The Art of the Online Smile Assessment

More than enough patients

There is no doubt that people are searching for dental care online more than ever before and this trend will only continue to grow each year.  People are extremely busy and they put a huge value on their time the same way you do. So they turn to the internet in search of basic information regarding dental services BEFORE committing their precious time to visit you in person.  To solidify their decision, they expect some level of transparency related to treatment fees which traditionally is highly discouraged in the dental industry.

We view this traditional approach as a major barrier to accessing millions of potential patients.

However, I do sense a transition is occurring.  Of all my discussions around SmileSnap, I have yet to hear a single dentist or industry-related professional deny that we are headed in this direction.  It is not a matter of “if” but “when”. Clearly, the need for a full-service digital platform to facilitate initial patient engagement exists. Welcome to SmileSnap 🙂

I’m definitely curious, but…

The big question on every dentist’s mind is, do online smile assessments work?  The short answer is, ABSOLUTELY!!  We see it work every single day. Patients submit their profiles requesting smile assessments 7 days a week around the clock.  Providers easily respond without disruption to their day and designated team members quickly follow up to schedule them for an office consultation.  It’s really cool to watch the success.

However, SmileSnap is not a panacea or a magic button on your website.  It is a marketing tool and communication platform that will produce new patients but only if implemented and utilized correctly.  It is not difficult to integrate into a dental practice but to be successful it does require the following:

Marketing: Execution of a well-designed marketing strategy is essential to create awareness and drive traffic to the widget.  Social media and email campaigns are very effective methods.

Website: Creating a section or page to educate the patient about online smile assessments is important to receiving quality profile submissions.

Workflow: Implementing an efficient process to respond and follow-up is key to converting online consumers into new patients.  Speed is key and SmileSnap is built with that in mind.

So, WIIFM (what’s in it for me?)

The patient benefits of convenience and transparency are obvious but what about the provider?  Here are some benefits to consider for your dental or specialty practice:

• Increase access to patients searching for dental services online
• Improve patient engagement by providing meaningful information
• Filter out “price shoppers” before wasting valuable office time
• Direct phone request for pricing to a smile assessment
• Resolve scheduling conflicts before they look elsewhere
• Service rural areas more effectively
• Preview a patient case to eliminate surprises
• Re-engage with “No-Show” consultations
• Shorten the time of an office consultation
• Differentiate your practice

Together we all win

Our vision is to make oral healthcare accessible to everyone and we believe SmileSnap will ultimately expand the entire dental market by connecting more patients with providers.  Healthcare markets are embracing technologies that increase access and our platform is continually evolving to bridge that gap.  Our mission is to deliver pre-qualified patients through online smile assessments and help our customers grow their business.  Providing a quality digital patient experience is going to be standard of care one day and you should begin offering it today.