Author: Rachel Wall, RDH, BS
10-19-09

Progressive dental practices strive to be a place of health, well-being and education for their patients. Within those practices you’ll often find a thriving hygiene department supporting not only its patients in achieving oral and systemic health but supporting the health of the practice as well. A well-run hygiene team can create a wealth of passive income for the smart, progressive dentist. If this sounds appealing, the first step is creating an environment that supports your patients with a varied mix of services. A healthy mix of services is the result of time spent developing strong preventive and therapeutic protocols.

Building a passive income product center starts with you, the dentist. You must work with your team to find the products you believe in and then support them wholeheartedly. Taking a proactive approach to protecting patients’ investment in their dental care sends a strong message about the value the dental team places on the care they provide. But before teams can create business success, they must first examine their professional beliefs and build a line of products that support their patients in oral health maintenance.

Let’s face it. Patients ask for your advice about homecare products every day. With a strong professional recommendation, patients feel the team’s commitment to their health even when they are at home. Based on consistent clinical trials, there’s no doubt of the benefits of using power brushes over a manual toothbrush. Power brushes have not only been shown as effective preventive tools but as powerful components of active periodontal therapy care.

Time and time again, the Sonicare brand has shown significant effectiveness in plaque, biofilm and stain removal over manual brushes (reference 1,2,3). In a 2005 study of periodontal maintenance patients, Sonicare was significantly more effective than a manual toothbrush at removing supragingival plaque in a periodontal maintenance population after 8 and 12 weeks (reference 4). It’s also been shown to enhance fluoride penetration through the biofilm, a fact that confirms its power to assist in protecting areas vulnerable to decay such as crown margins and exposed dentin (reference 5). The clinical rationale for providing patients with the support of a high-quality power brush such as Sonicare is clear. These tools provide an opportunity for patients to actively protect the investment they’ve made in restorative, cosmetic, orthodontic and periodontal care.

Another major benefit of recommending home care products is that it sets your practice apart as a center for dental health, not just a place patients come to have their teeth cleaned or “fixed”. Would you rather your patients visit your office to purchase homecare supplies or visit the local retail store? Frequent visits to purchase products creates an opportunity to continue to build the patient-dental team relationship and keep them active in the practice, not to mention contribute to the annual practice revenue.

A 2007 study by Philips Sonicare revealed that patients do in fact, respect and expect product recommendations from their dentist. Eighty-five percent of the patients asked said they would feel more confident in their purchase of a power brush if they bought it from their dentist (reference 6).

In addition, a report in the American Journal of Dermatology showed that up to 30% of prescriptions go unfilled (reference 7). This is a significant statistic if you consider homecare products a ‘prescription’ that you provide your patients. What’s worse, according to the report, is that healthcare providers aren’t aware that the prescription has gone unfilled. Providing products on-site delivers value beyond the clinical benefits. Clinicians know when a patient says ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to professional homecare products. Patients that purchase homecare products from their dentist experience greater value through personal instruction by their dental care provider, lower cost as compared to most retail outlets, and most importantly, a healthcare partner to support them in consistent use and maintenance of their homecare tools.

A productive profit center creates greater practice health through passive revenue. Selling just two power toothbrushes per day can create almost $20,000 annually in additional passive profit. Including such tools in your periodontal and restorative treatment packages can help secure higher fees as well as greater clinical outcomes. Recommending these products not only in hygiene but at completion of restorative procedures builds practice success through productivity, patient satisfaction and referrals.

For more tips, tools and articles to help your hygiene team deliver outstanding care while creating more practice profits go to www.InspiredHygiene.com and www.Sonicare.com/dp.