5 Tips to Grow Your Dental Practice

As a dentist or dental professional in Australia, you know that the country has a rather eclectic collection of dental professionals, each working in an equally diverse range of specialties, from orthodontics to periodontics to oral surgery to paediatric dentistry, just to name a few. While most are in private practices (both group and solo), they’re alsofound in many other employment settings as well, such as hospitals, public clinics, aboriginal health services and tertiary educational facilities, among others. The fact that the field is expanding — topping 18,000 registered dentists and nearly 25,000 dental practitioners, according to Australian Government data — is proof positive that the dental industry is thriving. 

But regardless of their specialty or their employment situation, for each practice to stay in business, they have to provide the best possible dental care possible to the current patient or prospective patient. If they do so — and do it consistently — dental practice growth is the ultimate reward thanks to improved patient satisfaction.

However, growing your practice and improving the patient experience takes more planning and prioritisation than simply treating and cleaning teeth. Dental4Web has comprehensive solutions to get your dental practice up to speed to the needs of running a business in an ultra-competitive industry, supercharging your operations today, tomorrow and well into the future. But before we get into the specifics regarding what makes Dental4Web the best dental practice management software for dental practice growth, let’s explore some of the general keys to successful dental practice management that can lead to more opportunities.

1.  Highlight what makes your practice special

What is it about your practice that makes it distinctive? Do you offer more dental services beyond cleanings and traditional oral surgeries (e.g. dental implants)? Is your front office staff particularly responsive to the needs of returning patients? Do you accept several forms of dental insurance? Are your hygienists great when it comes to treating children and ensuring that their fears are eased? Whatever it is that helps to separate you from your competitors, it’s important to reference it in your dental marketing, advertising (e.g. Google Ads), social media marketing and other promotional activities. 

2.  Diversify your marketing vehicles

While technology is always getting better and more advanced in terms of offerings, the 2020s may go down as the golden age of communication when it comes to marketing. From television to radio to social media and email newsletters, there are numerous ways to advertise your dental practice, introducing who you are and where you’re located to a new potential patient base. The more marketing vehicles you tap, the greater visibility you’ll be able to receive.

3.  Register your practice

In addition to providing your practice with legitimacy, registering literally puts your business on the practice map for potential customers, more so than with a dental website. If patients are looking for an alternative to their current provider — or are brand new to the country and are looking for offices nearby — they’ll likely turn to the Australian Dental Association (ADA), Australian Dental Council (ADC) or similar accreditation authorities for some searching assistance. Registering your practice will make you findable. If you’re a specialist, be sure to designate yourself as such, as it will make it that much easier for patients to find you in search engines that offer advanced search capabilities. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), there are more than a dozen approved dental specialties in Australia. 

4.  Join the cloud

From robust data security to increased flexibility to a host of other advantages, cloud computing has provided numerous benefits to organisations throughout Australia. It’s the reason why they’re poised to spend as much as $14 billion on cloud computing by the end of 2025, according to estimates from GlobalData, a data and analytics firm.  

If you intend on having more than one dental clinic to treat patients — or already do — migrating to the cloud is a business imperative. It enables you and the rest of your staff to access patient data from anywhere on any internet-enabled device. It also helps you save on IT costs since you don’t have to worry about maintaining on-premises data servers.

5.  Prioritise patient engagement

Patient engagement is a critical component of dental practice growth. As important as regularly scheduled cleanings are to oral care, you’re not forcing them to come in for a visit. They have to be self-motivated to brush, floss and be attentive to the other behaviours that keep teeth and gums in good shape. But you can make it an easier lift for them through your patient engagement strategies. Whether it’s cross-channel marketing, seamless appointment scheduling or calling to reminding them about their six-month checkup, prioritising patient engagement is essential to maintaining your current crop of patients and reaching new ones. Moreover, creating relationships and increasing touchpoints with your existing patients can potentially help you recruit more through word of mouth. 

How Dental4Web can be a boon for your business

From the makers of Dental4Windows, Australia’s most widely used dental practice management system, Dental4Web is a newer dental practice management software that an increasing number of local practices are choosing to future-proof their operations. Offering unprecedented flexibility and top-quality security, Dental4Web offers the same kind of functionality as Dental4Windows but is augmented with a new feature set. 

Access patient data from anywhere

You never know when patients will cancel or need to schedule an emergency visit, as it may not always occur during normal office hours. Dental4Web’s cloud-based technology enables you to log in to the system from anywhere to update appointments, check patient records or other needs. This kind of flexibility increases convenience and decreases hassle. 

Integrated marketing and communication capabilities

With integrated marketing and communication, your staff has more ways to reach out to a dental patient who has an appointment scheduled or to advertise to a new patient via social media or other marketing vehicles. The fact that it’s integrated means that all the methods of correspondence are incorporated into one seamless solution. 

Receive security patches automatically

Whether on-premises or in the cloud, cyberattacks are a constant presence in a digitally connected world. Instead of having to perform security updates manually, as you do with on-premises infrastructure, patches are installed automatically since Dental4Web is a cloud-based solution —keeping your practice protected from threats and the potential for data theft or other breach aftershocks. 

For more information on how Dental4Web can grow your dental practice and help you improve customer service, contact us today.