Jim Du Molin offers dental marketing news and dental practice management advice for dentists.
In recent years, teeth whitening has become increasingly popular.
But in this survey, dentists indicated that over half of those patients do not go on to have additional cosmetic dentistry. Two out of three dentists reported a conversion rate of less than 40%.
Read more: Dental Makeovers May Start with Teeth Whitening
In North Carolina, the State Board of Dental Examiners has to stop telling non-dentists that it is illegal to provide teeth-whitening products or services in their state.
In a unanimous opinion and final order issued by the Federal Trade Commission, it was determined that the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners acted illegally when they pushed to bar non-dentist providers of teeth-whitening products and services from selling their products to consumers in North Carolina, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.
The original complaint stems from the dental board sending dozens of letters telling non-dentist teeth-whitening providers that they were practicing dentistry illegally and ordered them to stop. According to the WSJ, the board also allegedly threatened non-dentists who were considering opening teeth-whitening businesses. The board also sent letters to mall owners and property management companies urging them not to lease space to non-dentist teeth-whitening providers.
The final order upholds an initial decision by Chief Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell in July and adopts Chappell’s order with minor changes.
To read the full story see: FTC: N.C. Dental Board Thwarted Teeth-Whitening Competition
In this survey, we asked dentists if over-the-counter bleaching products have changed demand for in-office bleaching.
Two out of three dentists said there’s less interest these days. One out of six felt there had been no change, and another one out of six actually felt grocery store whiteners had actually increased demand for professional tooth bleaching.
“I can’t seem to give it away at 50% off!” complained a Massachusetts dentist. A Washington dentist disagreed, saying, “Over-the-counter bleaching often stimulates interest in other cosmetic treatments, especially when the patient does not get the result they want from whitening.”
Here are some other comments from dentists:
Two out of three dentists say they’ve noticed a decrease in demand for tooth whitening since the recession began.
Some doctors have had to come up with new dental marketing strategies to counteract the decline in consumer interest for tooth whitening, cosmetic dentistry, and virtually anything else that costs money.
“We dropped the price by $50 during February for National Children’s Dental Health Month and Valentine’s Day,” said one general dentist. “The response was so good, we continued through March! In addition, we are receiving now referrals from these patients for more bleaching and new patients. That is a hell of a ROI on the bleaching!”
Here are some other thought from dentists:
Read more: Recession Reduces Consumer Demand for Teeth Whitening
Dentists are still the trusted source for patients who want whiter teeth, even though whitening toothpaste and rinses, and over-the-counter teeth bleaching kits are easily available to consumers.
Of course, some tooth stains don’t respond to these methods, and every case is different.
The Wealthy Dentist wanted to know what dentists tell their patients when asked about the best way to whiten their teeth.
Here’s what our survey asked:
The results were overwhelmingly in favor of dentist-prescribed in-home tooth whitening.
Only 4% of dentists recommend over-the-counter whitening products; and only 9% recommend in-office tooth whitening from a dentist.
“We actually recommend all of the above. The best results are found in patients between 18 and 40 years of age and using a combination of in-office and tray whitening.” Nevada dentist
Here’s what dentists had to say about in-home, dentist-prescribed teeth whitening:
“This method has the quickest results, years of proven safety and a resource for any questions or problems.” Texas Dentist
“Severe cases, KöR Whitening,” recommends a general dentist.
“We have tried and done them all even on ourselves. I still like the trays and gel the best.” Wisconsin dentist
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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