Clackamas Dental Consultant | Dental Practice Solutions

Creating Dental Patient Loyalty

By: Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

May 3, 2023

Dental practices can begin by evaluating their current patient retention and new patient acquisition strategies and identify areas for improvement. From here you will develop a patient loyalty program that aligns with your practice goals and values as well as the needs and preferences of your patient base.

How to Design a Patient Loyalty Program May Include:

Rewards: What rewards or incentives will be offered to patients for their loyalty and engagement with your dental practice? How will these rewards be communicated and distributed to your patients?
Eligibility: Which patients will be eligible to participate in your patient loyalty program? Will it be open to all patients, or will certain criteria need to be met (For example: Pre-scheduling routine dental hygiene appointments, calling 24+ hours ahead to change a dental appointment, referring new patients)?
Communication: How will the loyalty program be communicated to patients? Will it be promoted through email newsletters, social media, or in-office signage? How will patients be reminded of their rewards and encouraged to schedule appointments?
Tracking and Reporting: How will the practice track and report on the success of a loyalty program? What metrics will be used to evaluate its effectiveness (For example: patient retention rates, referral rates, new patient, and revenue growth)?

By taking these factors into account and designing a patient loyalty program that meets the needs of both the dental practice and its patients, dental practices can improve patient retention, attract new patients, and ultimately grow their dental practice.

Get More Patients to Ask for Your Care

Ask your patients this one question, “What is one thing we can do for you today that will create your most beautiful smile, what would that be?”

Most patients will respond by saying, “I want whiter teeth!”

Yes, some patients will report they want straight teeth and many patients will have a variety of other answers. Start asking this question of your patients and see for yourself how your patients respond.

The worst thing that can happen is that you may have more patients enroll into Invisalign, veneers and even more teeth whitening services.

Rewards to Your Dental Office & Patients

The latest data shows that only 17% of dental offices actively offer teeth whitening services to their patients. Why is that?

Are we too busy cleaning teeth and trying to get patients to schedule their next dental appointment? What’s wrong with this picture?!

One simple system that will not only keep your schedule full but this patient reward system called Celebrity Smiles Club. The club has proven for many years to get more new patients call your office and schedule a New Patient Appointment.

The Celebrity Smiles Club is similar to offering your patients a membership program such as a COSTCO or NETFLIX membership. When patients are part of “The Club” they know what is expected to reap their reward, i.e., One Free Teeth Whitening Pen. Your patients enroll in the Celebrity Smiles Club and they understand the expectation to get their reward.

These expectations are:

Enroll in The Club
Pre-schedule routine dental hygiene appointments,
Call (X days) in advance to change an appointment.

When patients keep their dental appointment they are rewarded at their dental hygiene appointment with a free whitening pen.

Most patients will buy another one or two pens which adds huge net production to your revenue.
You buy your whitening products at wholesale prices and in return you offer patients a free pen and a discount to buy other whitening products. Think of a patient paying $15-$20 for one whitening pen and you paid a wholesale price of $4.50 per pen.

Celebrity Smiles Whitening System means no more messy impressions, no models to pour up, trays to make and patients returning to get their whitening trays.

Your patients never need to sit for an hour under a blue light to whiten their teeth. You can still provide ZOOM teeth whitening but for touch-ups you have your patients return for a whitening tray. Using Celebrity Smiles System means you send your patients home with their whitening kit.

Teeth whitening is a six-billion-dollar business in North American and why should your patients buy their teeth whitening products at AMAZON or WALMART, etc.?

Using the Celebrity Smiles Club reward system will not only gain more new patients but will keep your schedule full. When patients enroll in your rewards program they are less likely to call last minute and change their dental appointment.

Think of using The Celebrity Smiles Club as a “Carrot”. It’s that adage, WIIFM that works very well to keep your practice highly profitable with patients showing up for their dental appointments!

Once you partner and implement the Celebrity Smiles Club, you gain access to a web portal of information (No added cost to you!) that will reduce cancellations, provide scripts to keep patients on the schedule when they do call to cancel, how to enroll your patients into the club, a smile evaluation and how to get patients to want more than JUST a clean, plus a lot more.

Check out everything included in Celebrity Smiles Club here.

Ready to get started offering The Club? Send me an email (debbie@dentalpracticesolutions.com) and in the subject line write, “The Smile Club.”

In the body of your email provide your office name and I will respond with the order form and information about The Club.

