dental letters |

Hello Friends,

The month of September is a great month to get your “Use it or Lose it!” letters and emails out to your patients. This is for all of your patients that have dental benefits that renew on January 1^st.and patients with FSA or HSA dollars that expire at the end of the year. Especially helpful for your patients that are /pastdue/due/or due this year for their hygiene visit and/or with treatment that is yet to be started or needs to be completed and their remaining dental insurance maximums are getting ready to expire.

Time to remind them to Use it or Lose it! – Get your letters, emails and text messages out to your patients reminding them to use any insurance benefits they have remaining for the year to complete any needed treatment or for their continuing care hygiene appointment before they lose them.

Some offices choose to mail these letters out in early September. I think October works well too. Remember, the closer it gets to the end of the year the more difficult it becomes to get them to schedule and you may not even have room in your schedule to accommodate them.

Your goal is to get them from the filing cabinet/computer to the schedule!

Personalize – When mailing out remaining maximum letters, be sure to customize for each patient according to their treatment plan. This will help to re-create the urgency and value for treatment. For some patients, it will take some type of additional incentive to get them to act. Perhaps, include a gift certificate for $ off of their treatment if it’s completed and paid for by December 31st. Not redeemable for cash. Or the opportunity to enter a raffle for a really great prize!

Here is a scripting idea for your “Use it or Lose it! letters:

2018 is just around the corner! We want to remind you to take advantage of any unused dental insurance benefits. Make sure to use all available benefits to complete any outstanding treatment or for your all important preventive dental hygiene appointment. Almost all plans do not let you rollover unused dollars to the next benefit year. So, Use ‘Em or Lose ‘Em!

If you have funds set aside in a flexible spending account (FSA) or healthcare saving account (HSA), now is the time to schedule treatment so your co-payment amounts can be applied to this year’s deductions.

Call us today to schedule your appointment. We find that the holiday season is always our “busy time” and we are certain it is a very busy time for you too.

Beat the end of year rushes and get in early, our phone number is ………

We’re ready to help you smile healthier & happier in 2018!

Take this opportunity to add a P.S. message to the end of your letter, telling your patients all about your specials on teeth whitening. Many people at this time of year are looking to whiten their teeth for their end of year celebration family photos, or to buy gifts for family and friends.

For example…

P.S. Now is a great time to whiten & brighten your smile for your end of year celebration photos. We have some fantastic whitening specials! Teeth whitening gift cards also make a wonderful gift.

P.P.S. Did you know we are on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter? “Like” us on Facebook at … and “follow” us on Instagram, and Twitter at …- This way you can stay up to date with all our office events & news plus have a chance at exclusive offers & contests.

Mailing Tip – Use a bright-colored envelope and neatly hand-write the name and address. Use a “live” stamp. This will take a little more time to do but your patients are more likely to open an envelope that looks like it’s from a friend and not their dentist.

Phone Calls – About a week after you mail out your letters, go ahead and start calling them to see if they received the letter and to schedule them an appointment.

Document – Be sure to document that a letter was mailed, phone calls were made and what type of response you received from each patient.

Important Reminder – Before sending out these letters and making calls to your patients be sure to review your upcoming appointment schedule… Where is your open chair time? Will pre-blocking some open time be helpful? Also, before scheduling last minute appointments that require lab work, be sure to communicate with your lab guy/gal that they can, in fact, get these cases back to you in time.

Wishing you all a full schedule for the end of the year!

Please comment below to share your ideas or to give this post a like.

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Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest

Hello Friends,

What does the start of 2016 look like for you? With a clear vision and plan, are you excited and hopeful for the opportunity to exceed last years production and collection goals?

Or…

Are you concerned that it will be a repeat of last years disappointing numbers?

Last year did you struggle with any of the following?

Low treatment plan acceptance from your patients.
Not knowing your active and inactive patient numbers.
Hygiene continuing care reports were a nightmare.
Too many holes in the schedule.
Poor treatment presentation skills.
Too many patients left the practice and you don’t know why.
Not enough time to keep your office social media sites current.

Don’t struggle another minute, plan now to make 2016 your BEST year yet! Get whatever help and training you need and want to make the necessary improvements. Feel free to contact me for a complimentary, no obligation consultation at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com.

Today, I’d like to help you tackle one of those struggles… your inactive patients. Let’s reactivate all of your patients that haven’t been in for one year or longer. The start of the new year is a great time to make a plan for reactivating your patients…. (attack that File Cabinet…or computer patient database!)

dental patient reactivation letter

Ideally, daily, weekly and monthly efforts should be made to develop and maintain relationships with your patients in order to keep them active. However, if for whatever reason your inactive patient database is growing – take steps now to welcome those patients back in to the schedule. You can start by sending a We Miss You reactivation letter.

The following letter can easily be customized to your practice:

WE MISS YOU!

Dear ,

You may not realize how long it has been since we’ve seen you.

We understand how hectic life can be, and it’s easy to put off a visit to the dentist.

We sincerely care about your dental health, and we’re concerned when you miss out on your regular dental visits. With regular check-ups and good home care, dentistry can help you maintain your oral health – and overall health.

Please call xxx xxx today to reserve your appointment and to take advantage of our “let’s get re-acquainted” offer:

Present this letter at your appointment and receive

$25 toward your dental treatment and a

complimentary oral cancer screening.

If you haven’t been in because you are seeing another dentist, please let us know. This way, we can update our records and we’ll know you’re receiving your all important dental care.

A welcoming smile is waiting for you!

Yours for better dental health,
Additional Suggestions:

Include a deadline to respond.
Use a handwritten colored envelope (Grab their attention!).
Have two offers: One for your patient and one for a friend, family member, co-worker or neighbor.
Make a call to the patients about a week after mailing the letter.
Be sure to document all attempts at contacting the patient and the response.
Include Social Media & Office Contact Information.

Betty Hayden Consulting is ready to help you create a fantastic marketing plan that will surely exceed your patients expectations and or help you with your practice management concerns and goals. Contact Betty at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com to set up your no obligation, complimentary consultation.

Make it a GREAT Day!

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest