Jim Du Molin offers dental marketing news and dental practice management advice for dentists.
Dentists were asked how frequently their patients are referred back after being sent out for treatment by specialists. The clear majority said they always or almost always got their patients back.
Dentists reported that prosthodontists were the worst offenders when it comes to not referring patients back. There were also complaints about pediatric dentists and periodontists. Dentists were happiest with oral surgeons, orthodontists, and endodontists.
When it comes to specialists, a lot of general dentists feel like they can’t live with them, but they can’t live without them either.
When it comes to dental practice marketing and general dentists referring dental patients out to specialists, they secretly fear they will never see those patients again.
Complained one dentist, “Periodontists never refer back, never keep me informed of the treatment rendered and even refer my patients to oral surgeons for things I would like to do myself.”
But a more optimistic dentist advised, “Building a good relationship with your specialists is critical. Specialist referrals are our second greatest source of new dental patients, after existing patient referrals.”
The Wealthy Dentist conducted a survey asking dentists how frequently their patients are referred back after being sent out for treatment by specialists.
To hear how the dentists responded, Click Play to hear the survey results —
Dentists: do specialists you work with refer patients back to you? Are referrals from specialists a factor in your dental practice marketing?
Approximately half of general dentists are placing dental implants. Fifty-three percent of the general dentists in the poll indicated that they do dental implant placement themselves.
The remaining 47% of general dentists refer patients to a specialist.
There is lots of variation among dentists when it comes to referring braces patients out to an orthodontist.
While 1 in 4 treats most braces patients themselves, 1 in 3 general dentists refers out all dental braces patients.
“Minor tooth movement is within the purview of dentist and pediatric dentist,” said one oral surgeon. “Treatment planning for major malocclusions is better done by an orthodontist and an oral surgeon.”
The relatively high cost of braces can be attractive to doctors. “If we (GP’s) as a whole just knew how easy orthodontics are, the vast majority could increase monthly income by 15 to 25%,” said one dentist. “I love doing it, and now me and my stay-at-home wife are both driving Mercedes.”
Which are the best dental marketing avenues, the ones that lead to the most new patients? When it comes to dental practice management, that’s the real question.
In a recent survey, doctor-to-patient interactions ranked as the most effective form of dental marketing. Direct mail marketing and dental patient referrals were also noted as effective.
Dental websites came in at #4, followed by email marketing, social media marketing, and radio advertising. No respondents felt that Yellow Pages or local community involvement were effective sources of new dental patients.
“Patient referrals are just as valuable as my radio advertising,” commented a Washington dental marketing professional.
“I find doctor-to-patient interactions to be most effective,” said a Missouri Dentist. “I think more local community involvement would also help.”
“We are currently working on greatly increasing our internal dental marketing via patient referrals,” said an Ohio prosthodontist. “We have found direct mail marketing to be effective.”
“Since our practice is well established, we are continuing with internal marketing and excellent patient care,” offered a South Carolina Dentist.
What is your attitude about the best dental marketing?
Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet marketing expert for dentists in North America. He has helped hundreds of doctors make more money in their practices using his proven Internet marketing techniques.
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