Not sure if this is right for your dental office?

Schedule a quick demo and learn more about how to grow your new patient numbers, reduce cancellations and keep patients returning to your dental office using Celebrity Smiles Club teeth whitening system.

Schedule a Call

This One Thing For Dental Practice Growth

By: Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

March 9, 2022

Dental Practice Growth. This. one thing will help get more new patients. — Growth Strategies for Dental Offices

Dentistry and technology change quickly. Dental materials, computer software, dental scanners, lasers, and the way patients whiten their teeth has improved dramatically!

To be your most profitable this year, you have so many choices and how will you choose the best of the best to bring in more new patients and keep your current patients returning to your office?

Your patients don’t know how great your clinical skills are but they do know how you make them feel when they are in your office and even when they are not in your office.

Keep reading to learn the best strategy to gain more new patients calling to schedule their first appointment. This one strategy will keep new patients returning to your dental office. It will also reduce those last minute changes in your schedule.

HOTTEST TRENDS WORLDWIDE

During the pandemic in 2020, teeth whitening and self-care become a hot topic. Zoom meetings have created a fast-growing trend for aesthetics and that includes high-end treatment such as veneers, crowns and implants and teeth whitening.
The teeth whitening market is a 6.4 billion-dollar business worldwide and it’s expected to grow to 6 percent annually by 2024.¹

Now is your time to tap into teeth whitening and upgrade the way you deliver services to your current patients. Teeth whitening combined with a “Lifetime Whitening” program has also been a popular way for dentists to grow their new patient numbers.

For the past ten years, Dental Practice Solutions has supported dental offices around the world with a Lifetime Whitening program. Dentists announce their Lifetime Whitening program on their website.

To get patients motivated to want whiter teeth we provide you with marketing materials and images to use throughout your office. We have a training, la earning center, you can log into and get access to the marketing materials as well as communication, scripts (to customize) when patients call to change their dental appointment last minute. You have Lifetime Whitening enrollment forms and a lot more at your fingertips when you partner with Dental Practice Solutions to provide teeth whitening to your patients.

To enroll patients into your Lifetime Whitening program many offices charge a small fee, some use this as one level of their in-office dental patient “smile saver program” (Similar to an in-office dental plan) and some offices include the free whitening in their new patient fee.

Once patients are enrolled in the program, when they see their hygienist every six-months, or as scheduled (No last-minute changes), they receive a whitening wand (3.0 mL pen) at no additional cost.

Dentists can feel confident this one strategy will grow their dental practice. Teeth whitening products are purchased wholesale (deep discount) from Dental Practice Solutions and you have the tools to enroll patients into not only teeth whitening but the training area (Our online web portal of information)will help you serve your patients at the highest level possible.

Asking what patients what for their smile will help you enroll patients into higher-end, aesthetic services and keep them returning to your dental office.

NEW PATIENTS IN YOUR DENTAL PRACTICE

Lifetime Teeth Whitening using the Celebrity Smiles teeth whitening technology and the marketing program not only attracts new patients to schedule their 1^st appointment in your office but they will return for scheduled appointments. Patients enrolled in Lifetime Whitening understand they can’t decide last minute that something better came up and call to “cancel” their dental appointment.

When patients keep their dental appointments they receive a free-whitening wand as a “thank you for keeping your dental appointments,” at their next hygiene appointment.

One important point about enrolling patients into the Lifetime Whitening Program is motivation to keep their dental appointments. It’s that WIIFM theory.

Whitening (pens) wands cost upwards of $25 on AMAZON and as a dental office enrolled in the Celebrity Smiles Wholesale (Reseller) Program you can purchase all the best dental-grade and sensitivity-free whitening products at wholesale prices.

Nowhere else can you go to purchase teeth whitening products for less. Our products are made with fresh ingredients and you can pick what ingredients you want inside your whitening wands.

Schedule a time to chat and we can suggest the best ingredients for your dental practice. We currently find the 35% Carbamide Peroxide with 6% Potassium Nitrate works great with the DUAL LED Light Technology but we do provide options for you.

LATEST TRENDS IN DENTAL OFFICE TEETH WHITENING PRODUCTS

The latest whitening trends include an LED Dual (Blue + Red LED) Light Wireless Mouthpiece.

