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Consumers expect convenience and efficiency in all aspects of life. The orthodontic industry is far from immune to these changing expectations.
Is your practice positioned for the next revolution in online care? Take your orthodontist hat off for a second and read this as a regular consumer.
I expect to be able to order my retainers online from my orthodontist. If they don’t offer that, I will likely find someone who will. Right here from my couch. Just like my friend did.
If you don’t agree, stop reading here.
The standard has been set from hundreds of online services for life’s essential items. In one click, we save hours of time to deliver almost anything to our doorstep. The technology is available, and consumers are ready and asking for this service. The time is now. Patients want and expect online services from their orthodontist, just like they do from other healthcare providers like : 1-800 Contacts, Telehealth, Warby Parker, HSA on Amazon Prime, prescription deliveries and many more.
Let’s take Smile Direct Club as an example - they started treatment for over 2 million patients in a short amount of time. They got one thing right, and one thing VERY wrong.
What they got right - they recognized the needs of patients (consumers) are changing. SDC’s marketing suggested that treatment could be easier and more convenient. Millions of consumers raised their hands and held out their wallets offering thousands of dollars per person for the prospect of improved aesthetics and a better smile that could be managed from home - with clear aligners and without going into an office dozens of times. SDC offered easy, online, and affordable.
What they got wrong - they went direct to the customer and cut the doctor out of the process. It’s unclear how many patients experienced damage to their teeth from the false promises of this company. Many more now need to spend thousands of dollars with a doctor to correct the mistakes created by a process that tried to cut out the knowledge, experience, and services of a doctor.
Dental and orthodontic professionals can learn valuable lessons from this. Can we provide the highest level of doctor managed care while listening to patients’ needs, giving them choices, reducing unnecessary appointments, providing online services, and offering affordability? Yes we can! Here are 3 examples of services that help practices provide those solutions:
Here at Retainer Club, we partner directly with practices to make it easy for patients to replace their retainers with 24/7 online ordering. The control is in the doctor's hands as to which patients can order online vs. which patients should be seen in the practice. Retainer Club is the bridge between orthodontic results provided by a doctor and Straight Teeth for Life®. We offer easy, online, and affordable - exactly what the consumer wants.
OrthoFi - online patient forms, flexible payment options that are easy for the consumer to understand, and metrics for the practice to better understand their patients and their communities. Orthofi brings affordability (flexible payment options chosen by the patient) to patients while making the process of paying for treatment consumer friendly and online.
Grin® - helping orthodontists, dentists, and patients connect with mostly remote visits.
Consumers expect easy, convenient and online from almost every service in their lives. Orthodontics is complicated and we know that patients need to be under the care of a doctor for optimal care. Practices that offer online services will survive and thrive while those that only offer in office, complicated, and expensive will fail. We believe a hybrid solution of in-office and online will be the only choice for consumers who are looking for top notch clinical care and convenience.
Ready to be a part of the digital orthodontic revolution? Schedule your FREE Retainer Club Demo today.