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3 Reasons Why Your Dental Patients Don\’92t Come Back

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The average dental practice loses 15-20% of their dental patients every single year.  Why are you losing these patients?  What is happening to your dental patients and where are they going?  It\’92s important to uncover the why – to get to the root of the issue – to effectively take action and do something about it.  

Like most business owners, dentists can have various blind-spots when it comes to weaknesses in their practice.  Stop simply wondering why your dental patients aren\’92t returning and start uncovering the real reasons.  

Here are 3 of the most common reasons why dental patients walk out the door and don\’92t come back.  

Unbearably long wait times

Time is important to everyone.  And that includes your dental patients.  There is nothing worse than sitting in the reception area just watching the clock tick away slowing waiting for your name to be called.  You expect your patients to be in your practice on time, and your dental patients have the same expectation of you.  Your staff should schedule realistic appointment times and remember to avoid double booking patients.  Of course there can be unexpected delays or emergencies that pop up causing a delay in wait time.  If that is the case, make sure that the dental team clearly communicates to the patient. The pain in waiting often comes from the unknown. You\’92ve most likely experienced this feeling while sitting in traffic–not knowing what caused the traffic jam can drive you crazy!  And the moment you\’92re aware of what the issue is, it immediately reassures you that it will soon come to an end.  Then the wait doesn\’92t seem quite as unbearable!  If there is a wait, simply communicating with the patient as to why and how long that wait will be can work wonders in building trust and making them feel valued.

Ready to discover the essential secrets to successfully filling your dental chairs? Download your checklist here! 

You don\’92t ACT like you care  

While we know you appreciate and care about your patients (you wouldn\’92t be in business if it weren\’92t for them!), it\’92s all-too common for dental patients to think that you don\’92t truly care about them personally.  Since it\’92s incredibly easy to get caught up in the clinical side of what you\’92re doing, it also becomes incredibly easy to forget to take a moment to pause and pay proper attention to the patient.  Let them understand that you are there for them and do what you can to ease their fear and discomfort when at all possible.  No one likes feeling like they\’92re just another number.  

Your staff is unfriendly

Having a friendly and helpful dental team is critical to patient satisfaction and retention.  It will be easy for dental patients to jump ship if they don\’92t feel welcome and respected.  Train the entire team to greet every single patient by name and always welcome them with a smile. Ensure everyone on your team knows how important their role is in patient retention, and the impact they can have in making your patients\’92 day. When dental patients feel valued and comfortable, they are much more likely to return.  

A successful dental practice makes their highest priority providing exceptional patient care.  Getting new dental patients is tough enough.  It will be well worth the effort to keep them!

Are you ready to simplify and streamline your efforts to grow your dental practice? Follow this link to request a consultation with one of our call experts, or call us today at 888.978.2615 and get started in only three simple steps!

Learn How to Get Started

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Patient Scheduling Tips for Optimized Efficiency in the Dental Office

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Dentists and their staff are suffering from a serious case of business.  Being super busy sounds like the idea dilemma to have in a dental office except for one big drawback:  being busy doesn\’92t translate to better production and efficiency.  Many factors can contribute to an inefficient day and patient scheduling seems to be one of the most common culprits.  Patient scheduling can grow into work habits that become second nature and a routine to easily fall into without considering any change or improvement.  

There\’92s always room for improvement.  Read this blog post for 5 easy business tips to improve your dental clinic today. 

Time is money so it\’92s a must to schedule yourself properly.  Here we share some of the best surefire scheduling tips for running an efficient and well-organized dental practice.  

Dental Patient Scheduling Tips for an A+ in Efficiency

Set a Daily Goal

It\’92s one of the most important scheduling tips for a dental practice to establish daily goals.  Each and every staff member should be committed and on the same page to make the goal a reality.  Try setting consistent morning huddles to share new scheduling information, review any challenges from the previous day and to relish in success!  

Outsource Your Recall Services

Dental recall duties are generally assigned to office staff that may not have the right training or enough time to get the best results.  In fact, dental patient recall can actually be counter-productive in most situations for dental office staff. To super streamline your patient scheduling process, outsource your dental recall services with Patient Focus to help increase your practice profitability and overall revenues.

Don\’92t Double Schedule

When you are scheduling dental patients, stay far, far away from double-scheduling.  You can\’92t be in two places at once.  Not only does double-scheduling inconvenience everyone in the office, but most importantly it inconveniences the patient.  A patient will most likely have to wait, assistants may get confused trying to rush, the dentist\’92s stress levels go up and patients ultimately receive poor service.  

