Here at DSD, we’ve long been firm believers in the power of Invisalign® to provide more value for patients and clinicians alike. DSD Founder and CEO Christian Coachman explains:
“I love solutions that are ethically the best solution for the patient, but in addition to that, also provide a good business model for the dental clinic owner. The best outcome is when we can incorporate ethical solutions that are great for the health and the wellbeing of our patients and in addition to that, are also good for our business model and our office. And I believe that Invisalign is one of those options. It’s a combination of both: it's great for the patient, it's great for treatment and it's great for your business.” Christian Coachman
And the results of a recent study* by Align Technology® Inc back up this belief. To quantify the real-life business impact on dental clinics that incorporate Invisalign® clear aligner therapy into their treatment offerings, they surveyed dental clinics in key regions such as North America, Europe, Japan and China about key business metrics such as practice growth and patient retention.
We’ve taken a look at the numbers to show you five ways that Invisalign treatment could benefit your practice👇👇
The first benefit revealed in the Align Technology study* is that offering Invisalign clear aligners as a treatment option can lead to practice growth. In North America, it was found that 67% of surveyed dentists reported an increase of new patients after adding this treatment to their practice. In Europe this was 69%, China 88% and Japan 72%*. And what’s more, their new patient volume increased by between 18-25%*.
We’ve all had patients in our chair who aren’t willing to wear braces. Whether they’ve already had them as a teenager or they don’t want to draw attention to their teeth, the result is that even people who recognize a need for orthodontic work don’t want to undergo what they expect to be long, uncomfortable treatment.
But this is where the Invisalign approach is different. It’s a treatment that is often perceived differently by patients. Christian Coachman expands: “Who wouldn't like to hear that the treatment will be non-invasive? Comfortable? And efficient? These three words are very good to describe clear aligner treatments. Non-invasive, comfortable and efficient. If you're doing veneers, and you plan aligners before, you can usually position the gums better, distribute the spaces better, position the teeth in a way that lets you do more delicate tooth preparation and enamel preservation. You can usually position the teeth to have better occlusion, better function, better load distribution, better longevity. If you move the teeth properly, you can usually facilitate the process of designing restorations, emergence profile, closing diastemas, and removing black triangles.”
By educating patients about these advantages we benefit not just patients - who finally receive the tooth movement they need to improve the health and appearance of their smile - but also our own practice by bringing in and treating a new segment of patients.
It was also found that not only can Invisalign clear aligner treatment bring in more patients, it could actually increase the likelihood that patients will accept other recommended treatments: in North America, 90% of the surveyed dentists agree Invisalign patients are more willing to accept recommended esthetic and restorative procedures (Europe, 89%; China, 95%; Japan, 87%)*.
As healthcare providers, this is a clear benefit for patients who gain even more from further treatment to improve their health or their wellbeing. But it’s also a result that brings a significant advantage to you as a clinician. Successfully encouraging patients to go forward with other treatments increases average patient treatment spend, which means greater efficiency in your clinic – increasing your profit without increasing your working hours.
“The goal is to make your time more profitable. By generating value, by attracting the right patients, treating these patients more efficiently, getting better results, and getting better word of mouth referrals because of the results. Growing your business without working more – it's working less and profiting more. It’s smart strategies. The only way to work less and make more money - or at least work the same and make more money - is to attract the right patients, treat them in a more efficient way and fascinate them even more,” says Christian Coachman.In the Covid-19 landscape, dentists around the world will attest to the importance of building lasting, meaningful relationships with patients. And this is another benefit that was experienced by the clinics surveyed in this study: in North America, 89% of the surveyed dentists agree Invisalign treatment helps to improve doctor-patient relationships. In Europe this was 75%, in China 90% and in Japan 95%*.
What’s more, in North America 85% of surveyed dentists reported that they built greater trust with patients (Europe 83%, China 94%, Japan 99%)*.
