10 tips for dental practice management

Visiting a dental practice is an entire experience for the patient and, although there is a tendency to think otherwise, it begins long before the moment they are seen in-clinic. In fact, the references that the patient has or the way they are treated when making an appointment can be key in determining the choice between one clinic or another.

A dental practice is much more than a good dentist. That’s why, in this article, we will give you some recommendations on how to improve dental clinic performance and tips for best dental practice management. We also explain how Impress for partner clinics can help you increase income and attract new patients, as well as guide you on how to improve patient experience in your dental office.

Before we begin... What is Impress for partner clinics?

If you are not yet familiar with Impress for partner clinics, you are missing an opportunity to improve the efficiency of your dental practice.

With Impress for partner clinics, you will be able to offer all Impress treatments in your clinic and thus expand the portfolio of procedures you provide your patients. Impress will also enable you to improve the management of your dental practice by assisting you throughout the entire process:

• You will be able to offer high quality invisible orthodontic treatments without the need for an in-clinic orthodontist, since Impress orthodontists will provide you with treatment plans designed and personalised for each case.

• Your patients will be able to have consultations through the Impress app, which will reduce the number of in-person clinic visits.

• You will attract more patients to your clinic, as you will benefit from Impress’ marketing and social media presence.

These are just some of the advantages of becoming an Impress partner clinic. Read on to learn more about all of the benefits.

Tips for better dental practice management and efficiency

1. Maintain good communication with your patients

It is essential to maintain continuous and useful communication with patients. In order to do so, it is advisable to have an organised, complete and up-to-date database.

Sending patients reminders, notices and different communications (greetings for birthdays or special occasions, for example) will enable us to remain at the forefront of their minds and consolidate our relationship with them.

With Impress for partner clinics we provide you with a support team who will notify you when patients need a review of their orthodontic treatment and thus facilitate dental practice efficiency, as well as the management of your dental practice patients.

2. How to improve the patient’s experience in the dental office

Beyond the timely communications that are sent to each patient, it is their in-clinic experience that will allow us to make a difference.

The way the patient is treated by the clinic team can be the main differentiating factor. Therefore, when thinking about how to improve the patient’s experience in the dental office, it is recommended that you establish some protocols of action to ensure the patient receives personalised, friendly treatment in-clinic.

3. How to increase patient flow in the dental clinic

One of the determining factors for a satisfactory patient experience is waiting times in-clinic. It is important to learn how to increase patient flow in the dental clinic, in order to reduce waiting periods and ensure that the patient feels we value their time.

On the other hand, there are certain treatments that require follow-ups, such as orthodontics. To save their time, as well as free up hours in your clinic’s schedule, your patients can benefit from the digital follow-ups offered by Impress. With the Impress App, they will be able to book digital consultations that will reduce the number of visits to your dental clinic and increase patient flow.

4. Motivate your team and offer them training

If you’re still wondering how best to manage a dental clinic, it is closely linked to the management of the team. The person in charge of managing staff must establish a relationship with all members, getting to know their work interests and aspirations, and clearly defining the roles that should be fulfilled by each one.

Moreover, the clinic’s philosophy should be shared by all members of the team, to ensure dental practice efficiency, as well as increase income in the dental clinic. The communication of this philosophy with staff is key to achieving a team that is motivated and involved in the success of the clinic.

Finally, ongoing training and constant support contribute to improving team motivation. In this regard, Impress offers its partner clinics training for all staff. As a result, you will be able to make our treatments your own and the whole team will be able to acquire new knowledge about orthodontics.

5. Invest in technology to improve dental practice management

The optimal use of technology in any business enables it to increase productivity, streamline processes and obtain better results. It would also particularly help to increase income in a dental clinic.

Investing in a CRM or other suitable software is important to improving the management of the dental practice and to integrating in the same platform the clinic’s different administrative tasks: accounting, appointment management, reminders, medical records, patient and employee calendars... When used correctly and in a centralised way, the software will streamline processes, optimise time and improve patient satisfaction, which will result in an increase in income for the dental clinic.

6. Acquire up-to-date and modern equipment

Beyond the physical team, up-to-date equipment is key to minimising work times, offering the best experience to patients and obtaining better results.

Having modern and up-to-date infrastructure provides the patient with greater confidence in the work performed and greater certainty in obtaining the results they want. The combination of a professional team and modern infrastructure will increase patient satisfaction and, therefore, improve dental clinic results.

7. Implement a good marketing strategy for your dental practice

Marketing consists of various activities with the objective of increasing the interest of a client in a product, in this case, the interest of patients in the services offered by the clinic. It is important to carry out correct dental practice marketing in order to increase new patients in the dental office, the invested value of each patient and the frequency of patient visits.

It is recommended that, to achieve optimal results, the dental practice invests in both digital and traditional marketing. To establish a successful marketing strategy, a preliminary study of the competition and the target audience must be carried out.

Once these two points have been defined, we can decide which tools we want to use or which are the most appropriate for improving the dental clinic and achieving our objective. Bear in mind that marketing, both traditional and digital, offers us a multitude of ways to promote our dental clinic. Some of the most common marketing tools for dental practices are:

• Website and SEO optimisation of your clinic’s online presence

• Email marketing

• Advertising: traditional and digital media

• Promotions to increase first visits to the clinic

• Social media

• Influencer marketing

As we can see, the possibilities are endless, especially with the help of Impress’ dental practice marketing tips. However, it is important to have a plan that allows us to optimise efforts and focus on the channels that really interest us, in order to improve dental clinic results and increase new patients in the dental office. At Impress, we help our partner clinics grow their business and visibility as a whole, benefiting from our strong presence on the main platforms and social media networks, as well as the dental practice marketing tips we provide.

8. Do all that you can so your patients speak well of you

Beyond marketing, our patients can also attract new patients, so it is important to take care of them. Word of mouth is the best advertising for your clinic.

When thinking about how to increase the number of new patients in a dental office, therefore, it is important to approach each and every point of contact that current patients have with the clinic with care: from the moment they request a first visit until the end of their treatment.

To encourage word of mouth referrals, Impress will soon offer patients of our partner clinics a referral program via the app. This will allow us to increase new patients in the dental clinic and provide them, as well as existing patients, with benefits.

9. Offer treatments of the latest technology and the highest quality

Offering state-of-the-art, quality treatments is key to meeting the needs of our patients. It is, thus, of utmost importance to have a team trained and prepared to tend to the different needs of patients with cutting-edge treatments.

The main advantage of being part of Impress as a partner clinic is that you will be able to offer our invisible orthodontic treatments in your practice without the need for orthodontists in your team. Impress orthodontists design the treatment plans and help you understand when they are necessary, as well as how to carry out pre-treatments and complementary procedures to orthodontics. You can also consult directly with our team at any stage of treatment.

10. Partner with Impress and increase the income of your dental practice

With Impress for partner clinics you can improve the management of your dental practice, increasing income and optimising its administration for better results.

Partner your practice with Impress and join the invisible orthodontics revolution! Offer Impress treatments in your clinic and transform your business into a more professional and digital experience.

Request more information and join the leading chain of next generation digital orthodontics to further expand your business. After filling out the form, we will contact you as soon as possible to inform you of all the advantages of joining the Impress program for partner clinics.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!