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Tips to Keep Your Dental Game Strong in Your Practice

Published on 2/25/20

 

 

How’s your practice’s dental game? Maybe your practice is good at communicating the importance of dental health and making it a priority in your customer’s mind, and maybe you could use a little help. No matter where you stand, we’ve got 5 tips that any practice can use to keep your dental game strong.

 

Rewards punch cards.

At-home dental products are available everywhere these days and it can be difficult for a veterinary practice to compete with retail and online stores. Have you considered a dental rewards punch card? Offering clients the opportunity to earn their 10th dental product free after buying 9 may be an incentive to keep them coming back to you for these products. Every interaction you get with them is an opportunity to strengthen your relationship, so the value goes beyond the sales of the dental products.

 

Reach out to [email protected] to request a rewards card designed custom for free!

 

Prompt-scheduling discount.

It isn’t uncommon for clients to put off a recommended dental procedure. Scheduling may be complicated for the family or there may be financial constraints motivating the decision. One way to motivate your clients to comply with your recommendations at the time (or soon after) is to offer a prompt-scheduling discount. You can consider offering clients a reduced price on the procedure if it’s done within 30 days of recommendation. Of course, you need to consider how far out you are normally booked to decide on the appropriate timeline. For some practices, this year-round discount opportunity keeps their schedule consistently busy and it also means less procedures are put off, so pets get a better level of dental care. This sort of program may also be able to replace offering ‘dental months’ where discounts are offered. Many practices have found that a consistent program like this works out better than dental months, as it doesn’t encourage clients to wait for one of these months and staff doesn’t get dental burnout due to overscheduling.

 

 

Create a realistic expectation with clients about pet dental care from the start.

It’s recommended that we get our teeth cleaned every 6-12 months and, as a general rule we are brushing our teeth 1-2 times a day. It doesn’t always follow for people that their dog, whose teeth may not be brushed at all, will then require a dental cleaning on a regular basis. The average person likely doesn’t realize that having their pet’s teeth cleaned requires anesthesia, so there may not be a realistic understanding of the cost involved. Make it a point to explain to pet owners that brushing their pet’s teeth daily will likely allow them to extend the time in between dental cleanings (although they will likely still be required periodically). It’s important to stress daily, as studies show that less than that is not effective. Not brushing at all will mean their pet may need to have a cleaning annually, which can be a heavy expense depending upon size, age, and condition of the teeth.

 

 

Share reminders of the importance of dental care on social media.

There is a lot of misinformation out there on pet dental health. Debunk common myths and keep dental care front-of-mind by sharing information via social media. Check out our online Marketing Resources Library for some posts you can share. (It's free, but you must be logged in to pennvet.com to view it)

 

 

Demonstrate best practices for brushing teeth whenever possible.

Creating a positive experience for the pet when it comes to brushing teeth is key to it becoming a lasting habit. Remind clients that introducing it gradually and using rewards is the best way to ensure that their pet accepts it and, in the end, may look forward to it! We have handouts and social media posts to get you started on the subject available in our online marketing resources library. It’s also important that they know there are alternatives to brushing. They aren’t as effective as brushing, but they are better than nothing. This may be where your ‘dental punch card’ comes into play and you may also want to take some time to explain why you recommend the products you do and how they differ from what’s available online or through pet stores.

 

 

Take a second to evaluate your dental game - which one of the 5 points above could you incorporate into your practice so that you can keep your dental game strong?

 

View our previous blog post on Dental Equipment Maintenance: Protecting Your Investment!

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