new patients

New Dental Patients: Referrals Are Good for Dentists

December 8, 2009 By Julie Frey Leave a Comment

Dentists see about 20 new patients a month, found this survey, and referrals are the leading source of new dental patients, with 68% of dentists calling referrals "very effective."

According to two out of three dentists, dentist websites, and radio and TV ads are "somewhat effective."

Dentists were split over direct mail. In addition, yellow pages seem to be falling out of favor, as 71% of dentists report that phone book ads are "not effective" at attracting new patients.

Here are some comments from dentists:

"Don't be afraid to ask for referrals." (Georgia dentist)
"Keeping your name out there using multiple sources seems to be the most effective method of attracting a significant number of new patients." (Tennessee dentist)
"Networking with other businesses, especially chiropractors, podiatrists and MDs." (New Jersey dentist)
"We take pamphlets and seasonal items to local businesses, so each month it's fun and we meet out local merchants." (General dentist)
"At this point, 12 new patients per month is all our practice can handle with one dentist." (North Dakota dentist)

Filed Under: Dental Surveys Tagged With: new patients

Dentists: One in Four Lose Patients at the Front Desk

March 31, 2009 By Julie Frey 2 Comments

Dentists have a range of opinions about their front desk staff, found this survey. A third of dentists (34%) said their front desk team does an amazing job, and another third (31%) said those team members are satisfactory.

However, 24% of dentists acknowledged that they lose patients at the front desk. Another 11% admit that they need to prioritize additional front desk team training.

Dental front desk "My front desk person just left for medical reasons and I discovered huge amounts of denied claims and inadequate insurance processing," said one dentist. "My accounts receivables are horribly high and probably lost forever. I didn't pay enough attention."

"Do I have any front desk horror stories?" asked a Texas dentist rhetorically. "It's too painful to reply."

Filed Under: Dental Surveys Tagged With: dental office, front desk, new patients

Dental Patients and How Far They Travel (VIDEO)

March 26, 2009 By Jim Du Molin 1 Comment

This dental survey asked dentists how far their average patient travels for treatment.

Though most said about 5-10 miles, anecdotes abound of patients who have kept their dentists even after moving hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Filed Under: Dental Videos Tagged With: dental marketing, new patients

Dental Marketing Essential During a Recession (VIDEO)

February 28, 2009 By Julie Frey 2 Comments

Many dentists are increasing their dental marketing as a direct result of the slumping economy, this survey revealed.

Thirty-eight percent of dentists reported they had increased dental marketing, while 33% said they had cut spending and were tightening their belts.

Filed Under: Dental Videos Tagged With: dental marketing, new patients, recession

In This Economy, Even Dental Insurance Patients Look Good

January 14, 2009 By Jim Du Molin 5 Comments

A recent study commissioned by Delta Dental finds that 60% of American consumers have dental insurance. The same study shows that 29% pay for their dental care out-of-pocket.

But what about the remaining 11%? Well, it appears that one in nine adults think they can sidestep the issue by never going to the dentist.

Caught in a financial tug-of-war, dentists have a love/hate relationship with dental insurance companies. Insurance providers regularly raise patients’ monthly premiums, but rarely (if ever) raise the actual patient benefit and only increase claims to your through after a prolonged struggle. And of course, a benefit of a thousand dollars a year bought a lot more dental care back in 1960 than it does today.

Some practices have given up on the insurance game completely; a recent Wealthy Dentist survey showed that 11% of dentists no longer accept dental insurance of any kind. However, most practices still depend on insurance companies as a source of new patients.

Take It or Leave It

We could complain about it all day long, but it’s not going to do much good. Dentists have two basic choices when it comes to dental insurance: take it or leave it. Dropping insurances is satisfying for many doctors, but it’s a difficult transition that’s not feasible for all practices — particularly not in today’s economic climate!

If your practice accepts insurance, it’s important to make sure you’re getting as much out of the deal as you can. Remember, two-thirds of the people getting dental care have dental insurance! That’s a huge pool of potential new dental patients.

The Delta survey also shows that 82% of people with dental insurance are covered under an employer’s plan. In addition, fully 88% of those employers pay all or part of their employees’ monthly premiums. So three out of four people with insurance aren’t even paying for all of it.

Get Your Share

But how many of these consumers are actually using all their dental benefits? While the Delta survey doesn’t mention any numbers, you can be certain that lots of consumers are letting their dental benefits go to waste.

So who’s going to remind these patients that they’re eligible for all sorts of free or subsidized dental care? Well, it probably won’t be their dental insurance companies!

That’s where your dental practice comes in. How many insurance patients does your practice have? How many of them haven’t been in lately? Now that it’s January, how many of them now have access to a year’s worth of benefits? How much money could you make if these patients came in for care?

Bringing insurance patients in is as simple as reminding them that they’re covered. But if you don’t remind them, they can easily fall by the wayside. And in today’s economy, can you afford to lose such a reliable stream of patients?

Next week we’ll discuss exactly how you can remind these patients of their dental benefits and inspire them to make an appointment.

Read Delta’s survey results