How to drive patients to your practice

Finding out what motivates your patients to visit you and what you can do to improve this – is the key to success.

Recently, the BDTA teamed up with Ragdoll to conduct an in-depth study of how the public perceive dentistry and their dental practice. The findings were rather interesting, including:

• 25% of the UK population do not currently visit a dental surgery
• Key reasons for non-visits included: cost, fear, disinterest and access
• Key reasons for visiting the dentist included: maintaining oral health, fear of what may happen if they do not visit, always visited regularly
• 76% claimed they follow their dentists advice

• Trust in a dentist is very important, outweighing the importance of their expertise
• Awareness is a key issue, 1/5 of participants were not aware of what services their current dentist offered
• Many respondents are unclear about pricing and pricing structure at the dentist – clarity of costs is needed
• ‘Good oral health’ is the most important factor for customers – fresh breath and healthy gums are key
• Local – is the best place to promote dentist services. Word of mouth also proved to be popular

Overall, the results show that communication is vital! Communicating your services, clear prices and using communication to build a solid relationship with your patients are needed. Patients rely on word of mouth recommendations and must trust their dentist – which all comes down to effective communication. So what are you waiting for?

For more information about the survey and to download a summary of results, visit http://www.bdta.org.uk/perceptions-of-dentistry.html

Dentists urged to check for mouth cancer

With the NHS Stoptober promotion well on its way the government’s battle to stop smoking is fresh in our minds.

Health professionals across the country have long been campaigning for smokers to quit and now dentists are being urged to play their role.

Regular dental check-ups provide a great, and often missed opportunity for dentists to spot the first signs of oral cancer and help patients quit smoking. All dental professionals are now being urged to ask those all important questions about their patients’ lifestyle. If early signs of smoking and drinking are picked up by dentists this can help prevent devastating effects of oral cancer.

As Hazel Nunn, Cancer Research UK’s head of health evidence and information, explains: “Dental teams are in a unique position to help detect oral cancer in its earlier stages when it’s easier to treat and the outlook is greatly improved.

“If a dentist is looking at someone’s teeth and knows this person smokes 50 cigarettes a day and drinks well above the recommended amount, he might look that extra bit more carefully.”

The GDC (General Dental Council) currently support these plans and have recommended dentists take part in oral cancer detection checks but the procedure is not compulsory. The GDC hope to change this to a mandatory requirement which is undergoing review.

For now, dental professionals are encouraged to check patients’ mouths for any signs of oral cancer in the wider push for preventative dentistry.

2012 Survey on the European Dental Trade

The recession has hit the EU hard, as we all know well but how has it affected dental trade?

The European Dental Market Trends Report, from the FIDE and ADDE Associations reveals the major trends over the past five years and collates them all.

The key findings of the report show that:

• The number of practising dentists has increased by 0.8% from 256,321 in 2007 to 268,282 in 2011, while the number of new graduate dentists has fallen.
• Total sales increased slightly, up 1.2% to €6,197m, including equipment and sundries
• The number of dental laboratories went down by 1.1% and the number of dental technicians decreased by 0.9%
• The total number of dental hygienists grew by 1.14% reaching a total of 24,477

Specifically in the UK, figures show the following:

• The number of practising dentists has steadily increased over the five years, resulting in a total of 29,865 active dentists
• The number of active dental offices has decreased to 11,737
• The total number of new graduate dentists has decreased to 1,200
• The number of dental technicians has remained fairly consistent over the past five years with the latest figures showing a total of 7,121 active technicians in 2011
• In comparison, the number of dental hygienists has decreased from last year to a total of 5,548

These interesting statistics highlight that dental trade within Europe and the UK has remained at a steady rate, neither growing nor decreasing significantly.  Yet, statistics showing fewer graduate dentists shows how the industry may have been affected by increasing student fees, deterring future dental professionals. How has the recession affected your dental practice? Comment below or tweet us @stockdalemartin.

For more information on the report, click here http://www.fide-online.org/market_survey.htm

Dental regrets of the past

We’ve all been there – young and free, partying ‘til the early hours of the morning and our twice daily teeth routine takes a back seat in our busy lives. But now we’re older and prefer the laid back life, we begin to regret skipping our teeth brushing as dental problems become prominent.

The British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF) have found that most of us regret our teen habits. Findings show 6 out of 10 adults aged 55 and over in the UK, mainly those living in the North East of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, regret neglecting their teeth in earlier life.

