Pioneering The Dental Practice Business Model

Aggressive Marketing Is Now The Norm For Dentists

With rising health care costs and a decline in dental insurance coverage since the Affordable Care Act (ACA), dental service providers have been forced to use aggressive marketing tactics to attract patients on a tight budget. In addition, dental practices face increased competition in saturated markets and many have expanded services (cosmetic procedures, oral surgery) to increase the average revenue generated per patient.

According to a study by NewPatientsInc.com, the average new patient is worth between $500 – $1200 annually to a dentist in an “average” market. With patients leaving a dentist for a variety of reasons, practitioners must find a way to constantly attract new patients. The common trend is to offer ‘teaser’ rates for new patients in a variety of services. An internet search turned up Natural Smiles in Salem, Oregon who is offering new patient exams for as little as $19. It’s assumed these special offers are loss leaders for the practice with the hope of future expenditures by the newly acquired patient.

In an effort to increase a patients worth, Dentists are also specializing in new services such as cosmetic procedures (whitening, extractions, veneers and dentures) to become a full service provider to the patient. The danger of expanding services is working outside a Dentist comfort zone in a specialized area where years of practice are required to master procedures. Like any other medicinal treatment, patients should be cautious and researched performed when being offered new services from their primary dentist.

The term “Family Dentist” is becoming an umbrella term used by dentists in marketing to lure multi-generational patients from the same family. Children, seniors and adults are being treated within the same dental practice despite having very different needs and concerns. To ensure longevity of their practice and avoid potential negative reviews, dentists should error on the side of caution when venturing outside their areas of expertise. Profits are important when considering the large investment a dentist makes to open a practice but it only takes a few dissatisfied customers to ruin a reputation.

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Posted by Brett Nordin on Sep 22 2014. Filed under Featured News, Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.