We understand that dental professionals are busy people with many demands on their time, but being able to effectively communicate and market whitening products could be essential for your practice's growth and revenue generation.
Asking your patients the right questions allows you to better understand their needs and give them what they want. Without knowing the range of aesthetic options available, patients will be unable to consider how their teeth—and their smiles—could be enhanced.
Here are eight tips for successfully communicating and marketing whitening in your practice.
Because of the enormous appeal of tooth whitening, the treatment can be used to attract new patients as well as retain existing ones.
With a team driven strategy, this requires very little of the dentist's time because all members of staff can educate and prepare the patients, arrange procedures, deliver instructions, and follow up to ensure everything has run smoothly.
The hygiene appointment presents the perfect environment to discuss whitening treatments.
Fast Fact While the entire dental team is involved in initiating dialogue about cosmetic dentistry and recommending procedures, dentists instigate the large majority of new business (82%), and hygienists (42%) are playing a large role in treatment conversations as well. (source: AACD, 2015)
Fast Fact
While the entire dental team is involved in initiating dialogue about cosmetic dentistry and recommending procedures, dentists instigate the large majority of new business (82%), and hygienists (42%) are playing a large role in treatment conversations as well. (source: AACD, 2015)
Brochures and marketing materials are designed to stimulate questions. Ensuring that your team is well prepared to answer these questions thoroughly is key to offering exceptional customer service and will enable patients to properly consider the treatment options. Make sure your team understands the brochure content, your practice's commitment to the treatments offered, and the importance of patient satisfaction.
Identify one person in the practice to be the whitening / cosmetic treatment consultant—or champion. They can answer all patient concerns, start discussions, and help generate interest.
It is also a good idea to give your team the opportunity to whiten their own teeth. They are powerful walking advertisements for the treatment and can speak from experience.
Practices that have learned about tooth whitening in depth have more successful treatment conversions. There are many ways of gathering and sharing best practices within the dental community, both online and in person.
"Going to courses and sharing cases with colleagues is a valuable way to learn more about tooth whitening techniques, and Facebook is my new university." - Dr. Anna Salat
Once dental professionals consider themselves to be experts in tooth whitening, confidence in the practice grows. Figures from Optident in 2017 show that 40% of those who consider themselves to be "experts" offer tooth whitening every day compared to only 7% of those who consider themselves "less knowledgeable."
In addition, patients who have successfully engaged in tooth whitening treatments are much more likely to consider other cosmetic dental work and are often more engaged in maintaining their oral health.
Make a gallery of your cases: before and after pictures are great selling tools. Illustrating real cases helps to manage patients' expectations, and most people would rather see other patients' results than unrealistic magazine images that have been airbrushed.
Top Tip When doing any restorative case, ask the patient if they are happy with the shade before proceeding. They could lighten their smile first and then have the restoration made lighter to match.
Top Tip
When doing any restorative case, ask the patient if they are happy with the shade before proceeding. They could lighten their smile first and then have the restoration made lighter to match.
Engaging your patients while they are visiting your practice is a great way to interest them in tooth whitening, but there are numerous other marketing opportunities outside the practice.
Use your website and social media to let patients know about your whitening services. Ask whitening patients if you can take before and after photos for your website and Facebook page, and ask if you can tag them in any social media posts. This will not only show off how you've helped current patients, but it will also connect you to plenty of potential new patients who may be interested in what whitening can do for their smiles.
Use point-of-sale materials and display the products and packaging. People like to see what they are buying. If the packaging denotes a luxury or high-quality item, people will feel good about their purchase.
Giving them something tactile when they leave the practice—as well as whiter teeth—will give them a greater sense of value.
Whitening is a great tool for growing your practice and making it stand out from competitors but only if you take the time to make the treatment an important part of your everyday routine.
Tooth whitening creates patients who are more invested in their smiles and who are more likely to keep those smiles healthy. It may also encourage patients to opt for elective cosmetic services at a later date.
By making a few small changes and committing to promoting tooth whitening, your practice can reap the benefits of a successful whitening program - and your patients can enjoy their whiter, brighter smiles.
This article is brought to you by White Dental Beauty, a worldwide leading tooth whitening brand exclusively distributed by Henry Schein Dental. Available in five choices of strength, including a mild concentration, White Dental Beauty can suit the needs of virtually every patient.