When it comes to running a dental practice, efficiency is key to attracting and keeping solid, quality patients.  Using these dental patient scheduling tips you could be well on your way toward running a dental practice with an A+ in efficiency to keep patients coming back.

Patient Focus is here to help your practice get more patients in your chairs through dental recall. Discover how you can begin realizing the increased revenue of a reactivated patient database in only 3 Simple Steps.

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Dental Office Design Ergonomics for Making Patients Comfortable

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Let\’92s be real.  Dental visits are often associated with apprehension and discomfort.  Since there tends to be an aversion to dentistry, it is crucial to create a feeling of warmth and welcome in your dental practice.  One of the best ways to do this is through your dental office design ergonomics.  Ergonomics includes design factors, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by minimizing operator fatigue or discomfort. 

The goal is to make your patient\’92s entire experience from the reception area to the dental chair a calming, inviting and comfortable one.   They should feel at home right off the bat when stepping through your front door. 

Have your patients ever walked out of your dental office saying, \’93WOW!\’94?  Read this blog post to learn how to make your dental patients feel right at home and to create the ultimate patient experience!

Here are 6 things to consider when creating the best dental office design ergonomics to make your patients feel comfortable and right at home. 

Seating.  Dental chairs are a big part of your dental office design ergonomics.  Dental patient chairs should be comfortable, ergonomic, adjustable and durable.  The chair should be constructed of high quality materials and provide ultimate comfort and control.   Here are some ergonomic guidelines for selecting dental patient chairs

Colors.  Choose colors throughout the office that soothe and help relieve your patient\’92s fear or tension.  Here are some quick color tips to consider:

  • Blue: color of trust and intelligence
  • White: peaceful and honest
  • Brown: warm and inviting
  • Green: soothing and natural
  • Red: good for accents and to add a little pop, but too much red conveys the message of danger, pain and anger

Lighting.  Have light in several different directions to brighten the room\’97not just overhead fluorescent lighting.  Use windows if available for natural lighting to make the room seem airy and restful. 

Smell.  Bleach and anything that resembles an anesthetic smell should be avoided\’97it\’92s a clinical smell.  Avoid strong-smelling disinfectants and choose a neutral, pleasant smell. 

Sound.  Choose reception music carefully.  You want it to be quiet and fit the taste of the majority of your patients.  Generally a good go-to is classical chamber music. 

Keep the elderly in mind.  You may need to make some adjustments for your older patients.  Make sure your floors aren\’92t slippery and provide standard-height chairs that are firm and comfortable.

Having a pretty office isn\’92t enough.  Dental office design ergonomics should be geared to the comfort of your patients to make them feel at ease and entice them to come back again and again. 

Providing your patients with a goodie bag at the end of each visit shows your appreciation and furthers the conversation of preventative dental hygiene.  Here are 16 goodie bag ideas that you can give to your patients during a visit to your dental practice. 

 

 

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Owning a Dental Practice: Avoid these 4 Pitfalls

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Owning a dental practice, or any business for that matter, is no simple feat. It can be easy to get tunnel vision and only focus on the dentistry aspect, but owning a dental practice is just like owning any other business.

You need to consider accounting and finance, marketing, the services you offer and so much more. If you own a dental practice or are considering buying one, you should know about the common obstacles other dentists have faced in their journeys of owning a dental practice.

Here are 4 pitfalls to avoid if you\’92re thinking about owning a dental practice.

Too Little Funding

Just like any other startup, a dental practice needs funding. There\’92s equipment to buy, staff to hire (and pay), and many other expenses to consider. Before you think about owning a dental practice, calculate all the potential costs and expenses and make sure you have enough financing to go into business. You don\’92t want to find out you have insufficient funding after it\’92s too late.

Paying Too Much for an Existing Practice

Instead of starting from scratch, some dentists will purchase an already existing practice. If this is the route you choose, do not try to save money by forgoing using a professional practice broker. You could end up paying more than the practice is actually worth. Appraisers and brokers specializing in dental practices can help guide you in the best direction.

Not Marketing

If you\’92re starting from square one you need a marketing budget. New businesses have almost no brand recognition, so it\’92s imperative that you get your name out there to acquire patients. Try these marketing strategies from dental practice management experts to get started!

Opening Before You\’92re Ready

Do not open your doors for business until you are absolutely ready. The last thing you want to do is jump the gun and have a bad first day. If you and your staff aren\’92t ready, patients will likely have a bad experience. And unfortunately, bad news travels fast. Make sure you\’92re prepared to deliver top notch service on day one.

