CAD/CAM Magazine

I feature _ interview In addition, we offer a product called Web Site Content that allows users to place any of our animations and slideshows on their websites or linked to their website. High-quality animations on a website allow patients to obtain information about the procedures offered by the practice and offer a powerful branding and marketing tool for a practice. _In your opinion, what are the most common mistakes dentists make in patient education/ marketing their dental practice? There are two types of marketing that den- tal practices should do—internal and external marketing. Internal marketing includes posters, brochures, discussions, etc. delivered within the facility. External marketing includes websites, advertising, mailings, etc. that are done virally through e-mail or regular mail. Many dentists are not trained in marketing and find it inherently difficult to embrace marketing to grow their business. Many do not know how, many just don’t think they need to. Many dentists do not take the time to educate their patients or understand the value of patient education. Many feel that patients will accept treatment on the sole basis that the dentist told them they need it. That may have been the way it was, but we now live in an information-based society, and if patients do not receive adequate information from their dentist, they will seek it elsewhere. (Hopefully, that won’t be the com- petitor down the street!) We did a survey of our My Dental Hub clients todeterminehoweffectivepatienteducationwas in their practices. Our end users told us that they had experienced an increased case acceptance of 53%! This number indicates the importance of educating patients, and the impact it has is apparent in any business, including the business of dentistry. The process of patient education needs to be woven into the daily activities within a practice. This requires enhanced staff training and im- plementation. Many dentists do not invest the time to integrate the process into their practice procedures. Acceptance of a practice philosophy mandates that training for implementation is as important as training in the procedure. _Can My Dental Hub also be a helpful tool for cutting through language barriers or communi- cating with disabled patients? Absolutely! A picture is worth a thousand words. Visual images and especially animations tell a story, even if the words cannot be under- stood. Many of our dentists use our iPad app for that reason. Even with the narration turned off, patients use the iPad to browse the animations and learn about the different dental procedures offered by the practice. Most of us are visual learners. In situations in which there may be a communication barrier, we find that our client base uses the animations as a component of informed consent. _Is the software available in different lan- guages? The software is currently only available in English; however, we are working on translating the software into Spanish and French. We have Easy Consult allows the busy practice to do a consultation in three simple steps and then e-mail the entire consultation to their patients. Instant presentations make even the most complex case presentations easy, with supporting documents ready to be printed or e-mailed. 28 I CAD/CAM 2_2011