This eliminates impressions, pouring models and making a whitening tray. The time for your employee to take impressions, prepare whitening trays, and then have patients return to pick up their trays, costs your more money than providing a patient with the Celebrity Smiles teeth whitening kit when they are enrolled in your Lifetime Whitening Program.

Dental Practice Solutions has a line of teeth whitening products that include (your choice) Carbamide Peroxide and 6% Potassium Nitrate. Dentists have the choice to customize their whitening serum to include Hydrogen Peroxide, Carbamide Peroxide, No Potassium Nitrate Fluoride or Potassium Nitrate Fluoride or BioMin Fluoride.

The patient kit includes 3 whitening wands, COOL Light Technology wireless mouthpiece, USB charger, How to Use Guide and Shade guide, all inside a beautiful box.

Dental Office with new patients. — Dental Office

BENEFITS OF TEETH WHITENING IN THE DENTAL OFFICE

Your patients are currently on AMAZON shopping daily. Why not have them purchase their whitening from you; their dentist?

The prices on AMAZON for whitening kits are a lot more money than buying at your office. You buy wholesale and offer your patients (one whitening wand for no-cost at their hygiene appointment) whitening products for less money.

The Lifetime Whitening program motivates New Patients to schedule at your office and current patients are less likely to call and “cancel” their dental appointment last mninute.

Patients respect their dentist for the opportunity to discuss enamel-safe and sensitivity-free teeth whitening options.

We believe a smile evaluation compliments your new patient and dental hygiene appointments. It takes less than 60 seconds to find out how patients want their smile to look. You must be the advocate who asks your patients the motivational and open-ended questions.

If you ask your patients how they want their teeth to look, now your patients will tell you what they want.

We show you how to more easily ask these questions so patients end up feeling more confident about their smile.

The problem is that most clinicians think they are too busy during patient appointments to ask one simple, open-ended question that will open the door to not only tooth whitening but veneers, implants, Invisalign, etc.

Innovative aesthetic services create an environment where you will do more high-end dentistry and create numerous raving fans who refer all their friends and family.

Add the latest technology in teeth whitening and you create an atmosphere where people want to be.

Dental Practice Solutions allows you to easily transform your operatory into a Celebrity Smile Space where patients look forward to visiting.

Dental Practice Solutions offers Celebrity Smiles Teeth Whitening products to dental offices which provides fast results without more time in the dental chair for patients or employee time preparing whitening trays. It is 10-minutes to a whiter, brighter smile and without causing tooth sensitivity.

When your dental office offers Lifetime Whitening you encourage patients to schedule a new patient exam and then continually, these patients want to return for preventive care (and adjunctive services) at your dental office.

By choosing the best products for whiter teeth, you will make professional teeth whitening an enjoyable experience and your patients will want to return to your dental practice.

The COOL LIGHT Technology Dual (blue & red)LED Light mouthpiece allows patients to quickly whiten 2-6 shades in as little as ten minutes. After patients initially whiten their teeth, they can do a touch-up weekly or as needed. 10- minutes later they have white teeth again! Wha-La, A whiter, brighter smile!

The Celebrity Smiles Whitening Technology Differentiates You from other dental offices in your community. Promoting Celebrity Smiles Teeth Whitening in your dental practice gives patients confidence in their dentist who creates beautiful smiles.

When your patients feel you are the best of the best, they will refer their friends and family to your office. You will be a destination hot spot in your community for the hottest trend today; teeth whitening.

Dental Practice Solutions is dedicated to creating a healthy mouth and body which gives people something big to smile about. What the world needs now are more smiles.

We believe that sharing a confident smile can change our world.

Will you join us and create more beautiful, confident smiles?!

To learn more about how you can implement the Lifetime Smiles using Celebrity Smiles Teeth Whitening Products email us at: debbie@dentalpracticesolutions.com or complete the wholesale application and we can help you get started.

Feel free to call our office with questions or to get started: 888-816-1511

Reference.

https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/teeth-whitening-market

https://www.celebritysmilesclub.com/

Treatment Planning Creates Your Own Economy

By: admin

August 13, 2013

In today’s world of dentistry there seems to be a focus on what to present to patients and how to present it to patients. As a Dental Practice Management Consultant I am consistently asked “Debbie, how can I get more patients to…?” Today I will write about treatment planning and how to create your own economy.

Here is a small list to explain why dentists call to speak to me:

Dentists ask me about treatment planning and improving case acceptance.