Owning a dental practice won\’92t always be easy, but you can make it easier on yourself by avoiding these pitfalls.

Want to improve your business? Patient Focus can help your dental clinic find success through dental recall. Contact Patient Focus now to get more appointments.

 

 

 

 

 

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4 Tips to Get Better Dentist Reviews

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We live in a time where even one online review, if it\’92s bad enough, can really hurt your business. But that shouldn\’92t scare you away from Google My Business and Yelp, because managing your online reputation can be a really useful tool in attracting new dental patients and keeping old ones.

If you\’92re ready to take control of what your patients are saying about you and your dental practice, use these 4 tips to get better dentist reviews.

Get Your Patients\’92 Input

Talk to your patients and find out if there\’92s anything about your practice that can be improved. Allowing your patients to give their input on what could improve is a great way to change your practice for the better. People like to be heard, and when you take their thoughts into consideration, they\’92ll notice! And hopefully write a positive dentist review.

Ask for a Dentist Review

It never hurts to simply ask! Have your staff ask your patients if they had a good experience after their appointment is complete. If they say yes, your staff should ask the patient to write a dentist review. The worst that can happen is the patient declines. But if they agree, that\’92s another positive dentist review contributing to your online reputation.

Respond to the Dentist Reviews Out There

If you\’92re using a platform like Google My Business or Yelp, you have the opportunity to respond to your patients\’92 reviews. If the dentist review is not so positive, let the patient know that you\’92re sorry, and that you\’92ve heard their complaint. Then put your words into action! Change what needs to be changed in order to prevent that patient\’92s poor experience from happening again. If you need help responding to a negative review in a positive way, use these tips.

If there are positive dentist reviews, thank the patient for their kind words. Acknowledging your patients\’92 feelings will help you improve your practice and acquire more positive reviews.

Make it Easy

Some patients won\’92t want to go out of their way to provide you with a dentist review. So make it easy for them! Send your patients an email after their visit. The email can thank them for coming in to see you and segue into asking them for a review. Providing the link for them will increase your chances that they write a dentist review.

Just about everyone is online nowadays. Which means when prospective patients are looking for a dentist, they\’92ll see what your current patients think about your service. Use these tips to build a positive online reputation for your practice.

Want more dentist reviews? Improve patient satisfaction with these 3 tips!

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Wow Your Patients With These Awesome Goodie Bag Ideas

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A trip to the dentist can be stressful.  It\’92s smart for you to be doing all you can to try to ease that stress of your patients\’97new and existing. One way to help them feel comfortable is by sharing free items.   Remember visiting the dentist as a child and leaving happily with your shiny new free toothbrush?  The idea of free swag appeals to adults just the same!  Rewarding them for their \’93good behavior\’94 with a little memento or two to remember you by can do the trick. 

Providing your patients with a goodie bag at the end of each visit shows your appreciation and furthers the conversation of preventative dental hygiene.  It\’92s also the perfect way to advertise.  Your parting gifts can have your name, office and number so they have a constant reminder of your practice whenever they go to use them after their appointment. 

The first step to producing the best goodie bag for your dental office is to decide on the message you want to convey.  Will your goodie bags be providing oral health-care products?  Is it used as a marketing tool to promote your practice?  Be careful, creative and thoughtful when putting together your customized good bag. 

Here are 16 goodie bag ideas that you can give to your patients during a visit to your dental practice. 

  1. A toothbrush
  2. Business cards or magnets
  3. Floss
  4. Gum soft-picks
  5. Mouth rinses or sprays
  6. Handouts or brochures
  7. Coloring books or stickers for the kids
  8. Tongue scrapers
  9. Toothbrush covers
  10. Lip balm
  11. Coupons
  12. Dental timer
  13. Calendar
  14. Pen
  15. Sugar-free mints, candies or gum
  16. Hand sanitizer

Using these goodie bag ideas for your dental practice will demonstrate compassion, willingness to help and thoughtfulness for their oral health and apprehensiveness of visiting in the first place.  And who doesn\’92t like to get presents?  Your dental patient will walk out of your office with a bag full of free goodies and another reason to be pleased with the service they received.  That is never a bad thing.

Dental practices thrive by obtaining new patients and retaining current patients.  Because of this, it\’92s critical to make the patient experience a good and memorable one.  A patient satisfaction survey can help gauge your dental patient\’92s view of your practice.  Here\’92s how you can use a patient satisfaction survey to improve performance.    

