Maximize profits and results with these tips and tricks for your clear aligner patients
Aligners have so much potential to help get great results and improve the bottom line for your dental practice. But getting started can be a little intimidating for orthodontists who only have experience with wired braces, as well as general practice dentists. Here are some tips and tricks to help your practice.
Recently, we hosted a webinar with Dr. Amanda Wilson and Dr. Bill Keith to talk about tips and tricks to improve your profits and results.
Dr. Amanda Wilson is an orthodontist, dental consultant, and dental advisor, and the Founder of StraightSmile Solutions, an orthodontic consulting company that directly serves dentists, dental specialists, and dental labs and their unique needs.
Dr. Bill Keith is from Keith + Associates in Kansas City. He is a dentist and fellow with the International Dental Implant Association who has seen great success with aligners.
The following blog isn’t a complete list of the entire webinar, since there was so much covered by both speakers and in the open Q&A that followed.
If you’d like to view the recording, please see the bottom of this post to learn how.
Here’s a list of some tips and tricks from the webinar:
Tip #1: Be very selective about the cases you choose. Dr Wilson’s advice is to not try to be a hero with obviously difficult cases, especially if you are new to using aligners. Know what your limitations are, as well as the limitations of aligners.
Tip #2: Never, ever do a single arch treatment. Dr. Wilson states that while it can be tempting and some of your patients will ask for it, there are potential risks that aren’t immediately obvious to them.
Tip #3: Stop stalling and just get a scanner. Scans are more accurate than impressions and much more tolerable for patients. Both doctors agreed it was well worth the investment.
Tip #4: Less can be more when it comes to movement. You don’t have to follow the default movement distance per aligner. If you decrease this and add more trays, many patients not only tolerate it better, but Dr. Wilson states it drastically helps decrease the chances for refinements.
Tip #5: Use teledentistry to free up chair time. Dr. Keith explained how burdensome it was to have to jump back and forth between aligners and traditional patients in the office and how those visits could be a waste of time if everything is going well.
He states that using the In Hand Dental app has helped him free up chair time to see more traditional AND aligner patients, without having to add staff. He also shared just how much this approach has increased his case starts from this year to last.
Tip #6: Create your own custom educational content that you can use in multiple ways.
Dr. Wilson recommends this for both social media and to increase traffic on your website. Dr. Keith stated he uses the In Hand Dental app for this so patients can have easy access to it on their phone and has the option to send it to any or all of his patients with just one click.