Dental industry news, trends and information from Patterson Dental.
Making sure patients are well informed of the importance of oral health before they even book their hygiene appointment can help curb anxiety or other barriers that may be preventing them from coming into the dental office. And with staff training on how to communicate key oral health messages with patients, the oral hygiene appointment can be the perfect way to build relationships and trust with patients.
Patients who are engaged with their providers value dentistry more and are more willing to commit to case acceptance. With engagement and education, patients begin to see the importance of oral health. Here are a few tools for improving patient engagement.
As dentistry moves towards the medical model of care, statistics and metrics from the practice management software are going to become more important (more on that at another time). Many practices feel that their case acceptance is around 85 – 90% but when the truth from the software is told, it can be 60% or less. Why? There could be many reasons for this, but often the patient is receiving mixed messages from the team.
The beginning of a new school year can get crazy, as your lazy summer mornings turn into mad dashes to the bus stop. In the hustle and bustle of back to school days, healthy mouth habits can fall by the wayside. It’s easy to forget […]
According to recent projections released by Grand View Research Inc., virtual and augmented reality in the health care market will swell to become a $5.1 billion industry by the year 2025. There are a rapidly-growing number of applications for this exciting technology in healthcare as […]
How many times each day do you remind your patients to brush and floss their teeth? We may be going out on a limb here, but we’re guessing you say it ALL of the time to ALL of your patients. How about putting a fresh spin […]
Your patients want to look and feel their best – which includes sporting beautiful pearly whites. That’s why offering teeth whitening services at your practice is a no-brainer since every patient is a good candidate for some form of whitening. But how do you break […]
In the deepest, darkest corner of dental practices of old, sat the grizzled bastion of infection control – the sterilization center. It was here that sterilization occurred, far from the sight of any well-meaning patients who may have accidentally stumbled upon the horrors of used […]
If your leg is broken, you’re going to make an appointment to see the doctor and you understand perfectly well why: your leg hurts! If you can’t read the PowerPoint presentation at your company’s annual meeting from the front row, you’re going to make an […]
As a dental professional, you undoubtedly are often asked by your patients, “What’s the best kind of toothpaste to use?” For many patients, any off-the-shelf toothpaste is adequate for daily cleaning, but for some, a stronger solution is needed. These patients may not realize that […]
As you know from pedo-focused (Tooth) Picks past, we love gabbing about the importance of helping children establish proper oral care habits as early as possible. One of the best ways to encourage kids to engage in such habits is by making the tasks FUN! […]
It’s Earth Day: A day when recycling, re-purposing, upcycling, and small ways to give back to planet earth are all top of mind. Many dental products – including most dental floss and floss containers – aren’t recyclable in the traditional fashion, but there are plenty […]
Fortunately, Endodontics – the dental specialty which concerns the study and treatment of dental pulp – is an area of dentistry that has seen tremendous growth over the last 20 years. Unfortunately, however, this particular specialty is often still overlooked or dismissed. This can largely […]
Flying cars and hover boards may not be here yet (well, at least not safe ones), but the future has arrived when it comes to one thing: brushing your teeth. Bluetooth technology has introduced a whole new world of possibilities in home oral care. The […]
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, which we at Patterson couldn’t be happier about! You best believe we’ll take any chance we can get to talk about the importance of children’s oral hygiene. Research has shown time and time again that our health habits […]
It’s easy to understand why patients facing a tooth implant can be confused. There are so many things to consider. How is the implant placed? What are alternative treatments? How many appointments will I need? Things can seem to get complicated rather quickly. Patients need […]
All successful oral surgeries require an equilibrium of effort between practitioner and patient: excellent dentistry on your part, and an adherence to postoperative care instructions on the part of the patient. It’s likely you feel confident about your role in this equation … but how […]
In today’s busy dental practices, where general dentists are doing more complex treatment cases, it is more important than ever that dental teams are aware of how the practice makes treatment not only affordable but as comfortable as possible for the patient. In order to […]
Dental clinicians and staff wear eye protection because it’s a requirement to keep them safe while at work. So why not offer the same protection to patients? Imagine this scenario: One of your patients comes in for a root canal, and as the dentist is […]
We all know that good oral healthcare begins at an early age (by age 1, if we’re following the guidelines of the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry and American Dental Association). For optimal compliance in young dental patients, a lot practices turn to products that are […]
As an RDH, I hear a lot of “facts” about teeth and gums and I feel the need to set the record straight on a few of them. These are three common myths that you may have heard, but rest assured that they are all […]
National surveys have reported that 41% of children aged 2 to 11 years had dental caries in their primary teeth and 42% of those aged 6 to 19 years had caries in their permanent teeth.¹ With these large percentages of decay reported there are approximately […]
When it comes to ensuring that a customer understands the value of an important investment in any business, oftentimes seeing is believing. Wise consumers like to educate themselves before proceeding with accepting goods or services, especially those that might be outside of their comfort zones. […]
Visiting the dentist can be a stressful situation for some patients and as a dentist or hygienist, it’s important to have the capabilities to educate patients, keeping them at ease during the visit. A big challenge that many dental offices face is finding ways to […]
In just its first year the Kids’ Healthy Mouths campaign is making serious headway in improving children’s oral health habits: More parents are reporting that their children are brushing regularly, according to a survey commissioned by the Ad Council. The campaign targeting parents and caregivers […]
Now launched and in full toothbrush-championing mode, the 2min2x campaign is spreading the word about children’s oral health. A campaign put together by the combined efforts of the Dental Trade Alliance, The Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives and the Ad Council, the campaign pushes […]
At Patterson, we’re committed to doing our part to help underserved people get the dental care they need. We know that improving children’s oral health is a joint effort involving families, children and organizations like the Dental Trade Alliance and the coalition of dental organizations […]
Do you still have the song, “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” stuck in your head from Paul’s post yesterday? I hope so – because it’s true. Everything we do at Patterson is designed to help you elevate the patient experience and practice […]
At the beginning of this year, we kicked off a blog series called The Root of It. This series allows you (and all of your great insights) to be featured here on Off the Cusp. We will be kicking off this series again very shortly. […]
Here’s where you can find us in December. Be sure to come say hi; we’d love to chat with you! Alabama 12/7: Bessemer – Implant Dentistry 12/7: Pelham – Treating Snoring and Sleep Apnea Arizona 12/13: Lake Havasu City – Discover CEREC Omnicam California 12/4: […]