8 Actionable Tips to Stay Top of Mind with Dental Patients
Managing patient communications can seem overwhelming. Yet, it’s well worth the effort. Effective patient communication helps your practice stay top of mind with dental patients, encouraging rebooking, referrals, and loyalty.
No matter what communications system you use within your practice, implementing a few best practices can make staying connected simple and effective.
(And, there’s good news: It doesn’t have to be complicated. An easy-to-use patient communications platform that syncs directly with your practice management software is a time-saving superhero.)
No matter what communications system you use within your practice, implement these 8 best practices to stay top of mind with your patients.
Send Text Messages
Research has shown that text reminders are an effective way to improve patient compliance for appointments and other medical outcomes. It’s no surprise, considering over 5 billion people worldwide use a cell phone.
Your patients absolutely fit into that group.
Many patients prefer text messages over other forms of communication, and some even take it into consideration when evaluating your practice as a whole.
Text message reminders are easy to implement and require fewer hours to complete compared to other communication methods like email and phone calls.
Personalized text messages are especially effective. Direct, personalized messages are a great technique to encourage patients to book appointments, especially if you allow them to actually make the appointment over text. Auto-generated text messages, on the other hand, are great for communications that require less of a personal touch, like appointment reminders.
Use Email Marketing
Email marketing keeps you top of mind with your patients without seeming overly sales-y. Well-written emails maintain communication and build a relationship, meaning your interactions with patients aren’t only when they need to book an exam.
Newsletters offer an opportunity to communicate a variety of topics, including new products, services, or team members. They’re also a good way to communicate initiatives like community involvement and charitable work. If you have a blog, videos, or want to communicate other dental care tips, a newsletter can be a place to share that information, too.
Create Videos
Videos are another communication technique that help create consistent touchpoints with your patients. Video is a highly engaging way to communicate the messages you find yourself repeating at every appointment or the facts you wish your patients knew.
Sharing your knowledge demonstrates a commitment to your patients’ (and the community’s) health because even if someone can’t visit you in person, you can still offer high-level dental information.
As an added bonus, an optimized YouTube channel featuring a variety of informative videos can help drive traffic and potential patients to your website.
Acknowledge Birthdays
Almost everyone likes to be recognized on their birthday, including your patients.
An email or a postcard is an easy way to show you value your patients outside of the dental chair. Birthdays create a communication opportunity that isn’t focused around an appointment and ultimately, an exchange of money. Plus, birthdates are information you should already have on file.
Ask for Feedback
Asking for feedback from your patients creates a communication opportunity that might not have existed otherwise, demonstrating that you value patient feedback.
You can do this by encouraging patients to write public reviews or by asking patients to complete an internal survey. Whatever method you choose, both offer a valuable opportunity to learn what patients like about your practice.
Today’s consumers often read reviews before choosing a business, and dental is no exception. Having a large variety of reviews on Google and other platforms is essential.
Engage on Social Media
Social media is a great way to reach patients where they are already spending their time. More than 5.6 billion people use social media as of the writing of this post, with the average person spending 143 minutes per day on social platforms.
A patient may be reluctant to open an email or answer a phone call, but they’ll see your Instagram reel as they scroll through their feed. Creating engaging and informative content can help keep your practice top of mind.
Customize Your Messaging
Ultimately, every patient is an individual and one communication technique won’t work for every patient. This is especially true if you serve a variety of demographics. What serves a 72-year-old denture patient likely won’t work for a 25-year-old whitening patient.
Everyone has their own communication preferences, which is why you should allow patients to choose their preferred communication method. Whether they prefer text, phone, or email, make a note of it in their file so you’re reaching your patients in the most effective way possible. It’s also a good idea to confirm contact information whenever a patient visits for an appointment.
Use the Right Patient Communication Software to Stay Top of Mind With Dental Patients
Patient communication tools are no longer “nice to have.” They’re essential for staying top-of-mind, filling schedules, and building loyalty. But traditional communication platforms stop at sending messages. MaxAssist goes further.
Yes, MaxAssist makes communication effortless with:
- Two-way texting
- Smart recall and reactivation outreach
- Email marketing
- Personalized appointment reminders
- Automated welcome, birthday, and review requests
- Post-visit follow-ups
But what makes MaxAssist different is the impact it can make within the practice.
Instead of just tracking activity, MaxAssist delivers actionable insight and real-time accountability so you can keep the schedule on track, fill openings with ease, see what’s working, close the loop on unscheduled treatment, and confidently show its impact to your doctor.
In short: it’s more than just a patient communication platform. It’s visibility, action, and growth built into one system.
See How MaxAssist Will Impact Your Practice
If you’re ready to see how MaxAssist can elevate patient communication and your bottom line, schedule a demo to see it in action.
