More and more of my practice is adult orthodontics. Not that
I particularly enjoy treating adults. I do not! They are more complicated
and often have extensive medical, dental and emotional
histories. I do enjoy working hard to produce as much dentistry as
possible. I do enjoy being busy and working at my highest capacity.
Working at my highest capacity allows me to reach the financial and
practice goals I've set out to achieve.
So what do adults want? Frankly, adult patients want what
every other patient wants. Excellent treatment that is aesthetic,
quick, inexpensive and convenient. If you want your practice to
grow significantly in this new modern economy, look at what you
can do to deliver on these simple straightforward desires. You don't
have to be everything to everyone, just make sure you're looking
out for what your patients seek.
Aesthetic
Regardless of your opinions on ceramic brackets and clear aligners,
they're here to stay. Make sure that you include them as part of your
treatment-option discussion. Whether they choose these treatment
modalities or not is up to the patient. Discuss and document their
limitations and treatment drawbacks. You're not selling appliances
or even treatment. You are selling results. Happy patients are those
who know that you are listening to their desires and concerns and are
willing to come up with a plan that meets their expectations.
Quick
Adult patients want their orthodontic treatment to be quick.
One of my most satisfied patients was a woman who had a 3mm
diastema and was getting married in six weeks. She was willing
to be seen weekly and was willing to do whatever it took to make
sure her teeth looked the way she wanted for her wedding photos.
While she could have had veneers done in that time, the proportions
of her teeth would have looked less than ideal. Metal, low
friction braces together with propel micro perforations allowed
the treatment to be done on time and with a wonderful result.
While it's important to make sure we get paid appropriately for
these short-term orthodontic cases, experience has shown that
there is a market for accelerated treatment. I heard it best said by
our very own Townie, Flybywire, who shared this on the message
boards: Expecting traditional orthodontics to provide for us
may be shortsighted and disastrous. Why we as a profession have
not taken over the short-term orthodontics trend is befuddling to
me. Who can do it better than an orthodontist? Let's advertise it
and own it!
Inexpensive
Have you ever heard a patient say “I just want retainers.”? When
confronted with these patients it's important to get to the bottom of
what “just retainers” really means. The two very different messages
could be, “I'm not going to pay a lot for this treatment” or “there's no
way I'm going back into braces.” If the statement reflects a limited
budget, a quick cost analysis will tell you that it's much cheaper for
you to place limited fixed appliances rather than monkeying around
with a removable appliance. I've been guilty of thinking there's no
way I'm letting a patient out of my office with braces for less than a
certain amount. The reality is that the 40 percent to 60 percent profit
margin we enjoy as orthodontists is not always a realistic expectation
for treatments that last less than six months. Rather, when quoting
fees for these limited adult treatment plans, you should be thinking
what percent of capacity you're currently running. In my opinion it's
better to run a full schedule with lower profit margins than have a
ghost town of a schedule with higher profit margins.
Convenient
The types of patients who can afford orthodontic treatment are
typically working professionals and thus need to have convenient
times to come and get their treatment performed. Appointment
times before work, during work, and after work should accommodate
even the busiest of working professionals. Make sure that
your office has the excellent communication that these professionals
need. Can they text your office? Do you provide these needed
hours? What are you doing to cater to this aspect of your community?
Do you charge significantly more for adult orthodontics?
Have you created an environment where adult patients feel comfortable
with your practice? The point is, adult orthodontics has
the potential to greatly increase your ability to work at capacity.
Making accommodations for the needs of adult patients that are
convenient to them only boosts your bottom line.
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