As we are all living longer, our teeth are becoming prone to problems, with around 1 in 5 people wearing full or partial dentures in the UK. Results suggest that a reason for this may be due to adult patients who were born in the 1960s experiencing poor dental education as a child due to limited availability, particularly in comparison to today’s dental education. Such habits learnt from an earlier childhood continue into adulthood, leading to neglect of the essential daily dental routine.

Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, further adds: “There is a very strong message from older people that not looking after oral health when young can lead to a lifetime of regrets.”

But things aren’t all bad, despite the older generation regretting their past dental routines, the research also found that younger patients are the most image conscious group, meaning they are far more likely to look after their teeth. With more pressure on teens to achieve Hollywood smiles, there is hope for future generations to stick to daily dental routines and regular check-ups in order to improve the nation’s oral health and lessen their dental regrets.

Is Dentistry being bashed again?

As I’m certain many of you would’ve read this week, national newspapers are claiming dentists are ‘forcing’ 500,000 patients to pay privately for treatment, in light of the recently published OFT report.

 The report suggests patients ‘may be provided with inaccurate information’ regarding their dental treatments and as a result they are paying more for private procedures as opposed to NHS. In response to these findings, OFT propose for greater transparency in the pricing of treatments, to increase awareness and better inform the public of what treatments are available on the NHS.

 National headlines focused on this main finding, but for dentists everywhere the report detailed an in-depth analysis of the current market and recommendations for the future of dentistry. Other main features of the report include: a reform of the dental contract to allow for more dentists to deliver NHS dentistry, as well as helping enable new practices to be successfully established and lastly, recommendations for direct access to other dental professionals, such as dental hygienists, therapists and clinical dental technicians.

 Although the OF T report raises important issues which must be addressed, what are dentists’ views on these findings? Are they representative of the dental profession? What the report fails to acknowledge is the NHS budgets and regulations which dentists must abide by, which could be a potential cause of misleading information.

 There’s a lot to reflect on and discuss – so we’d love to hear your views, do you think these findings reflect the current situation and will the proposed changes make a real change? Let us know by commenting below or tweeting us @stockdalemartin.

 For the full report follow the link: http://www.oft.gov.uk/OFTwork/markets-work/dentistry/#named2

Ed’s trip to sunny California!

A couple of weeks ago I was at the California Dental Association Convention, in the lovely city of Anaheim, in order to oversee the set up of the booth and fantastic interactive tables, which we developed last year with the support of our good friends at Teknikos [see the Vegas Blog].

Over 3 days 28,000 visitors attended the convention, and competition for delegate ‘footfall’ was intense! So it was a immensely pleasing to once again see lines of delegates forming at the sides of our booth, all eagerly awaiting their chance to have a play with the interactive tables. 

But success is not just measured in the size of the queues that form. The objective from the client’s perspective was to have a number of good quality interactions with delegates, as opposed to just handing out free products, and I’m pleased to say that these were easily met [and exceeded!].

Since the tables have been introduced, not only has discussion time with delegates increased by 3x, but they also enabled the team at the CDAC to facilitate over 6000 quality conversations during the show!

We are now woking hard on the next generation of interactive experiences to make the booth work even harder and deliver even more – so watch this space!

Debate: Direct access to dental hygienists; for and against

As many of you have probably heard and read about in recent weeks, the GDC are planning to allow direct access to dental hygienists and other DCPs. So the question on everyone’s lips is, what will this mean for the dental team and their patients?

Currently, both the ‘Standards Guidance’ and ‘Scope of Practice’ state that all members of the dental team must work under the prescription of a dentist. Meaning, dental professionals are able to follow a treatment plan prescribed by dentists, but they are not allowed to diagnose any problems the patient is facing. The proposed change will mean that patients can go directly to a DCP who will be able to examine and diagnose dental problems without the guidance or referral from a dentist.

Those campaigning FOR the change, such as The Direct Access Action Group, argue it will benefit both the patients and the whole dental team. The changes will help save time, allowing patients to access specialist help much faster, in comparison to the current system. The dental team will also benefit from the increased time saving, as it will provide more room for additional patients to join practices and allow more dental advice to be given to patients.

