The Business of Smiles: Turning Patient Experience into a Competitive Advantage

Entering the dental services market is promising but challenging:

• On the one hand, businesses can potentially reap high profits due to the widespread nature of dental and gum disease. Progress and technological innovations in this industry offer more effective solutions, but they don’t eliminate the problem itself. Therefore, patient volumes can remain consistently high.
• On the other hand, the low investment required to launch a dental business leads to market saturation with similar services. Dental offices are densely distributed throughout the city. That is why patients often find it easier to visit the nearest clinic than to schedule an appointment with the same dentist they’ve already seen.

So, how can you gain a competitive advantage and succeed in the dental services market? Let’s look at the example of a successful clinic, Vip Dental Care (Forest Hills, NY), to see how to provide an improved patient experience to retain regular patients and attract new ones.

How to Create the Perfect Patient Experience

Launching any business begins with a business plan, in which you define your ambitions, long-term and short-term goals, and the strategy for achieving them. If patient satisfaction is the focus of your planning, you should consider the following points.

Comprehensive Services

When a patient gets dental treatment at one dental office, undergoes prosthetic treatment in the second, and orders cosmetic procedures at a third, this situation is extremely inconvenient. It creates too many additional problems, from scheduling appointments and having to travel to different locations to the issue of dentist liability.

That is why dental offices that offer patients a full range of services have a clear competitive advantage. Thus, Vip Dental Care has focused on a full range of dental services from the very beginning:

• Therapeutic treatment
• Orthodontic treatment
• Prosthetic treatment
• Cosmetic dentistry

Convenient Location

Sometimes dentists choose to save on office space. They may rent offices in hard-to-reach locations. However, this decreases the number of initial patient visits and the return of those who have already received their first service.

The dental office should be conveniently located and easily accessible by car. If you choose a space tucked away in a back alley, the likelihood that someone will miss it and go elsewhere increases dramatically. Also, strive to be located close to public transportation to expand your client base.

Exterior and Interior Aesthetics of a Dental Office

Every dentist advertises themselves as a professional who can provide patients with a perfect smile. But what if their office has a boring entrance and the interior is begging for renovation? Of course, patients are unlikely to trust such a dentist and want to return. Therefore, before opening your clinic, renovate both the interior and exterior of your office. This will make your promise of a perfect smile seem entirely believable.

Remember that a visit to the dentist is a stressful experience for patients. Even if the dental treatment requires minimal intervention, the memory of a previous painful experience can still keep them on edge. Therefore, create a relaxing environment in your dental office’s reception area. Instead of hard chairs or standard sofas, install soft and comfortable furniture. Make sure your coffee table is always stocked with fresh and interesting magazines to keep your patients entertained. Moreover, consider installing large aquariums, creating a green area with exotic flowers, etc.

Convenient Payment for Services

When opening your dental office, you’ll have patients with a wide range of insurance plans. If you’re interested in growing your business, consider accepting a variety of primary and secondary insurance plans. This way, patients won’t feel restricted or disrespected by their insurance choices.

Patients should also be comfortable if their insurance doesn’t cover certain dental services. Offer them an interest-free financing plan with a small monthly payment. This will also expand your client base and the range of services they’ll request.

Offer a Compelling Discount System

Develop a discount system that benefits both you and your patients. For example, this could be a discount on the first visit, a discount on a second service when ordering multiple services, and so on. Family discounts are very effective, as they allow you to attract several new patients from a single regular.

During the autumn and spring, the number of patients increases, as temperature fluctuations and vitamin D deficiency exacerbate dental problems. After these seasons, when patient numbers decrease, you can attract patients with discounts on preventative treatments, cosmetic dentistry, and other procedures.

The Bottom Line

Success in the dental industry depends not only on the level of professionalism of the dentist but also on overall patient satisfaction. A dentist may be a top-notch specialist who treats patients more effectively than others. But if they ignore other important issues, they are unlikely to succeed. A remote location, lack of renovations, a limited range of services, a reluctance to accept certain insurance plans and offer discounts or credit — all these limitations hinder the development and prosperity of a business. Therefore, when developing your business plan, consider these points from the beginning to give your dental office a great start.