Orthodontics could make a valuable addition to your practice.

As a dentist, you know that your patient’s mouth tells a story about them. Your goal as the family dentist is to provide your patients with the best in comprehensive dental care. You do this by keeping their teeth healthy and clean, and, when needed, offering fillings, crowns, or cosmetic dentistry procedures.  But you could also offer an additional service by making orthodontics part of your practice.

Read on to learn facts about orthodontics and how adding orthodontics to your practice can benefit you and your patients.

1. Orthodontists are dentists, too.

As you well know, the road to a dental practice is a long one. Much schooling and training are needed to become a dentist.

First, there’s undergraduate schooling. While it’s not mandatory to have an undergraduate degree, most dentists choose to complete one. Then there’s the four years of dental school.

You also know to stay up to date on the latest technology and dental advancements and this requires continuing learning.

Of course, orthodontists complete these same requirements, and it’s good to remember as you consider advancing your training in orthodontics with a Basic Straight Wire Orthodontics course taught by Dr. Williams, that orthodontists have had the same training in dentistry as you.

2. Orthodontic Treatment

As you are aware, orthodontics involves treating the patient’s dental and facial irregularities. The role of the orthodontist is to diagnose those problems and then, even more importantly, to develop a treatment plan for how to fix those issues.

Orthodontists use photographs, X-rays, and dental impressions to look at and study the structure of the mouth. Their role is how to take the current state of the mouth and transition it into the more aligned one.

Dr. Williams offers a Basic Straight Wire Orthodontics course which helps dentists understand what orthodontic issues to treat in their own practice and importantly, what not to treat. He will teach participants how to develop a treatment plan and which treatments work to do certain things.

For example, in the first course, you would learn the steps to band and bracket teeth. You then learn about straight wire orthodontics.

Since orthodontists use many of the same kinds of treatments for diagnosis as you do in your own dental practice, it makes sense to use these diagnostics to grow your practice into orthodontics.

3. Many orthodontists don’t do traditional dental treatments.

Many orthodontists work on treating facial and dental irregularities. The patient visits the orthodontists regularly to monitor the movement of the teeth. They get brackets checked and wires tightened. The average orthodontics patient has between 12 and 18 months of care.

During this time, the orthodontist will notice dental care needs, but they only do treatments that involve orthodontics. This is an advantage to you as a traditional dentist adding orthodontic services to your practice. Not only can you provide routine dental care and maintenance but you can also provide orthodontic care at the same time. This allows you to provide comprehensive care.

4. Kids and Orthodontics

Around 4.5 million Americans are wearing braces. That is a whole lot of people sporting orthodontia. Of that number, nearly 80% are kids between the ages of 6 and 18.

If you have kids who are patients of your regular practice, it makes sense to offer orthodontic services in order to grow your practice. This is especially true when you consider how many of those children are going to get the services from someone.

The advantage for parents is that you are not only providing dental care for the kids but also can provide orthodontic care if it is needed.

Children reach the stage where they are ready for braces at different times. As the dentist treating them for routine dental care, you are best suited to monitor that process. It also makes sense that you are the one who will be ready to treat them when they get there.

5. Adults and Orthodontics

It used to be that kids and braces went together. You got braces when you were a kid and didn’t need them by the time you reached adulthood. If you walk into any middle school or junior high, you will find kid after kid sporting their braces.

Yet, orthodontics care is not just for kids anymore. Now, 20% of the population who are wearing braces are adults. These are the same group of people who a decade or two ago didn’t seek orthodontic care. This is a large group of potential patients that can be sought to treat and grow your practice.

It also makes sense, again, to treat the patient for all their dental needs, like you would with your patients who are children. If you have an adult patient who needs some orthodontic work to create a healthier mouth and give them more confidence in their appearance, you are the perfect person to help guide them through the process.

6. Comprehensive Care

When you add orthodontics to the services provided by your practice, you are enlarging the scope of care. Your patients already see you as an expert. They know and recognize you as the person who knows how to care for their teeth.

In many cases, you start treating patients at a young age. You have monitored baby teeth coming out and permanent teeth coming in.

You have likely provided wellness care through routine checkups and teeth cleanings. You have provided dental care if there are cavities.

It’s logical to continue that dental care and add orthodontic services to what you offer. Your patients benefit because they don’t have to visit multiple offices for appointments. You benefit because you grow your office (more on that shortly) and you provide streamlined comprehensive dental care.

7. Production for Practice

If you are a dentist who aspires to grow your practice, consider what orthodontics can do for you. The orthodontics industry produces about $6 billion in revenue each year. The average cost per patient for orthodontics is $4,000. Further, most dental insurance policies don’t cover or have limited coverage for orthodontics.

These numbers provide a significant opportunity for a dental practice to grow by providing the services that generate this income. Dr. Williams offers a series of courses from treatment plans and care practices through to the unique features of running an orthodontic practice.

In addition to the dental services you already provide, it gives you an opportunity to extend your practice and grow it in a profitable manner while still helping your patients and their needs.

8. Patient Relationships

Fear of the dentist is very real for many patients. Most kids start life visiting a pediatric dentist that caters to their unique age and needs, so they learn right from the beginning to not fear the dentist. In fact, they like going to the dentist to get their shiny bright smile polished up.

For others though, dental phobias are very real. Some estimates suggest that 13% to 24% of patients experience nerves and have phobias related to going to the dentist. For some adults who have had a negative childhood experience, sitting in the dentist’s chair brings back all those memories.

How does all this impact you and your practice and orthodontics? You already have a relationship with those patients. They have already developed a level of trust in you. It makes it easier and is more logical for them to continue with you for orthodontic care too. It helps manage their anxiety because they already see you as their care provider.

9. Dental Care Involves Your Whole Office

If you have an office that runs well, you know you can’t do it alone. You need the support, professionalism, and care of your entire team to provide the best care possible for your patients.

In fact, some patients who only need to see you for routine cleanings might spend as much time with your staff members as they do with you.

As you seek training in orthodontic care, your staff can too. You can increase their training and value to your practice by getting them into the Orthodontic Assistant Training Course.

With additional training for both you and your staff, you can increase the productivity of your office and at the same time, offer better service to your patients.

Facts About Orthodontics for Your Practice

There is no doubt that orthodontics plays a huge role in having a healthy mouth and smile. Use these facts about orthodontics as you consider the importance of adding orthodontic services to your practice.

Want to learn more about the courses and how they can benefit your dental practice? Contact us today to get more information and to get signed up for the first course.