Dentists ask how they can get an increase production numbers without working more
Dentists ask me how to get overdue hygiene patients back on the schedule
Dentists ask me now to get more patients to say YES to treatment plans
And so many more questions to keep their dental practice alive in today’s challenging economy!

Recently I posted this quote on Facebook. Not sure where I found it:

“Those who believe they can move mountains DO! Those who believe they can’t cannot. Belief triggers the power to do so. PERIOD.”

It is what I believe and what has come true in my life. PERIOD!
I hear dentists say “This economy…” My response to this is “Create your own economy.”

Treatment Planning Creates Your Own Economy

Let me preface this by telling you a story I recently heard about in the media.
This is a story about Oprah Winfrey. Many of you may not know who Oprah Winfrey is so let me explain briefly. Oprah Winfrey is s an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. She is also African American. Last year she made 77 Million! (USD) YES! That much!

What does Oprah Winfrey have to do with treatment planning? Well…she was recently in the media because she attended Tina Turners wedding in Zurich, Switzerland. While she was in Switzerland she walked into a shop where a beautiful handbag caught her eye.

The handbag just happens to cost $40,000. When Oprah asked to see the handbag the clerk in the store told her “I am sorry but that handbag is too expensive for you.”

One more time she tried to ask the lady to see the handbag “No, really I just want to see that one.” The shop keeper told her “I don’t want to hurt your feelings” Oprah kindly and very politely told the shop keeper “You’re right, I can’t afford it.” Then she walked out of the shop.

So how does this relate to treatment planning? You may be asking “Why are you talking about this woman Oprah Winfrey?!”

My reason is because so many offices prior to working with me and/or my team, only talked to their patients about treatment they “thought” their patients could “afford”.

You may have read my story about this before. This is a fact: Many years ago I worked for a dentist (As a dental assistant) who looked out the window of one of the treatment rooms and he would check out what type of car the new patient arrived in. Then he would prepare what type of treatment plan he could present according to what type of car they were driving. Would he discuss a $200 (USD) treatment plan? Or would he present a $20,000 (USD) treatment plan? Well, I can tell you that most patients only heard about the $200 treatment plan.

This Oprah Winfrey story reminded me of this situation. AND today, I still hear dentists say “It is the economy that doesn’t allow me to present comprehensive care to my patients.”

I need to ask you:

Is it fair for you to pre-determine what type of care you will offer your patients?
Is it fair to base your treatment plan on what you “think” they can afford or what their response may possibly be?”
Can you honestly pre-determine what answer your patient will give you before you show them what is happening in their mouth?
What would your patients think if you didn’t tell them the truth about their disease or oral condition that may affect their health and enhance their appearance?
Is it fair to your patient to “look the other way” when you see disease, BOP, a missing tooth, etc?

Tell Them the Truth

Have you ever thought of NOT telling a patient about a necessary implant or veneer because you knew their insurance would not pay for it? What if you thought your patient could not afford the treatment you know needs to be completed – would you neglect telling them what they really need?

Maybe you told your patient you could do a 4 or 5 surface restoration instead of a crown thinking, “I know their insurance won’t pay for this so blah, blah, blah..”

Would you present the realy picture for a perfect smile and improved health if you knew it was your mother, your wife, your husband..? Why would you offer your patient something less?

I do hear these stories all the time!

How do you decide on a treatment plan?
Do you think that “This economic crisis is so bad I will only diagnose for single tooth dentistry?”

I know some of you will answer “YES” to this question. You believe that due to this economy you must go easy on your patients.

We do have an ethical obligation to tell our patients the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

That shop keeper didn’t believe Oprah Winfrey could afford a $40,000 handbag because of her appearance.

We must provide our patients with options. As healthcare providers we have a legal and ethical obligation. Please…leave the final decision up to tyour patient.

Let them decide what they can or can’t afford.

Most long-term patients establish great trust in their dentist. This is why your patients will say “YES” to your care. This is why you must tell them what really exits in their oral cavity.

Your patients are depending on you to tell them what they really need. They deserve to hear all their options.

When they buy a car I promise you they want to know if the sun roof is included and they will decide for themself if they want to Sirus Audio System included. And many will pay extra for it!

What Can We Learn From Oprah Winfrey?

You see, this was not the first time a shop keeper turned Oprah Winfrey away. The first person many years ago flat out told her they would not sell to her because her skin was black.

