Four Tips to Maximize
Your Whitening Potential
by Gary Takacs
People today want whiter, brighter teeth! Patients who whiten their teeth often become better patients. After whitening, patients brush better, floss more frequently, keep their appointments more regularly, and simply have a greater interest in their teeth. Embracing whitening in your practice has the ultimate benefit of creating increased patient interest in cosmetic and restorative dentistry. This article will present four specific techniques you can use to dramatically increase the whitening volume in your practice.
I'll list the four techniques and then I'll provide detailed explanation:
Take a shade match at the beginning of every hygiene appointment as part of your record keeping process
Of all the things you can do to promote whitening in your practice, perhaps the most effective technique is for your hygienist to take a shade match at the beginning of every hygiene appointment as part of your record keeping process. Here's an example of how your hygienist might explain the process to your patient:
Hygienist: "Gary, today I am going to do something a little different at the beginning of your appointment. I am going to start by taking a shade match of your current tooth color. The reason we do this is that we now know that tooth color changes over time. It tends to darken with age. I'll note your current tooth color in our records."
Now, your hygienist can show the patient their tooth color using a shade guide. I recommend organizing the shade guide in chromatic order from dark to light. By the way, the average tooth color of an American adult is A3.5! Here's how this step might sound:
Hygienist: "I'd like to show you your tooth color on this shade guide. I have organized this guide from dark to light and your current tooth color is about here."
This process is amazingly effective because it provides a visual demonstration to the patient of the potential to whiten their teeth. The perspective provided by the shade guide often causes the patient to say, "I didn't realize my teeth were that dark." Back to top of page
Offer whitening today (or soon)
If the patient shows any interest in whitening, you can move on to my second technique; namely, to offer whitening today (or soon). Here's how that might sound: (In my example, I am assuming you are providing in-office whitening, but the technique can also be used for take home trays).
Hygienist: "We have you scheduled for a hygiene appointment today. If you could stay a little longer, after your hygiene appointment we could whiten your teeth and you could leave today with a whiter, brighter smile. There are two benefits to doing this today. 1) You don't have to come back. You are already here and we can save you a trip by doing it today and 2) Our experience shows that whitening works best when it follows a professional cleaning."
I am going to ask you to have an open mind regarding this recommendation! I fully realize that this technique may not work every time. You may not have an available treatment room or the patient may not be able to extend their appointment. But you may be very surprised to see how often this can work if your entire team is tuned in to the opportunity.
One of my clients adds two whitening procedures to the schedule each and every day by embracing this technique! This is a solo-doctor office with two hygienists. If this office can do it, so can you. Think about how this benefits the practice. We have added significant production each and every day, and even more importantly, at the end of the month this office has 30-40 patients who experienced whitening and for many of these patients will be interested in more smile improvements.
To be able to consistently add whitening procedures to your schedule it is wise to cross-train as many team members in your office as possible to provide whitening. By doing so you will likely have a person who can provide whitening if the patient would like to have the procedure today. Back to top of page
Recommend whitening as the first procedure for all patients scheduled for restorative treatment
My third technique is to recommend whitening as the first procedure for all patients scheduled for restorative treatment. This is something that most dentists know, but simply do not consistently do. Think about it. If the patient is going to have any restorative treatment, a great service is to whiten their teeth first to get a brighter foundation color that you can then match the restoration to. Here's how to present that technique:
Dental Assistant: "I understand that Dr. has recommended some tooth colored fillings for those teeth on your lower left. Now would be a great time to consider whitening because by doing so we can get a whiter foundation color that Dr. can then match your new fillings to."
Most patients are very responsive to this suggestion and they end up with greater treatment satisfaction. Most people want good oral health and a whiter, brighter smile. By using this technique, you will be providing both benefits! Back to top of page
Value-price whitening
Now, let's talk about pricing. Most of the time I am encouraging doctors to increase their fees, however with whitening I encourage you to value price the service as a means of encouraging more people to obtain the service. In most parts of the country, I'd suggest a fee of $495 for in-office whitening. This represents a real value for the patient. I recently conducted some research on whitening pricing and found the average fee nationwide for in-office whitening to be $725. If you follow my counsel on pricing here's how you can present the fee to patients:
Patient: "How much is whitening?"
Financial Coordinator: "Gary, just so you know the average fee nationwide for in-office whitening id $725, however we are so excited about the results we see that we offer whitening as a courtesy to our patients at $495. That includes the custom take home trays and touch up gel that allows you to get nice, long-lasting results. It's really a great value!"
Whitening is still profitable at $495 and it's a price point that most patients can comfortably write a check or put it on a credit card.
Consider the four techniques presented in this article as a means of developing the whitening component of your practice to full potential. I'd suggest a first-stage goal to do one whitening procedure per day and once you have reached that goal, I'd suggest the next goal be 20-30 procedures per month. I have clients all over the country that are achieving these results, and they are seeing heightened interest in cosmetic and restorative care as a byproduct. Developing the whitening component to full potential can literally revolutionize your practice! Back to top of page
Gary Takacs is a noted authority on the business of dentistry. His passion is coaching dentists to develop an enjoyable and profitable practice. In addition to speaking and coaching, Gary is the founder of dentistry's most unique continuing education; Ride and Learn (Harley-Davidson trips and dental CE), and Race and Learn (High performance driving and dental CE). Gary may be reached by e-mail at gary@garytakacs.com.
