Dental practices can adapt to the evolving needs of patients by adding new technology, providing convenient office hours and prioritizing customer service, according to one DSO exec.
Barry Lyon, DDS, a chief dental officer for the division of orthodontics and pediatric dentistry for Dental Care Alliance, recently spoke with Becker's about what patients want next from their dental practice.
Editor's note: This Q&A is part of a weekly series featuring Dr. Lyon focused on topics in the dental industry and DSO field. This response was lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What are dental patients looking for more or less of? How can dentists adapt to the evolving patient?
Dr. Barry Lyon: With a dentist on just about every corner, or so it seems, there is stiff competition for patients. There’s been an evolution of the dental patient, and dentists need to respond and adapt in order to grow. Gone are the days when a dentist simply hung a shingle and waited for patients to make appointments. Today, there are over 200,000 dentists in the U.S. or 60.4 dentists per 100,000 people. It’s imperative that dentists understand how patients think and what they expect.
What do patients expect from their dentist when they schedule an appointment? Clearly, the internet and social media have had major impacts in patient decision-making. Gone are the days when a potential patient asked their neighbor who they see for dental care. Today, dental office websites, Google reviews, Facebook and sites like Yelp provide potential patients with a wealth of information and options. Critical reviews have achieved a level of significant importance for most consumers. Patients want to know if their insurance is accepted, how convenient the office hours are and what others have experienced. Because so many families have both spouses working, it is especially important to have convenient hours.
In medicine, advanced technology has become commonplace and has made receiving care more effective and more comfortable. Patients now expect the same when they go to the dentist. Dentists need to embrace advanced technology that’s available today and prepare themselves for tomorrow’s technological advances.
Finally, dentists need to cater to their patients and provide the highest level of customer service. Dentists should imagine how they or their families would expect to be treated by the receptionist, hygienist, dental assistant and the dentist and then provide that level of service to their patients. This is something in which everyone wins. Patients are happy, office culture is at a high level and dealing with content patients makes for a much less stressful day for the entire office.