Discover how you can begin realizing the increased revenue of a reactivated patient database with these 3 Simple Steps to Increased Revenue.

 

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4 WOW Factor Ideas for the Ultimate Patient Experience

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Have your patients ever walked out of your dental office saying, \’93WOW!\’94? 

All top-performing dental practices depend on one critical factor\’97providing an exceptional patient experience.  A patient experience that brings on the \’91WOW\’92 does not mean simply being nice and smiling. It starts with the first point of contact through when they physically set foot in your office and until they are out the door.  This first impression and patient experience will set the stage for a potential relationship with you and your dental team. 

Every single day, your decisions and actions are all stepping stones to turning your dental patients into raving, lifelong fans.  How can you make that happen? 

Achieve that sought after \’91WOW\’92 factor with these 4 ideas for creating the ultimate patient experience. 

Make a Killer First Impression

Never ever underestimate the power of a solid first impression.  Take for example the telephone.  This is often a prospective patient\’92s very first impression.  Consider establishing a set telephone greeting and decide who will be talking to patients.  Create a telephone script to provide a consistent message and go over various scenarios of how best to respond to questions and concerns. You can \’91hear\’92 when someone is smiling on the phone, so ensure your staff knows how important this is!

Razzle Dazzle Them the First Visit

The moment a patient arrives in your office, think of it as show time!  Or even better, like  welcoming a guest into your home.  Put yourself in their shoes.  What do they see when they first walk in?  Is your reception area aesthetically pleasing?  Decide to greet patients when they arrive and determine who on your staff is best fit to handle this.  You want to be sure that all exchanges are warm, quick and seamless and that you stay on time.  Try making morning huddles a priority so everyone is ready for new patients and on the same page every day. 

Make Them Feel Special

When a patient walks through your door or calls on the phone, smile and make them feel welcome.  Try to say the patient\’92s name at least three times.  Make a minimum of two connections with them such as talking about their family, hobbies or where they\’92re from.  Listen.  Truly listen.  Taking the time to hear their wants, needs and goals and acknowledge them will help you to connect with these individuals as people, not just patients, and ultimately build a trusting relationship. 

Have an Effective Dental Recall System

Not having the right system or tools in place can create or add stress for your practice.  If you\’92re stressed, your patients can feel that energy.  Through an effective dental recall system in place like Patient Focus, your practice will continue to develop and thrive!  Patient Focus offers your dental practice an effective dental recall system that has an impact on the dental health of your patients, restorative revenues, patient retention and practice growth. 

Do you struggle keeping appointments? Feel as though your calendar is a little emptier than usual? We\’92ve got your 5-Point Checklist to A Full Schedule: Essential Secrets to Successfully Filling Your Dental Chairs.

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5 Tips to Becoming a Better Dental Practice Manager

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The dental practice manager is vital to the overall success of a dental practice.  They wear many different hats, navigate through highly stressful days and have a tremendous impact on how efficiently a dental practice operates each day.  As a dental practice manager, your clients are not only your dentist, but your staff and most importantly your patients.  To effectively juggle your daily responsibilities takes great skill. 

Here are some dos and don\’92ts to follow to be an even more fantastic dental practice manager. 

Don\’92t stay behind your desk.

With a billion things on your plate, it can be easy to be glued to your chair without even getting up for water.  Step away from your desk and out of your office frequently to ensure that your office and staff are all functioning seamlessly.  You want to move throughout the office while observing and interacting during the day.  After all, the only way to know exactly what is going on in your office is to interact with the staff, dentists and patients. 

Do set a good example. 

Always try to lead by example.  When you demonstrate time management skills, strong work ethic, respect, kindness and hard work, your staff will follow your example and respect you at the same time. 

Don\’92t be scared to get your hands dirty.  

The dental practice manager should know how to perform every job in the office, and complete them with a high degree of expertise and efficiency.  There may be days where you\’92re short staffed or swamped with patients.  You should be able to seamlessly jump right in to help. 

Don\’92t be afraid of outsourcing.

It can be difficult to let go of the reigns, but outsourcing can really help you manage your dental practice. If there is an aspect of your business that could use an expert, reap the benefits of outsourcing. Patient Focus is here for your dental practice to reactivate your patients with live calls. Discover how Patient Focus can breathe life back into your practice.

Do stay informed.

