procedure to change appointments.
- Patients prioritize their dental appointments.
Brand Loyalty: The Smile Club becomes synonymous with quality cosmetic dental care, fostering strong brand loyalty among your patients who enjoy its benefits.

Conclusion

Understanding what your patients truly want is at the heart of building a successful cosmetic dental practice. By completing smile evaluations and utilizing open-ended questions, you uncover your patients desires and craft personalized treatment plans to fulfill them.

The Celebrity Smiles Club plays a crucial role in achieving long-term dental practice success. This loyalty plan offers patients the opportunity to achieve a bright, white smile quickly and effectively. Enrolling patients into The Smile Club, will not only enhance the success of your cosmetic dental practice but also fosters patient loyalty. This is a system that will boost new patient numbers, creating a thriving and satisfying dental environment for everyone involved.

The Smile Club, when all its systems are thoroughly implemented, will not only grow your new patient numbers, but it will increase case acceptance for cosmetic cases and last-minute cancellations become a distant memory.

Enroll today to learn more about the Celebrity Smiles Club system. Start today and all the benefits created for your dental practice here.

There is no cost when you enroll today!

References.

* Photobiomodulation. Accessed July 1, 2023 here.
** Teeth Whitening projected to reach 11.6 Billion Dollars by 2030. Accessed on July 1, 2023 here.
Adjunctive Therapy with Blue LED Lights. Accessed July 1, 2023 here.

How Offering Teeth Whitening Services Can Help Market Your Dental Office

By: Guest Author

March 2, 2023

Guest Author: Jennifer Freizen

A bright and healthy smile is one of the most important features people notice about us. Therefore, it’s no surprise that teeth whitening has become increasingly popular over the years.

According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, Americans spent over $1.4 billion on teeth whitening in 2019. This statistic highlights the huge potential for dental offices that offer teeth whitening services. This blog will discuss the benefits of offering teeth whitening services and how they can help market a dental office.

Benefits of Offering Teeth Whitening Services

Offering teeth whitening services is a win-win situation for the patient and the dental office.

Here are some of the benefits:

Increased Patient Satisfaction

Teeth whitening is a cosmetic procedure that has become a standard of beauty. It’s no surprise that patients seek to whiten their teeth to enhance their appearance. By offering this service, dental offices can provide patients with an immediate improvement in their smile.

Patients’ satisfaction with the teeth whitening service will help improve their experience at the dental office and potentially lead to repeat visits.

Higher Revenue for the Dental Office

Teeth whitening is a lucrative service for dental offices. Not only is it a highly sought-after cosmetic procedure, but it also has a high-profit margin. Dental offices can increase their revenue and profitability by offering teeth whitening services.

Differentiates the Dental Office from Competitors

Not all dental offices offer teeth whitening services. By providing this service, dental offices can differentiate themselves from their competitors. This service will attract new patients looking for a dental office that offers various services and can provide them with a one-stop-shop experience.

Increases Patient Loyalty

Offering teeth whitening services can increase patient loyalty. Patients satisfied with teeth whitening services are more likely to become regular patients. Providing patients with various services encourages them to return to the dental office.

Positive Word of Mouth Advertising

Satisfied patients are likely to share their positive experiences with others. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool, and it’s essential for dental offices to capitalize on it. Dental offices can encourage patients to share their positive experiences with others by offering teeth whitening services. This will lead to more patients and more revenue for the dental office.

Target Market for Teeth Whitening Services

Teeth whitening services appeal to a broad range of patients, but there are specific target markets that dental offices should focus on. These include:

Millennials

Millennials are a target market for teeth whitening services. This is because they are more likely to be concerned with their appearance and are willing to spend money on cosmetic procedures. Dental offices can appeal to this demographic by offering teeth whitening services and increasing their revenue.

Working Professionals

Working professionals are another target market for teeth whitening services. They are more likely to have disposable income to spend on cosmetic procedures and are often concerned about their appearance in professional settings. Dental offices can cater to this demographic by offering teeth whitening services and potentially increasing their revenue.

Baby Boomers

Baby boomers are another target market for teeth whitening services. As they age, their teeth become more discolored and stained. Teeth whitening services can help reverse this process and give them a more youthful appearance.

Marketing Teeth Whitening Services

The marketing of teeth whitening services is crucial for dental offices to attract patients. Here are some strategies to consider:

Digital Marketing Strategies

Digital marketing is an essential strategy for dental offices to consider. This is because patients are often looking for dental offices online. Here are some digital marketing strategies to consider:

Social Media Advertising

Social media advertising is an effective way to reach potential patients. By targeting specific demographics, social media helps with brand recognition for your dental practice, helping to keep your office top of mind when they need teeth whitening.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a cost-effective strategy to reach patients who have already interacted with the dental office. Dental offices can use email marketing to promote teeth whitening services, offer promotions, and provide educational content. It’s an effective way to stay top-of-mind with patients and encourage them to book appointments.

