Dentaltown December 2019 - 84

Educating patients on the
benefits of implants
When it comes to marketing dental
implants as a permanent solution for tooth
loss, most practices try to attract new patients.
While marketing to new patients is
important, don't forget the patients who are
already a part of your practice family. Social
media, email and direct mail are obvious
ways to share the benefits of implants with
patients and can be quite effective. Another
medium I've seen work effectively is an
internal digital billboard. When patients
are in the reception area before their examinations or hygiene appointments, instead
of watching cable talk shows or news, use
your television screen to pique curiosity
by providing education, before-and-after
photos and patient testimonials. This can
prompt a discussion about implants with
the doctor or hygienist, which is ultimately
what generates the most success.
When discussing implants with patients,
it's important to remember that people are
engaged by images and by story. Storytelling
is something that's not necessarily talked
about in dental treatment presentation, but
it can have a real impact on patients. For
example, my husband had 12 missing teeth
on his upper arch. At the age of about 48,

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DECEMBER 2019 // dentaltown.com

some of his restorations failed and he needed
to go through extensive dental care-bone
grafts, tissue grafts and sinus lifts. It was a
process that took a year and a half from start
to finish, but he now has more confidence,
he's able to smile and he's able to eat things
he couldn't before. Having the dentistry was
truly life-changing.
We can engage patients using technology
like cone beam images and X-rays to show
them their current condition. Patients often
have a difficult time envisioning something
they've never seen before. So show them
what the finished product looks like with
some great before-and-after photos. You
can also include testimonial videos from
actual patients who made the decision to get
implants and were excited about their results.

Gaining patient buy-in
When you're looking to convert large
treatment plans requiring a greater financial
investment, it's similar to a GPS system-you
pull up the map and it shows you where you
are. Next, you type in where you want to
go and it shows a path that leads to your
destination. We need to think about the
financial conversations that we have with
patients in the same manner. If a patient
is hesitant to spend money on treatment

or voices a financial objection, we need to
remember achieving a healthy smile is the
final destination.
Because a dental implant is a more
expensive procedure, it's important for
your team to help patients understand and
appreciate dentistry as an investment. People
will buy if they are motivated. Often, patients
don't accept ideal treatment because they
just don't have a big enough "want" to
spend the money on the investment
being offered.
We have to be proactive in offering
solutions when insurance covers only a portion of treatment, when there are significant
out-of-pocket costs and when patients don't
have any insurance. Having a third-party
financing option and being able to present
it successfully can be an important part of
the financial conversation.
Obviously we need to tell patients what
the total treatment plan costs, but being
able to offer longer-term financing options
can go a long way in helping patients get
dental implant treatment. When patients are
looking at larger cases, it may take three or
four years for them to pay it off. That's why
it's important to offer financing options, such
as the CareCredit credit card, up front and
not wait until the patient is uncomfortable
and says, "Oh, I'll think about it," because
rarely do the "I'll think about it" patients
return to schedule.
If we present a treatment plan to 10
patients and three out of the 10 reject us, we
often focus more on the rejections than we
do on the successes. It's just human nature.
As a result, we can get gun-shy and timid
about offering ideal treatment because we
think patients won't want it. We have to look
at each patient individually and also have the
team fully engaged. They need to understand
and communicate the value of implants, the
process and the financial discussion.
When your entire team is able to share in
an enthusiastic and passionate way compelling treatment stories that show how other
patients have benefited from implants, it
can really help set your practice apart from
others in your community and increase your
practice's success with implants. n
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Dentaltown December 2019

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