Warning Signs That Your Dental Practice Isn't Efficient Enough

Warning Signs That Your Dental Practice Isn't Efficient Enough

A dental practice must be efficient, and the beauty of efficiency is that it can always be improved upon! By being intentional in your practice’s efficient workflow, you will see vast improvements in your team as well as in your patient experience. In this article, we will discuss some warning signs to look out for that indicate your practice could use some improvement in its day-to-day efficiency.

Scrambling Between Appointments

How your team times their different tasks at your office directly affects their individual efficiency and productivity, as well as everyone else’s. If you find that you’re scrambling between patients, we recommend combining treatments when possible. For example, you could consider combining crown prep with another treatment. If you have to do fillings and a crown, starting with the fillings will allow you to complete the crown prep in a more timely manner. If there is any downtime during another treatment, use that downtime to work on something else.

Paper Clutter

Clutter is one of the best ways to impede efficiency. Paperwork is obviously important, but if anyone on your team spends more time sifting through it than working with patients, then this is a clear warning sign that it’s time to reconsider your orthodontic or dental office’s workflow. Going completely paperless takes a long time, but making a little progress every day makes a big difference until, eventually, your office is completely paperless and spends only seconds pulling up important documents. 

Mobile Technology, Like OrthoPhoto

Going paperless can begin by improving your paperless dental record-keeping process, so it is completed in an instant. There are many mobile apps for orthodontists, including OrthoPhoto App, which boasts over 1,000 subscribers because many orthodontists and general dentists who offer dental braces are realizing how much this app has streamlined their job. 

OrthoPhoto App is our HIPAA compliant orthodontic application that dentists utilize in order to take clinical images of their patients’ dental braces progress. Using your smartphone, take pictures of your patients’ teeth throughout their braces progress. The application automatically places the images into a predetermined template that organizes them in the proper format, and you can assign each document to individual patient folders with ease.

Dentists and orthodontists no longer need to dedicate extra hours after the office is closed to handle a mountain of clinical images that document different phases in braces progress. Download it today on the App Store and on Google Play so you can also practice better dentistry!

Recommended Smartphone Apps For Dentists And Orthodontists

Recommended Smartphone Apps For Dentists And Orthodontists

If you have a smartphone, then you are well-aware that it seems like new smartphone applications are invented and launched nearly every day. There are plenty out there that are useful for entertainment but also for several practical matters. In this article, we will discuss some of the best mobile applications for orthodontists that aid in making their job easier and creating a more pleasant patient experience.

Dental Desk

Dental Desk is a mobile application for general dentists that specializes in answering questions regarding dental health concerns. This app covers nearly all general dentistry queries, such as issues with toothaches, dental implants, etc. Not only does this help dentists more clearly explain what may be the root cause of a patient’s health concern, but it also provides patients with some extra information on preventative care. 

Download On Google Play

BraceMate

BraceMate is a well-loved app for orthodontists and general dentists to provide their patients with when it comes time for them to undergo dental braces treatment. Patients can use the application to create different patterns for their metal dental braces by manipulating the color of their brackets on the graphic in the app. Once they are pleased with the appearance of their dental braces, they can show their dentist. Additionally, this application teaches patients about the best ways to take care of their teeth while undergoing treatment, thanks to helpful guides. 

Download On The AppStore

Download On Google Play

OrthoPhoto 

For orthodontists and general dentists that offer Invisalign treatment, metal dental braces, and/or ceramic dental braces, OrthoPhoto App is a great asset. It’s essentially a braces camera that allows dentists to take their patients’ clinical images, which document their braces process as they undergo their treatment. Rather than utilizing a specific camera for dentists to take photos, upload them, crop them, load them into a slide show, and sort them into specific albums and files, OrthoPhoto App automates the process.

OrthoPhoto App automatically places the images into a template that organizes them in the correct format (crop, size, order) and places them in the designated patient file to help you save time and become more efficient. With our application, dental record-keeping just became a lot easier!

Download OrthoPhoto App On The AppStore

Download OrthoPhoto App On Google Play

How To Market Your Dental Practice

How To Market Your Dental Practice

Dentists and orthodontists should always market their respective practices because it is crucial for you to have a steady flow of new incoming patients. This ensures you can keep your practice open and that your team can continue working with you. Although it has always been important to market your practice, now more than ever it is even more important. Take advantage of this time to improve your dental marketing strategy by following these tips.

Invest In High-Quality Website Design

The success of your dental marketing strategy greatly depends on the success of your website. This is because Google Ads, Facebook Ads, social media content, and even reviews should all lead viewers and patients back to your website. It also needs to provide a modern, seamless, and user-friendly experience for the visitor on all devices. If you are in need of a brand new dental website, please contact INFINI Marketing to inquire about their Dental Website Package for $249/month.

Be Open About Your Uniqueness So That You Stand Out From Other Dentists And Orthodontists

A major component of a successful dental braces marketing strategy is always highlighting what makes you unique. As an OrthoPhoto App subscriber, you can (and should) openly state why this dental mobile application makes you a better orthodontist. By stating that this mobile application saves your patients’ some extra time at their dental braces appointments and makes dental record-keeping easier for you while protecting their information, you will encourage more website visitors to convert into your newest dental braces patients. Remember, OrthoPhoto is also helpful for dental photography.

