How to market a dental practice in 2025?

 


It used to be said that word of mouth was the best way to market a dental practice. It's sort of true now as well, but a little different then it used to be. When I first started out , it was more or less true because happy patients referred patients. Yes sometimes insurance could play a part, but most of our patients had insurance that allowed them excellent coverage, even when they went to an out of network dentist. 

Now, most dental insurance plans are less generous with their payments to out of network dentists. We recently had a patient who had a crown completed in our practice and their coverage only allowed 50% of their "network" fee (which wasn't very generous) so my patient had to pay a fairly high amount that was at least two times the amount that their insurance covered. Clearly this low coverage may make patients more likely to choose an in network dentist instead of a word of mouth recommended fee for service dentist. This clearly limits our marketing to patients with some dental insurance plans.

That being said, Word of mouth recommendations are clearly still relevant. We find that a significant proportion of our new patients report that they liked our online reviews found in Reddit or Google. These sites feature real testimonials from my patients. Many comment on our honesty , the  quality of care we offer and the thoroughness of our explanations. 

Also, I find that people who meet dentists in social situations can sometimes ask for dental advice. While it is not possible to diagnose problems with certainty without an actual examination, there is no reason not to speak with those asking questions and help them understand possible treatment options, depending on what problems they end up having. I often suggest they come in for an initial appointment so I can offer advice after performing a proper examination.

Getting on insurance  plans can be something of a double edged sword, since the fees they allow may end up dictating the style of dentistry that is delivered. While it is true that being on a bunch of insurance plans can bring many new patients to a dental practice, it can change the nature of a practice and force treatments to be "more streamlined".

 Some of my online reviews say I am old school, and it's true. I believe it's a complement, since although our practice is extremely up to  date, we treat our patients in a personal manner and spend time explaining their treatment options including the potential pros and cons of each choice. We never recommend more treatment than is justified and treat every patient as if they were a member of our family,




from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2025/03/how-to-market-dental-practice-in-2025.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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