dental patients Archives - The Wealthy Dentist

Dental Marketing Gone Bad: Dentist Threatens Lawsuit for Negative Review

March 18, 2019 By Jim Du Molin

The most costly dental marketing mistake could be threatening to sue your dental patients. And once again, a dentist is making front-page news with her challenge against a negative dental review on Yelp.

ABC News is reporting that Stacy Makhnevich, DDS, threatened to sue dental patient Robert Allen Lee for posting critical comments about Dr. Makhnevich on Yelp and DoctorBase.

According to ABC News the problem began in 2010, when Robert Lee went into Dr. Makhnevich’s office for a scheduled dentist’s appointment. Lee claims he was in excruciating pain when he was told he had to sign a ‘Mutual Agreement to Maintain Privacy‘ form, before being treated. The privacy form required that Lee agree not to publish any commentary or write anything disparaging about his experience online.

Lee further states that although he was hesitant to sign this form, he was desperate to receive treatment and gave in to agreeing to sign the form.

Lee became unhappy when there was a mishap with billing his insurance company and he couldn’t get Dr. Makhnevich’s office to rectify the situation to his satisfaction, Lee wrote negative reviews about Dr. Makhnevich and her practice on Yelp and DoctorBase.

Both ABC News and Public Citizen are reporting that Makhnevich sent a letter to Lee demanding that he delete the negative posts, warning him that he violated the agreement he signed and threatened to sue him for breach of contract. Dr. Makhnevich also contacted the review sites and asked for Lee’s negative comments to be removed.

Both Yelp.com and DoctorBase refused to take down the negative reviews, but Makhneich reportedly claimed that a copyright clause gave her ownership of the negative comments. She then went on to send Lee an invoice for $100 for each day the negative remarks remained online.

Lee has now taken legal action against the doctor by filing a lawsuit in the US District Court of the Southern District of New York, accusing Stacy Makhnevich, DDS, of violating his rights as a patient by threatening him with a lawsuit for posting negative comments online.

As we have reported here on The Wealthy Dentist in the past, dentists have not been successful in court when suing patients directly for their negative online reviews. Recently in California a dentist who sued a patient now has to pay $80,000 in legal fees, not just to the patient who posted the review, but also to Yelp itself.

In the article, Dental Marketing: A Guide for Avoiding Negative Online Reviews, The Wealthy Dentist has offered dentists advice on how to handle a negative online review — and threatening to sue the patient was not listed as a viable dental marketing option.

What are your thoughts on negative online reviews and the sites that allow them?

For more on this story see: Dentist Threatens to Sue Patient for Negative Yelp Review and Doc Sued Over Attempts to Prohibit Patients From Writing Online Reviews.

Filed Under: Dental Marketing, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: Dental Editorials, dental lawsuits, Dental Marketing, Dental News, dental patients, dental practice marketing, dentist, dentist lawsuits, dentistry, dentists, Internet dental marketing, marketing, negative dental reviews online, negative online reviews

General Dental Patients Are the Most Profitable For Dentists

March 18, 2019 By Jim Du Molin

For most dental practices, a certain percentage of dental patients drive the majority of profits.

But you might be surprised to learn that the more extensive dental treatment patients may not necessarily be the best profit-drivers.

It’s important for dentists to know what type of dental patients are the most profitable to their dental practice. In studying what makes this group profitable, dentists can apply what they discover to other dental patients.

The Wealthy Dentist conducted a survey asking dentists which type of dental patients they find are the most profitable for their dental practice.

34% of dentists responded, “General dental patients are always the core (profits)!”

Here’s a breakdown of the rest of the dentist’s responses —

24% Dental implant patients
18% Cosmetic dentistry patients
11% Sedation dentistry patients
09% Braces patients
02% Dentures patients
02% Other

Here are some comments from our dentists:

“Our most profitable patients are those that pay in full before treatment begins.” (Texas dentist)

“Dental implant patients seem to always pay on time.” (Ohio prosthodontist)

“Patients who pay in full and refer other patients.” (General dentist)

“Sedation patients are the most profitable.” (California dentist)

“Cosmetic patients who want to replace amalgam with a more esthetic composite.” (Arizona dentist)

General dental patients have long been the most profitable type of dental patient for dentists, is this true of your dental practice?

Filed Under: Dental Surveys, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: Braces, Cosmetic Dentistry, dental implants, Dental Marketing, Dental Patient Marketing, dental patients, dental practice marketing, dental profits, dental survey, dentist, dentistry, dentists, dentures, sedation dentistry

Dental Patients Willing to Travel for Treatment

March 18, 2019 By Jim Du Molin

Dental Patients and How Far They Travel

When we asked dentists how far their average patient travels for treatment, most said about 5-10 miles. However, anecdotes abound of patients who have kept their dentists even after moving hundreds or thousands of miles away. Not surprisingly, rural patients are more likely to travel farther for treatment than do urban or suburban residents.

“I have both an active local clientele and an international clientele.” (Urban New York prosthodontist)
“Not enough patients come from far away.” (Suburban New York oral surgeon)
“Many of our patients travel up to 4 hours by car for their treatment.” (Urban California implantologist)
“We have a handful of patients who have moved out of state but continue their care at our office when they are in the area.” (Suburban Colorado dentist)
“We advertise on radio for sedation and complex dental services. People drive well over one hundred miles, or as far out as they receive the radio’s signal.” (Suburban California dentist)
“We have patients who fly in every year or less from over a thousand miles away. If patients know you’re honest and have their best interest at heart, they will come from anywhere, no matter the distance.” (Urban Minnesota dentist)

Read the complete patient travel distance survey results or post your own comments

Filed Under: Dental Surveys Tagged With: dental patients, Dental Practices, dentistry

Funniest Dental Patient Excuses (VIDEO)

March 18, 2019 By Jim Du Molin

Dentists offered up the funniest excuses they’ve heard from patients for missing appointments in response to a recent poll by dental practice marketing resource The Wealthy Dentist.

The clear winner was the toothache defense: “My tooth hurts too bad to get out of bed,” complained one patient.

Filed Under: Dental Videos Tagged With: dental patients

Dental Patients Will Travel To See Their Dentist (video)

March 18, 2019 By Jim Du Molin

The average dental patient travels about 5-10 miles to see their dentist for treatment, we found in this survey of dentists. Rural patients travel longer distances for dental care than do urban residents.

However, some patients keep their dentist even after moving hundreds – sometimes thousands – of miles away.

“I’m a specialist," said one periodontist, "so we have quite a few patients from the coast, which is 90 miles away."

Agreed a dental implant dentist, "Many of our patients travel up to 4 hours by car for their treatment." An orthodontist seconded this, saying, "I have had a few patients who have travelled 150 miles one way to come to my office."

"Including the guy who comes from Palm Beach?" asked a New York oral surgeon. "Not enough patients come from far away!"

Maybe it's New York… “I have both an active local clientele and an international clientele,” boasted a prosthodontist from that state.