Website Optimization

A website is often the first point of contact that patients have with a dental office. It’s essential to optimize the website to promote teeth whitening services. This includes creating a dedicated teeth whitening page, adding patient reviews, and including before-and-after photos.

Traditional Marketing

Strategies Traditional marketing strategies are still effective for dental offices. Here are some strategies to consider:

Direct Mail

Dental offices can create targeted direct mail campaigns to promote teeth whitening services. This can include offering promotions or highlighting the benefits of teeth whitening. Direct mail is an effective strategy to reach potential patients in a local area.

Print Ads

Print ads are another effective strategy for dental offices to reach potential patients. Dental offices can create print ads in local magazines or newspapers. This can include highlighting the benefits of teeth whitening or offering promotions.

Referral Programs

Referral programs are an effective strategy to encourage patients to refer their friends and family to the dental office. Dental offices can offer incentives to patients who refer new patients to the practice. This can include a discount on teeth whitening services or a gift card.

Partnership with Local Businesses

Dental offices can partner with local businesses to promote teeth whitening services. This can include partnering with beauty salons or spas. Dental offices can offer promotions to their clients, and beauty salons or spas can promote the dental office to their clients.

In-Office Marketing

In-office marketing is a cost-effective strategy to promote teeth whitening services. Dental offices can create brochures, flyers, and posters to promote the services. They can also include information about the services on their appointment cards.

Challenges of Offering Teeth Whitening Services

Offering teeth whitening services has its challenges. Here are some of the challenges that dental offices should consider:

Cost of Equipment and Materials

The cost of equipment and materials for teeth whitening services can be expensive. Dental offices must invest in high-quality equipment and materials to provide the best results for their patients. This can be a significant investment, and dental offices must ensure they have the capital to invest.

Training of Staff

The dental office staff must be properly trained to provide teeth whitening services. This includes understanding the procedure, how to use the equipment, and how to manage patient expectations. Dental offices need to invest in training to ensure that their staff can provide the best results for their patients.

Managing Patient Expectations

Managing patient expectations is crucial for dental offices that offer teeth whitening services. Patients must understand that teeth whitening is a cosmetic procedure and that results may vary. Dental offices must provide patients with realistic expectations and ensure they understand the process before undergoing it.

Creating A Win-Win Solution

Offering teeth whitening services is a win-win situation for patients and dental offices. Patients receive an immediate improvement in their smile, and dental offices can increase their revenue and profitability. By targeting specific demographics and marketing teeth whitening services effectively, dental offices can attract new patients and increase patient loyalty.

Dental offices need to understand the challenges of offering teeth whitening services and invest in training, high-quality equipment, and materials.

Create A Call-To-Action For Your Practice

Overall, teeth whitening services are valuable to any dental office’s services. But not all dentists are confident about creating — and sticking to — a marketing strategy that attracts new patients. When you educate and engage them about the dental services you provide, you can encourage them to take action and schedule an appointment.

Fortunately, Rock Star Dental Marketing and Dental Practice Solutions can help your clients take action so you can grow your business. Rock Star Dental Marketing is a full-service online marketing agency that specializes in helping its marketing clients reach their next million dollars in annual revenue.

Dental Practice Solutions offers teeth whitening products and services that help retain new patients.

Does Your Dental Practice Stand Apart From The Crowd?

Your business is special and unique, and you have products and services that can make life so much better for your clients. But, they have a hard time picking you out from the crowd because to them, you look the same as all of your competitors. Therefore, you need to tell your story in such a unique, heartfelt way that your ideal clients cannot help but want to work with you because your “why” and what makes you special resonates with them, your Tribe.

That is why you should work with Rock Star Dental Marketing, for we will share your story with your ideal clients and community through digital content, as well as your internal crew through the storytelling of your Standard Operating Procedures. When your story is properly told throughout your internal and external marketing, your entire business thrives!

We can help you devise a marketing strategy to take your dental business to the next level. Contact us for a complimentary Discovery Session today to access our marketing wisdom.

About The Author:

Jennifer Filzen is the owner of Rock Star Dental Marketing and the host of the Ask The Doc show podcast.

As a result of our marketing efforts, Rock Star Dental Marketing helps small businesses reach their next million dollars in revenue. We do this by sharing their story in such a heartfelt way that their ideal clients, their Tribe, cannot help but want to work with them.

We do this through storytelling in their blogs, social media channels, on their website, in their video marketing, and even in their Standard Operating Procedures for internal marketing!

It’s all about sharing stories within your community that resonates with your Tribe. That is why Rock Star Dental Marketing is the category king of storytelling in the industries we serve, like auto repair, construction, dental, legal services, medspas, and business coaching.