In addition to communicating the added value that OrthoPhoto creates for your dental or orthodontic practice, it is important to state other new technologies or tools you have implemented in order to make patient visits all the more pleasant and to provide better patient education, such as these mobile applications for dentists.

Market Your Dental Practice To Expand It And Regularly Welcome New Patients

If you have yet to download OrthoPhoto, you can download it here for iOS and here for Android. Additionally, if you would like to appear on search engines, generate more leads, and have a steady stream of new patients, implementing a winning marketing strategy is sure to help your business.

Different Cameras For Orthodontic Photography

Different Cameras For Orthodontic Photography

Many orthodontists utilize photography as a way to manage their patients’ dental records and their progress through their dental braces treatment. However, orthodontic photography can be used for more than just record-keeping. In this blog post, we will discuss how orthodontists and dentists who offer dental braces can benefit from orthodontic photography and the best cameras to do so.

Dental Marketing With Orthodontic Photography

One reason why photography is valuable for orthodontists is that taking photos during the course of your patients’ braces treatments is a great addition to your overall dental marketing strategy. Real patient photos showcase the before/after of different dental braces treatments, so potential patients can see the value of your work.

Cameras For Orthodontists

Now that you know the value of dental photography, here are some cameras that orthodontists and general dentists who offer braces should consider.

DSLR Camera For Dental Braces

DSLR’s, such as those digital cameras by Canon or Nikon, take beautiful pictures and high-quality video. Newer digital cameras even shoot video in 4K, which is a great way to film patient testimonials that can later be uploaded to your dental practice’s website or social media. DSLRs also offer close-up (macro) lenses. However, all of these features make DSLR’s a bit of an investment and may do more than what you need.

Point-And-Shoot Cameras For Dentists To Take Braces Progress Images

Point-and-shoot cameras offer just enough for dentists to get the most use out of them, and they are far simpler to use than a DSLR because, as their name states, all they require from you is to point it and shoot the picture. Unfortunately, these photos lack the quality and clarity that DSLR’s offer. In order to really boost your dental marketing strategy with images, they need to be high-quality.

OrthoPhoto App’s Camera For Streamlined Dental Recordkeeping

OrthoPhoto App, which is now available for iOS and Android has successfully (and affordably) automated the time-consuming process of capturing and sorting treatment progress images for patients wearing dental braces. With a typical camera, dentists have to take the photos, upload them, manually crop and organize them into a file, and then place them into a patient’s file. OrthoPhoto App automatically places the braces progress photos into a template with the correct crop, size, and order and then places them in a specific patient file that is also easily exportable. You can learn more about why OrthoPhoto app is a must-have smartphone application for dentists and orthodontists here.

What Patients Look For In A Good Orthodontist

What Patients Look For In A Good Orthodontist

As patients prepare to go back to their dentist, they may be considering switching dentists, which is great timing if you are looking to expand your dental practice and welcome new patients. Here is what patients look for in a genuinely good dentist or orthodontist besides their qualifications. 

A Compassionate Dentist

Unfortunately, some dentists tend to be closed off to their patients and just focus on performing the necessary treatment, but compassionate dentistry puts the patient’s comfort before anything else. 

Compassionate dentistry involves treating patients as more than a source of income and building a solid relationship based on trust and reliability. Before their appointment officially begins, we recommend for orthodontists to speak with their patients to see how they’re doing in life. Ask about any exciting news or plans and inquire about how their week has gone so far. 

During treatment, it’s always a good idea to walk them through the process. Explain what you’re doing, what your patient can expect, and tell them to let you know if something causes discomfort in their teeth or gums. This lets your patients know that you want them to be comfortable. Practicing compassionate dentistry encourages even the most introverted patients to feel safe telling you their concerns.

Modern Technology In Order For Orthodontists To Provide High-Quality Dental Care

In the last few years, orthodontics treatments such as Invisalign (and similar alternatives) have grown in popularity. Over the years, metal and ceramic dental braces have become lighter in weight so patients don’t feel as much pain or discomfort throughout their treatment. If dental braces are improving as the years go by, your technology should keep up.

This technology could include anything from:

  • 3D modeling (instead of typical molds for impressions)
  • New and improved 3D modeling for predicting and designing the course of your patient’s dental braces progress
  • Mobile applications that prioritize patient education
  • OrthoPhoto, our smartphone app that revolutionizes how orthodontists and general dentists who also offer braces can capture their patient’s dental braces progress

Instead of relying on a bulky camera and spending hours trying to sort dental records into your patients’ files, OrthoPhoto App streamlines this process by enabling dentists to take photos of all of their patients' braces progress right within the application. The photos are then automatically sorted into a pre-templated document that is easily exported and placed in the patient’s records. You can download OrthoPhoto for iOS here and OrthoPhoto for Android here.