Dental businesses need dental insurance like a flower needs rain; money coming in from insurance helps them stay afloat. In fact, over half the revenue of dental practices is funded by dental insurance – that plays a big role!
Dental insurance is a significant factor not only for dentists, but especially patients. As a dentist and a patient, you understand how it plays a part in your revenue, but also how it hits your personal pocketbook when you flip on the other side of the chair and play the role of patient. Each type of insurance has its pros and cons that work for dentists and patients on a case-by-case basis. In this article, we’ll go into how you can navigate the insurance waters and work them both to yours and your patients’ advantage.
When an accrediting organization certifies a company, practice or institution, it lends a certain legitimacy and validation to that particular entity. Companies don’t put themselves through the process just to make themselves feel better; there are many benefits to being certified. Recently, the Academy of General Dentistry certified TNT Dental through their Program Approval for Continuing Education (PACE). TNT is now the only PACE-approved organization with an 18-year track record of helping dental practices grow. And, we are in a unique position to share this expertise with you.
You love your dedicated dental patients. You can always count on them showing up to their appointments, paying in a timely manner and referring you to their friends and family. If you could only clone those patients and get more of them in your door, you’d be set! But, all hope is not lost; you may not be able to fast forward to the future and replicate them, but rest assured, you’ll attract high-value patients to your practice by following some simple recommendations.
If you discovered you could grow your dental practice $1 million next year by making one change… you’d do it, right? Of course you would. Or, so you think. One of the biggest missed opportunities for dental practices is not capitalizing on undone dentistry. If you could make one promise to yourself as we approach 2019, take the steps to getting your dental patients scheduled for their treatment, and watch your practice grow!
Think about what you spent to buy and/or build your dental practice. Remember the costs of things like the interior design, staffing, and equipment purchases? Don’t forget to include what you spent on all those years of education!
You’ve got a lot on your plate – you run a successful dental practice, taking care of not only your patients, but your team members each day. Between pulling Ms. Jones’ tooth and making sure all the bills are paid, you don’t have a lot of downtime to focus on other services, such as marketing your business. You decide to take the step and find a dental marketing firm that can take that load off your plate. What they are selling sounds good, and just as you’re about to commit to them, they pull out this caveat – you need to sign a long-term contract for their services. This begs the question, you want good marketing help, but at what price?
You have a steady stream of patients, and you love those loyal customers. They are the ones who will always be there. They never miss an appointment. They tell other people about your practice. They pay on time. If every patient was like them, life would be easy! But, are you measuring your success by those loyalists?
You’ve taken your practice into the 21st century; your website is up-to-date and ready to convert visitors into patients, but you’re still struggling with getting new patients in the door. You can use the latest tactics to draw in potential patients, but you can’t forget one thing – the importance of the phone call! That’s right – that mobile phone people use for surfing the Internet and texting still provides its initial function: calling.