In Switzerland, most people have never heard of Oprah Winfrey and the shop keeper, who told her she didn’t want to hurt her feelings but she couldn’t afford that handbag, obviously didn’t know who Oprah was!

And how do you think that shop keeper feels now knowing that the billionaire woman was refused service in her shop? There has been an official apology as well as the Swiss government apologizing.

And how many of your patients have you neglected to tell exactly what type of dentistry they needed?

Did you tell them their options for that missing tooth? Did you allow your patient to decide which is best for their pocketbook?

Build trust with your new dental patients — at their first appointment

“Customer is king”

Treat every patient the same (provide a specific level of care for all patients of record.

“Every patient deserves to know what is going on inside their mouth and the various options that can create health and even a more beautiful smile”

Allow all patients to know the types of dental treatment options you can offer patients
Allow patients to know and truly understand that you care about their well-being

” People don’t care how much you know but they do want to know how much you care”

Tell patients what you see in their mouth

“Many patients believe the dentist will FIND something. Change this into a conversation of “co-diagnosis”. This means that your patient participates looking with you. (use a hand mirror or intra-oral camera) Show patients what you see and tell them “This is what we see in this area on your lower right area.” (Identify where you are looking in their mouth – especially when using an intra-oral camera)

Provide patients with options to create health and a longer life (And many want to look more beautiful as they age)

“Most people do want to live a longer and healthier life!”

People Buy What They Want

I can tell you that people really do buy what they want.
If you present a benefit for placing an implant over a removable appliance or doing nothing, at least you have left the choice up to your patient.
If you position yourself, speak with a certain (Caring, etc.) tone and in a manner that you know are comfortable with your patient, they are more likely to trust you and believe that you have their best interest in mind.
When people know how much you care and when they trust that you have their best interest in mind, the decision to say “YES” and accept your treatment plan becomes so much easier for everyone.

Recently, I spent some time in Palm Desert, California. It is summer time and the snow birds (The retired people) have returned to their other home. This beautiful desert location was still filled with a lot of people. They temperatures were triple digits. (Temperature in Fahrenheit) There were so many families in the desert vacationing with their families. These families didn’t drive in old beat up cars but nice, big, expensive cars. The families were in the restaurants’ and shops.

I also noticed that the car dealerships were plentiful. I saw dealerships for such automobiles like: Bentley, Jaguar, Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac, etc., etc.

There were dental offices on every corner. And the dental offices I visited were very upscale.

In Conclusion

I know for sure that people are spending money. I spoke to a retired lady I know today about this. She constantly tells me she needs to watch her money. But when I asked her if she would stop spending the thousands of dollars each year on her face creams she quickly told me “Absolutely not!”

I know that if you understand how to effectively communicate with your patients and if you know when to be quiet and listen, if you understand how to build trust with your patients – You will have many more patients say “YES” to your care.

I am interested to hear how you create a treatment plan in today’s world. I want to know what type of economy you are creating for yourself.

How do you create your own economy? What are you doing during the dental patient appointment to build trust? How do you explain all the options to your patients? How do you know you don’t have an “Oprah Winfrey” sitting in your dental chair?

I would like to hear about your experience with treatment planning and how you deliver your message today. Do you discuss single tooth dentistry or comprehensive dental care options?

What you believe really is what you create. The words that come out of your mouth do become YOUR reality.

Tell me more about your world – your economy – in the comment section below.

About Debbie

Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS is founder of Dental Practice Solutions, and has successfully designed efficient dental hygiene departments that result in high performance dental teams for over 13 years. Her focus is providing optimal patient health while consistently increasing profits for the dental practice.

Debbie is an accomplished author who speaks internationally about her signature systems and services for the dental hygiene department. She utilizes the most recent science and research to prevent disease while increasing the teams’ enthusiasm and guiding the dental team to consistently increase profits.

In 1984 she graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, California with a Bachelors Degree in Dental Hygiene. She is a former clinical assistant professor from USC in Los Angeles, CA. In 2000-2002 Debbie co-taught the practice management course for the dental students at USC. Debbie is also a former dental hygiene program director for a school in Portland, Oregon where she wrote the accreditation, hired the teachers, purchased equipment and managed a 2 million dollar budget.

Debbie works with dental practices throughout the world implementing her signature dental hygiene systems and is considered one of the Top Leaders in Consulting for Dentistry Today. She can be reached at: www.https://dentalpracticesolutions.com, support@dentalpracticesolutions.com or call: 888-816-1511.