Always keep yourself informed of any new guidelines, rules or laws affecting your dental practice.  If you simply \’91don\’92t know\’92 it could cost you lots of time and money in the long run. Ensure your budget includes attending local or national conferences and subscriptions to useful online and offline publications or organizations.

As a dental practice manager you have a lot coming at you from every direction.  Implementing these tips will help you to smoothly navigate through a hectic dental day and reach dental office success. 

Streamlining your dental patient scheduling process is one of the easiest ways you can increase productivity and profitability. Here\’92s how you can get started today with these 5 Dental Patient Scheduling Process Tips for Success.

 

 

 

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Become the Best Dentist with These 4 Secrets

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If you already are a dentist or are thinking about becoming one, you want to constantly strive to be the best dentist you can be.

As a dentist, you picked a field that can be rewarding, interesting and at times extremely stressful.  A dentist should possess many qualities and wear different hats such as a strong desire to help people as well as providing exemplary dental care.   While there are many different paths to achieve dental success, there tend to be some core principles that are common to the best dentists around. 

We\’92ve identified 4 secrets of highly successful dentists to help you become the best dentist out there.

Secrets and Traits to Become the Best Dentist You Can Be

Be an excellent communicator

One of the most important skills you can possess as a dentist is strong communication skills.  You want to explain technical information that is easy for patients to understand and educate them on their diagnosis, treatment and care.  You should be able to communicate well non-verbally as well to ensure your patient feels calm and confident in your hands. 

Be a Lifelong Learner

Dentistry is changing all the time.  With the new advances in technology and innovative procedures, you need to stay up to date constantly.  To become the best dentist you can be, you need to have a strong desire to learn new things and work towards improving your skills.  Continuing education for yourself and your team will not only help to generate revenue for your practice but will set you apart from the rest. 

Be a Problem Solver

Not everything is cut and dry each day at your dental practice.  There will be some curve balls thrown your way, and having problem solving skills is essential to being the best dentist you can be.  At times you will need to think outside the box to determine what the next step should be for each individual patient.

Be Strategic

Visualize what your ideal life in dentistry would be and be strategic about how to get there.  Start out defining what success means to you, establish goals for how you intend to get there and create measurable milestones.  Think long-term rather than getting too caught up in the day to day, allowing you an opportunity to really focus on what is most essential. Establishing goals and being strategic about it makes every day have a specific purpose to bring you closer and closer to success. 

Start realizing the increased revenue of a reactivated patient database today!  Follow this link to request a consultation with one of our call experts, or call us today at 888.978.2615.

 

 

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How to Deal with Stress When Managing a Dental Office

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Dentists and their dental staff are subject to a barrage of stress every single day. How often do you hear one of your team members mention they\’92re stressed? From patient no-shows and maintaining employee satisfaction to keeping the schedule full and supplies stocked, there are an endless number of items to be taken care of on a regular basis.

Stress can wreak havoc on your health causing cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, lower back pain, mental depression, eye strain and ulcers to name only a few.   Some common stress influences at the dental office include:

  • Position
  • Amount of sleep
  • Hours worked
  • Patient demands
  • Time pressures
  • Uncooperative patients
  • High levels of concentration and focus
  • Team issues
  • Economic pressure
  • Lack of exercise

Wondering how to deal with stress at your dental office?  What it boils down to is not letting stress take control\’97learn how to control your stress. 

Here are 3 ways we like to highlight for how to deal with stress at the dental office.

Tweak Your Time Management

Having effective time management strategies in place will help to lower stress in the dental office.  Take the time to learn and master the art of prioritization, delegation, assertiveness and decision making. 

Get Some More Shut Eye

If you get at least seven hours of uninterrupted, restful sleep every night it will help to prepare your body and mind to best navigate successfully through any stressors the next day may bring. 

Move Around

Exercise helps to lower stress levels significantly.  Try to get moving 4-5 times a week to start seeing a decrease in stress levels.  Strapped for time?  You don\’92t need to hit the gym for hours on end to get positive effects of exercise.  Park further away than you normally would in the parking lot at work and at the store, take the dog for a walk or take the stairs instead of the elevator.  

Although stress can never be completely eliminated from your dental practice, it must be minimized as much as possible to avoid many stress-related emotional and physical problems that it can cause. Share these tips with your team so and support each other in your efforts to deal with stress

Don\’92t let dental recall add more stress to your plate.  Take the stress out of your dental recall and schedule a consultation with Patient Focus.  Patient Focus will simplify and streamline your efforts to grow your dental practice in just 3 simple steps

 

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