How to Promote Your Aesthetic Dental Practice For The Right Type of Patients

By Dr. Bhavna Doshi

Dr Bhavna Doshi is an international lecturer, who has worked extensively with the National Media including Extreme Makeover UK.  She is the CEO of Dental WEALTH Builder, which primarily focuses on Practice Productivity, Cost-Effective Marketing and Growth Strategies.

The cosmetic industry is one of the hottest and most profitable segments of the economy today. The dental profession has also wet its toes in this ocean of vanity and jumped aboard the cosmetic juggernaut, using their skill with the needle to provide a greater range of cosmetic dentistry and non surgical facial procedures.

So what’s driving this desire for teeth whitening, dental implants, et al?

According to a survey by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry® (AACD):

• Nine out of every ten adults in America consider an attractive smile to be an important social asset.
• Eight out of ten believe that an unattractive smile makes a person less appealing to the opposite sex.
• Three-fourths suspect that an unattractive smile can negatively impact their career opportunities.
• Nearly half said they would like to make some improvement in the appearance of their smile.
  

Given these findings, it's no surprise that cosmetic dentistry currently represents the fastest growing area in the entire dental profession. Tooth whitening alone has increased considerably in the past five years. Other procedures, such as cosmetic crowns and teeth straightening, are also growing by leaps and bounds.

Dentists have been quick to react to the trends. More and more dentists are now offering cosmetic dentistry and facial aesthetic treatments, as a regular part of their practices. Of those, half report a steady increase in the amount of cosmetic procedures performed over the last three years. So the good news is that the market is growing - rapidly. The bad news is that as more dentists jump on the cosmetic bandwagon, you have to work a bit harder to earn your share of the pie.

Challenges facing the Cosmetic Dentist today:

As more dentists start offering cosmetic procedures, the marketplace becomes increasingly more cluttered. It becomes more difficult for patients to seek out the appropriate care for themselves. It also becomes more arduous for the patient to differentiate cosmetic dentists. This often leads to frustrations or procrastination. Either way, you –the aesthetic dentist loses out.

• Not only are there more cosmetic dentists entering the world of aesthetics but there is also a greater challenge presenting itself to our industry. That challenge is to meet the increasingly higher expectation levels of an increasingly sophisticated patient.
  
  If you do not present yourself accordingly you will find that you slowly diminish your share of these patients. The new age patient has raised the level of expectations and it has become necessary for cosmetic dentists to take greater measures to protect themselves against patient assumptions.
• If you do not present yourself accordingly you will find that you slowly diminish your share of these patients. The new age patient has raised the level of expectations and it has become necessary for cosmetic dentists to take greater measures to protect themselves against patient assumptions.
• Possibly the greatest challenge is to attract the most appropriate type of patient to our practices. These are those patients who are happy to accept and pay for our services. This can only be done using effective marketing strategies tailored towards our objectives.

How to obtain a greater share of patients interested in Aesthetic Dentistry.

There are several stages involved before we are able to reap the rewards of a flourishing and thriving cosmetic practice. Invariably, managing a dental practice will include these marketing considerations;

1. We need to design an “attention grabbing” message.
2. Discover the type of patient we want in our practice
3. Choose the appropriate vehicle of communication.
4. Assemble a strategic plan of action.
5. Barricade you back door to prevent losing your patients

Cosmetic Practice Considerations:

Cosmetic dentistry is mostly an elective service for people seeking to enhance their facial appearance. Therefore, the aesthetic practice needs to be well equipped with alternative treatments that can provide solutions for the various patient concerns. If facial aesthetics is being offered, then a comprehensive understanding of alternative treatments is also necessary, so that inappropriate case selection does not occur.

Marketing must take into account the different segments of the market you will be attracting. The practice must be prepared to receive these patients. For example, a person coming to your practice for facial aesthetic treatment will need to be managed differently than those coming for cosmetic dental work.

Having an aesthetic dental practice is not only about a beautifully designed, cosmetically appealing practice. Remember, you have to increase your revenues to meet your higher overheads. This can only be done by understanding how to obtain a return on your investments in your practice. You need to attract the right type of patients which will help you do this.

This article is a summary of a white paper compiled by Dr Bhavna Doshi, a dental practice management and marketing specialist. To receive the full text and other informative reports and papers, email: bhavna@unlimitednewpatients.com