How To Run A Successful Dental Practice

  1. CephX | AI Driven Dental Services
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Running a  successful Dental Practice is just like running a business. You need to lead your business through the fundamental building blocks of organisation, management and marketing while taking into account the primary goal of your practice – your clients and the oral health care.

In order to make sure that your business ( in this case dental practice) is a success you must have clear and definitive goals. At the start your expectations should be clear  as well as your own personal and business growth plan.

The truth of the matter is that successful businesses produce revenue; a dental practice does this while providing an incredibly important service to your patients ( everyone needs a dentist). And, like  in most service oriented businesses, the more effective help your provide, the  more your client base and therefore profits increase.

The way you manage your dental practice will inevitably leave a lasting impression on your patients and therefore maintain and hopefully increase your client base. It is essential that you are organised, are on top of the best practises in your field and make sure your patients feel like they are your primary focus.

MARKETING IS KEY

In order to establish your business as a primary oral health provider, you must identify and market your practice as such. Your niche or specialised product/service has the power to attract more clients and therefore more revenue. You must also be sure to promote these services, both through advertising and to your current customer base. This about making use of unique advertising methods such as newsletters and social media in a bid to engage with patients and in order to build a an awareness of your practice.

DEVELOPING YOUR SERVICE

By expanding your services in the dentistry field you are automatically improving your value and therefore strengthening your competitive position, as well as potentially attracting  prospective patients. .

Whatever you are considering in terms of this service – be it venue size growth or an investment in new state of the art technology; you must ensure you  maintain a balance and remember that the loyal clients and your sturdy reputation are what will keep your practice successful.

HAVE A VARIETY OF PAYMENT OPTIONS

Having a wide range of payment options available is imperative in terms of running a successful practice.This allows patients to accept treatment recommendations and are able to return for ongoing dental care. In addition to insurance coverage, convenient financial options include debit, credit, personal check and cash, plus special financing to ensure personal financial circumstances don’t interfere with dental health care decisions.

THE PERSONAL TOUCH

In today’s digital age, through a multitude of online platforms, there are a multitude of different opportunities for dentists  to contact potential as well as existing clients on an ongoing basis. Cross-channel marketing, which includes a host of digital media platforms, like email, social media and email marketing. Because of this  it’s never been easier to show your patients that  they are your primary focus.

But word of mouth referrals, even in today’s digital age, are still  the best functioning marketing tools. Encourage your clients to spread the word of your business, even have referral cards at your reception. A recommendation is often enough to get new clients into your practice. Its your service that will keep them there.

SKILLED EMPLOYEES

Over and above the marketing tools that are fundamental to a smooth running practice, a pleasant and well informed receptionist who is able to manage the books and scheduling of formal appointments and procedures is a must. From advanced communication and customer service techniques to technical expertise and dental best practices, a quality front desk will give your practice and employees the skills they need to book more appointments and to improve patient satisfaction.

In order to ensure the smooth running of a successful dental practice in advanced oral health care, applications such as Cephx, offer an easy to use, cloud-based system that provides Orthodontists and Dentists with accurate Cephalometric analyses and convenient image storage.

Cephalometric analyses, photos, X-rays and worksheets are made available 24/7, simply and easily from any location and in real-time, using a secure login. This makes the cephX system ideal for multiple practices, home access and optional consultation.

Read more about New Dental Technology
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How To Get New Dental Patients

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While you may pride yourself on providing excellent patient care within the oral hygiene field, its is essential that potential clients are aware of it. A dental practice, above all else, is still a business and you need patients in order to keep it going.

Any oral health practitioner that is  serious about maintaining and growing a successful practice and needs to embrace and execute an effective marketing strategy. There are several ways to go about recruiting and retaining new patients to your dental practice.

Here are a few  tips how on how to get new dental patients:

PATIENT MANAGEMENT

It’s common knowledge that despite the advent of online marketing, the best recommendation a business or health care practitioner can get is through word of mouth. A key goal for your practice therefore, would be to ensure such great service is had by all patients, that they cannot wait to tell everyone they know about you and your outstanding dental practice. This service should be all encompassing, from the greeting you receive at the door, to the way you are treated when you are in the chair, to the ease and convenience you are able to settle your bill.

BUILDING A SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

Social Marketing is a very powerful tool, for all businesses, big and small. In today’s day and age, Marketing tools extend from websites to facebook pages, LinkedIn and Twitter, and they are all easily manageable platforms to engage with current and prospective patients.

Remember that an active and consistent  presence on these platforms, with useful information about your practice  and  helpful dental tips could be a sure fire way to attract  a larger client base.

As a leading practitioner in your field, it would be totally acceptable to ask your patients to use their social media platforms to promote your practice or write personal testimonials for your practice’s facebook page or website.

SEND OUT  A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

Sending out a regular newsletter  allows you to maintain contact with your existing patients, and in so doing hopefully connect with others. Perhaps you can suggest that regular clients add the names and email/or physical addresses of family and friends, allowing you to reach more potential customers. A digital newsletter also affords you and your practice more exposure, not only to new patients but industry bloggers who might aid in your marketing strategy. More traffic and visibility creates more awareness, and when trying to attract more business, nothing is more beneficial.

