Responding to the Dental Demand Spike

How Dental Practices Are Dealing With An Increased Demand For Services – The demand for dental services is on the rise, which should be viewed as a good thing for dental practices. More demand means more business – though there’s a problem. All of this demand puts a strain on the businesses themselves, making it hard to keep up with the constant calls for appointments. Patients slip through their grasp, which can mean that many individuals go untreated.

What are dental businesses doing to deal with the increased demand for services?

It’s tough because there’s a need to take on more patients, yet things stop this from happening. Nevertheless, many dental practices are implementing a few smart ideas to ensure more patients are able to make appointments and get the help they require.

Hiring Virtual Assistants

In various cases, dentists can’t take on patients because they’re too busy to man the phones and take calls for appointments. Hiring multiple receptionists can cost far too much money, which means patients are going to slip through the cracks because they can’t get past the first stage of booking an appointment.

As a result, we’re seeing a trend of more virtual assistants for dental practices. Dental business owners recognise that the simplest solution to handle more enquiries is to have more people manning the phones. Virtual assistants ensure that real people take the calls, yet without the overhead costs of hiring numerous in-house receptionists. Therefore, more patients can call in and be booked for appointments ASAP.

Offering Online Booking Systems

Similarly, lots of dental practices are implementing online booking systems that revoke the need for phone calls. Some patients are still going to call, but the online systems ensure there’s a more accessible way for people to book appointments during this dental crisis.

It’s all about making dental appointments easier for people to make, which prevents individuals from missing out and going without treatment. It’s especially important for local dentists to take on as many patients as possible when you consider that most adults have to travel over 40 miles to access dental care. Dentists must make themselves available, and online bookings allow this.

Partnering With Other Dental Specialists

A dental practice will normally handle various dental treatments, though some recognise that they’re not fully equipped to deal with the rising demands from the general public. As more and more people seek dental services, we’re seeing plenty of dental practices partner with other dental specialists.

For instance, a general dentistry practice will partner with another local orthodontist to “share” their services. Patients can visit the dentist and be referred to their orthodontal partner for the necessary treatment – and vice versa. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement that helps both businesses treat more patients, and it allows more patients to be seen because dental businesses share the load.

As the public suffers from more dental health concerns than in recent years, there will continue to be a growing demand for general dentistry services. Dental practices need to adapt to this and ensure they can handle the added demand for their work, and these are three examples of how many dentists are doing just that.