This relationship building begins before your patient even steps into your clinic. Here at DSD we believe it’s all to do with how you brand yourself, how you differentiate yourself and how you tell compelling stories that resonate with patients and their goals for their new smiles. When the right patient is offered the right treatment, with benefits for their health and wellbeing, this has an undeniably positive impact on the doctor-patient relationship.
“It’s starting with the end in mind: promoting the benefits of a healthy, confident smile to your community and bringing people to you because they want a better smile. And since many of these smiles ideally require tooth movement, letting them know that you have the best tool to make the tooth movement happen. It's all about telling a story to your community. Telling them that you have the right tools to transform smiles, including tooth movement” explains Christian CoachmanWhen you can consistently treat the right patients using the right treatment, this leads to not just better patient-doctor relationships throughout treatment, but increased patient loyalty.
“There's a huge amount of patients that need orthodontics that are underdiagnosed or, even worse, are not offered the best solution because the dentist doesn't feel confident in moving teeth in a predictable way.
There's also this feeling among restorative dentists that if they can avoid orthodontics or referring the patient to the orthodontist it's better for them. That if they do refer, the patient will never come back, lose motivation and not do the restorations. But really, it's about differentiating yourself by understanding the power of incorporating tooth movement in comprehensive smile rehabilitations.” Christian Coachman
Among the surveyed dentists who agreed that they have successfully integrated Invisalign clear aligner therapy into their practice, 79% of those in North America developed higher-patient practice retention with patients treated with Invisalign clear aligner therapy (Europe, 63%; China, 85%; Japan, 84%)*.
As clinicians, improving patient health and wellbeing must be our ultimate goal – and it’s another of the clearest advantages that came out of the Align study. In North America, 100% of the surveyed dentists reported that Invisalign treatment improves patients’ confidence in their smile. In Europe and China this was 97%, and in Japan, 98%*.
This desire to improve our patients’ health and how they feel about their smiles with Invisalign clear aligners, with no need for invasive treatment, is also one of the driving forces behind our brand-new Masterclass: Grow Your Aligner Business.
Christian Coachman explains how it came about: “We want more patients benefiting from great Invisalign treatments. I believe that a smile rehabilitation dentist, without understanding tooth movement, is not really a smile rehabilitation dentist. If you're trying to push smile rehabilitations and smile makeovers to your patients, and you're not considering tooth movement, in many cases you're missing the point and you're not offering the best for your patients.
Tooth movement should be explored more, it should be considered more. Dentists in general should better understand the beauty of moving teeth, the advantages of moving teeth, the reasons why moving teeth in many cases is an advantage for the patient. We also understand that after we fall in love with the possibility of moving teeth, after we understand the benefits, we need to then master the process of convincing the patient.” Christian Coachman
Grow Your Aligner Business Masterclass with DSD
While Invisalign technology has made the process of moving teeth more affordable, more comfortable and more controlled, there is still a great deal of skill and knowledge required by providers to master the techniques and ClinCheck® treatment planning.
You need a clear strategy for success, and that’s what the Grow Your Aligner Business Masterclass with DSD is designed to give you. We’ll help you step out of your comfort zone with smart strategies to brand yourself as a smile rehabilitator, attract the right patients and treat them efficiently. Differentiate yourself by understanding the power of tooth movement in comprehensive smile rehabilitations.
Stop avoiding aligner treatment!
Upgrading your skill and know-how in this area is the key to increasing case acceptance and average patient treatment spend, and growing your success without working even longer hours.
If you’re a dentist eager to step out of your comfort zone and excel with Invisalign treatment, you can access the DSD Grow Your Aligner Business Masterclass with Christian Coachman completely FREE until 1/02/2021.
Register now to take full advantage of the full free-access window. 👇
This post was written by DSD in partnership with Align Technology.
Disclaimers
* To view the full disclaimer and survey details for each region for the data used in this post, please click here to see the study:
GP Invisalign integration claims
NA, EU, China, Japan
Updated January 10, 2020
Align Technology, INC