However, in contrast those arguing AGAINST the proposed notion have stated that the lack of patient knowledge will mean the current system is unlikely to radically change. For example, patients are still likely to visit their dentist first, before later making an appointment with a dental hygienist or therapist, as they are unaware of the differences between dental professionals. On the other hand, campaigners for the change, would counteract this argument, stating that simple education from the dental team will eradicate such problems.

Whilst the debate continues, the Direct Access Task and Finish Group are planning to analyse robust evidence from several key stakeholders, before coming to a final decision on 2 July 2012. For those of you interested in having your say in a ‘call for ideas’ questionnaire, head to the GDC website here www.gdc-uk.org. We’d also love to hear your views, are you for or against the change? Comment below or join in the conversation on Twitter, by tweeting to @stockdalemartin.

 

Our top tips for Dental Marketing

Ever wondered what the best way is to communicate with the public on oral health issues? How to approach dental professionals? Or create lasting client relationships?

We have the answers right here! We’ve been busy devising a list of top dental marketing tips from our lovely owners, Ed and Tracy, who really know their stuff.

So here it is in all its glory…

1. No hard selling! Create a symbiotic relationship with your client – one that benefits the both of you. Aim to visit your client on a regular basis, to build up your face-to-face communication. The more they see you in person, the more they will trust you.

2. Present the evidence – if you are making claims about a product in your marketing campaigns consider the evidence being presented. Ask yourself – is the evidence accurate and relevant?

3. Always explain the patient benefits of your service or product – dentistry is focused on patient outcomes, therefore if you are offering a better patient outcome it will set you apart from your competitors.

4. Be prepared for it to take time! It takes time for dental professionals to adopt new technology, products etc. Taking small steps will lead to outcomes in time – don’t expect miracles to work overnight.

5. Get social – the web is a fantastic, free resource. You can utilise this tool to promote your brand and identity, interact with existing and potential patients or clients and inform others of your expertise in dentistry. Integrate a blog, website and social media accounts into your marketing plans and watch the virtual world meet the real world.

There you have it, our top tips for dental marketing. For more tips and advice follow us @stockdalemartin.

Camera, lights, action!

This week, Ed and Rachel have been creating content for an exciting project, involving the use of multimedia techniques to help assist and train sales representatives for one of our clients. With the help of our film crew and Professor David Barlett, consultant in restorative dentistry and Head of Prosthodontics at King’s College London Dental Institute, we filmed a short, educational video explaining a common dental problem.

Professor David Bartlett

The film will be used as a tool to help the dental sales team recognise dental healthcare professional’s role in the management of the condition and to ensure the dental team can confidently converse with dental healthcare professionals about the condition, its impact and recommendations for management.

We felt it was important to use video technology to create an interesting learning experience for the sales representatives, to allow the teams to fully absorb all information provided. We hope the video will enable our client’s sales teams to understand the condition in more depth and encourage a greater cooperative relationship between dental professionals and sales representatives.

NHS dentistry cash boost to increase access, but is this the answer to a nation of healthy teeth?

Yesterday, Andrew Lansley, UK Health Secretary announced a proposed £28 million boost to increase access to NHS dentists. The money will be spent on expanding local services such as more available appointments and care for people who cannot travel to a dentist. This move supports the Government’s drive to improve oral health in the UK, coupled with a further suggestion recommended in the Health and Social Care Bill, to encourage all dental professionals to discuss patients’ lifestyles with them. As Dr Nigel Carter suggests:

“If the healthcare profession and particularly the dental profession discussed with their patients how their oral health could be improved, I firmly believe we would see the number of developing dental diseases fall across a period of time”.

As many of us are aware, a patient’s dietary, drinking, smoking and exercise habits can affect their oral health. Under the government’s proposals, dental teams will be encouraged to build up a rapport with patients and suggest adaptations to lifestyle choices, for example to quit smoking. Government officials, with the support of industry experts, suggest dental professionals should aim to capture the prime opportunity, a regular check-up, to suggest such changes as this could potentially lead to fewer oral health problems in the future. The key word here is prevention, by patients’ altering their dietary habits, i.e. less acidic food and drink, they are less likely to develop problems such as, acid erosion.

Despite the government recognising the need for further funding and dentistry support for patients, for suggested measures to be put in place dentists are required to spend more time with each patient, therefore further funding is required. So maybe funding is the solution to the improvement of UK oral health or can dentist-patient rapport be enough to succeed?

 

Tell us what you think can help improve the nation’s oral health and why? Join in the conversation by tweeting us @stockdalemartin