Keep Your Patients Engaged for Maximum Retention

As a dentist, it’s wise to try to transform your practice from a simple dental office into a true dental home: a space defined by the longstanding relationships between its dentists and patients and one where families can receive the treatment they need for all aspects of their oral health.

You can keep your patients engaged better and work to enhance your practice with these 3 simple tips:

1. Reach out to previous patients.

Regarding dental and orthodontic practice management, building lasting relationships with patients is always the best-case scenario, as having a solid core of recurring patients puts you in a better position than sporadic visits. You’ll have less onboarding and administrative overhead (given that the most significant tasks come with new patients), and you can develop lasting relationships and plan long-term treatment goals with your patients.

Patient retention is good for your practice as well as your patients, who will have the regular, routine cleanings and evaluations they need to prevent a range of dental issues. They’ll also have a reliable dental home when it comes time for other needs, whether those include orthodontic treatment for children or restorative care for adults.

While there are many ways to improve patient retention, one of the most effective is implementing reminders for patients you’ve already treated in some capacity. You have their contact information and an idea of their dental needs, which makes them leads of the highest possible quality.

Regular emails, texts, and traditional mail are all great options to remind patients when they’re due for routine visits. And if you know you haven’t seen certain patients in some time, sending a personalized message could help bring them back into the fold.

2. Offer new treatment options.

If you want your patients to choose your practice as their dental home, then you need to ensure that your team can meet all of their needs. One of the most effective means of doing so that dentists are taking advantage of today is adding orthodontics to their treatment options.

In terms of building long-term relationships with patients, orthodontic treatment options make for some of the most effective tools. Most families will require orthodontic care at some point, so having the proper training to provide that treatment in-house is a considerable asset.

If you enroll in an ortho course for general or pediatric dentists, you can develop the skills and knowledge to provide treatment. You’ll be able to diagnose, plan, and carry out orthodontic treatment for the majority of cases, and even in situations that still require referral, you’ll be more knowledgeable when explaining the situation to your patients.

Once you have the skills you need, let your patients know that you’re now offering orthodontic evaluations in-house; this is much more attractive to families than having to visit a specialist. It means only dealing with one practice, which itself means less paperwork and fewer trips around town to take care of.

With the right course options, you can learn everything you need to offer orthodontic treatment and gain insight into orthodontic practice management as well, including insurance codes, financing strategies, and treatment plan presentations.

3. Make your patient experience the best from start to finish.

Treatment outcomes are, of course, a vital aspect for patients to consider when choosing a dental home, but the patient experience can be just as important, and it can play a major role in how patients make future decisions regarding their care. By offering a superior experience from start to finish, you’re more likely to gain and retain patients.

Engaging with your patients through every step is crucial. Maintain clear communication and involve them in discussions and decision-making, ensuring that they understand their situation and treatment options and that they never hesitate to ask any questions. Transparency is also important for your team, as it will ensure that important information from your patients isn’t lost in translation.

With the right approach, you can develop an engaging patient experience that will have more of your patients choosing to come back time and time again.

Take action to draw in new patients and keep the ones you have.

If you’re trying to make the most of your practice, then you should always be moving forward. Williams GP Orthodontic Seminars provides comprehensive courses on general practice orthodontics. Add new treatment options and grow your practice by enrolling in one of our courses today.