DON’T DISMISS THE MAGAZINE

We all know that when waiting for a doctor’s appointment the best way to pass time is to leaf through that magazine on the table next to you. Print magazines might seem like a thing of the past , but within this context, they’re definitely a valued manner through which  a dentist can reach potential patients. A small advertisement or article discussing your community involvements, or even testimonials from patients are an excellent way to attract the attention of potential patients especially while they are receptive to reading about some health related.

GETTING INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY PROJECTS

A health care practitioner who has a clear and active sense of community suggests that a person or practice cares about his/her patients and their families. Volunteer dental projects and pro bono clients are a definite way to get free advertising. A practice that is involved in such events, will most certainly get noticed as a practice with heart and therefore attract the type of patient who values a sense of community and who would be a loyal and supportive long- term client.

TIME MANAGEMENT

A visit to a healthcare practitioner ( not matter what the specialty) has become synonymous with waiting. Careful time management and a doctor who is on time for your appointment can really make all the difference to a client’s experience at your practice. Manage your time carefully, work in conjunction with your receptionist and hygienist. Make each appointment a bit later or longer but make it it a top priority to be on time.

STAYING ON TOP OF YOUR GAME

Investing in your practice is an important part of attracting new patients and retaining old ones. The dentist is an essential point of visitation for everyone, so as a practitioner you want to make sure that your practice stands out, that you are different and above your competition. That you have all the latest machinery and are trained in the latest procedures. It must be known that you can offer your patients the best oral health care and the most comfortable experience from the minute they walk through the door, till they are in the chair until they pay for their experience.

CephX  helps dental practices in minimizing after hour workload and by ensuring that clinical treatment presentations are concise and to the point. With Cephx, practitioners are able to spend less time at their computers and more time with their patients – fostering personal relationships and ensuring the patient’s experience is a comfortable and pleasant one.

Read more about How the World Wide Web Brings Peer Dentist Together for the Better Good
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Sassouni Analysis

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The Sassouni Analysis was named after Viken Sassouni in 1955, after several authors had spent time trying to understand the importance of the vertical dimension and its effect on the anteroposterior facial dimensions. Sassouni was finally able to strategically enhance the method in orthodontic treatment planning.

The Sassouni Analysis was the first cephalometric analysis that could categorize both vertical and horizontal relationships, as well as the interaction between the vertical and horizontal proportions of one’s face. In order to study the structural configuration of the skull, which helps you view growth analysis, diagnosis, and treatment, Sassouni constructed several planes, arcs, and axes on the profile cephalostatic roentgenogram.

Sassouni also played a large contributing role toward the idea that if a series of horizontal planes have been drawn from the SN line at the top, to the mandibular plane below, they will project toward a common meeting point in most well-proportioned faces.

When inspecting the horizontal planes for the patient, it’s clear that the maxilla has been rotated downward posteriorly and the mandible rotated downward anteriorly. Since the jaw rotates there’s an added tendency toward an open bite, meaning the skeletal pattern is revealed and often referred to as the ‘skeletal open bite’.

4 Planes

In a normal, well-proportioned face, the Sassouni analysis has four planes meet at point O. The first plane is tangent to sella and parallel with the anterior cranial (Os). Then we have the Palatal plane (On), the Occlusal plane (Op), and the mandibular plane (Og). These were the measurements that Sassouni found to be well proportioned when the axis of these four planes, prolonged posteriorly, meet at a common intersection as we refer to as O. This point O is posterior to the occipital contour O.

The relationship of the four planes coming together to common point O allows each of the classification for the four different facial types. Type I occurs when the anterior cranial base plane doesn’t pass through O. Type II occurs when the palatal plane doesn’t pass through O, and so on and so forth for Type III, the occlusal plane, and Type IV the mandibular base plane.

2 Arcs

By using O as the center, Sassouni was able to construct two arcs. First is the anterior arc, the arc of a circle, between anterior cranial base and the mandibular plane, O is the center and O-ANS is the radius. The posterior arc on the other hand, lies between the anterior cranial base and mandibular base plane, with O as the center and Osp as the radius. Sp being the most posterior point on the rear margin of sella turcica.

The Sassouni approach has been popularized as an archial analysis. His observations are based off research, he classified all of the malocclusions into 9 types of craniofacial patterns. These consist of:

Class I: neutral, open bite and deep bite
Class II: neutral, open bite and deep bite
Class III: neutral, open bite and deep bite

This means, essentially the neutral or skeletal open bite (vertical) and deep bite (horizontal) can exist in any and all three types of anteroposterior dysplasia of jaws.

According to Sassouni, the well-proportioned face is expected to possess normal occlusion. Contrary to his conclusions, of 50 people with normal occlusion sampled, only 16 were found to have a well-proportioned face. While the norm concept may not be accepted as an absolute for every individual, Sassouni is a big advocate for the measurement of proportionality in the individual as a basis of growth, diagnosis, and treatment planning.

Today we have tools such as CephX to our advantage which makes it easier for us to diagnose and plan treatment based upon more accurate cephalometric analyses and tracing.

Read more about How the World Wide Web Brings Peer Dentist Together for the Better Good
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