Advancing Your Dental Practice

Are you a dentist looking to enhance your practice? Adding advanced and cosmetic dentistry services can be a great way to attract new patients and retain your current ones. 

As you consider all of your options, it helps to know which choices are preferred among potential patients! Today we’re taking a closer look at five of the most popular routes and how you can get started as soon as possible.

1. Composite Fillings

Composite fillings are a cosmetic dentistry service that has steadily risen in popularity over the last few decades. Designed to blend in with a patient’s teeth and look as natural as possible, they are an aesthetic alternative to traditional amalgam fillings. 

The resin in composite fillings can be color-matched to a patient’s smile, which minimizes concerns about visibility. Modern solutions are as durable and long-lasting as their silver counterparts, with the bonus of being virtually undetectable!

In addition to repairing tooth decay, you can also use bonding to address a number of other dental issues, including:

• Discoloration
• Chips and cracks
• Gaps
• Slight misalignment

As you listen to what your patients want, you will discover that many prefer to have an option between amalgam and composite fillings. If you offer both at your practice, then you can double your appeal. 

2. Orthodontics

Reports show that 7 in 10 people are self-conscious about their teeth, and 50% prefer to smile with their mouths closed. Orthodontics can help correct many different types of tooth and jaw irregularities related to malocclusion. Not only can this improve your patients’ physical well-being but also impact their confidence and overall quality of life. Despite this frequent need, dentists routinely send their patients to an outside specialist if an orthodontic need arises. 

This type of advanced cosmetic dentistry can set your practice apart in your local community. Our AOS courses can help you learn basic orthodontics so you can add this skill to your general, family, or pediatric practice.

3. Whitening

Dr. Anne Beall, in her independent study on behalf of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD), found out that people with an attractive smile are thought of as more intelligent, successful, friendly, and attractive. When asked what they would like to change about their teeth, the most common response was that they want them to be whiter.

By offering in-house whitening treatment, you can meet this need and encourage more patients to give your office a try. This can be an expansion of your current cosmetic dentistry services, which may also include dental veneers, implants, crowns, and more. 

Professional whitening services can be safer, more effective, and longer-lasting than at-home quick fixes available at the local pharmacy. This is because those products are easy to misuse or abuse, often resulting in teeth that are overly sensitive.

Speak to your current patients to learn more about their interest in whitening and the specific issues that they want to address with it. Answer their questions and concerns about cost, sensitivity, and expected results. Once you have a program in place, you can advertise it by offering discounts to new whitening patients!

4. Root Canals

Have you thought about offering endodontic treatment? By advancing your skills in this area, you can create a more versatile practice. In addition to performing services such as root canals and apicoectomies right within your office, you will also work with patients to identify and treat a range of other issues that can cause tooth pain. 

There are many online and in-person courses that can help you deepen your technical knowledge in endodontics. In turn, you can reap the rewards through increased patient accrual and retention. There are more than 15 million root canals performed every year, so you know the market is there. 

5. Root Planing

Scaling and root planing treats advanced or chronic periodontal disease. This nonsurgical procedure can be performed with or without anesthesia and be completed in full within a few visits. 

This treatment requires the use of special instruments designed to provide a deep cleaning below the gumline. While general dental practices can perform scaling and root planing to treat gum disease, more severe cases are still sent to a periodontist. 

If you’re looking to grow your practice, then consider adding this treatment to your service offerings. Research from the CDC shows that more than 47% of U.S. adults ages 30 or older have some form of periodontal disease. By addressing this condition in your office, you can help correct your patients’ current damage and prevent future infections while allowing them to stay with a team they already trust—yours. 

Which types of advanced or cosmetic dentistry will you pursue?

The list of advanced and cosmetic dentistry service options is long and varied. While you don’t necessarily need to add every one of them to your dental practice, you may benefit from pursuing specialization in a few fields that interest you.

Ultimately, the most successful advanced or cosmetic dentistry choices are those that meet the needs of your local community. In addition to exploring your personal and professional goals, remember to consider what your current and future patients are looking for. Then use those insights to direct your focus as you sharpen your skill set and expand your services. We’re here to help you advance your career every step of the way. Become a member today to learn more about the opportunities we offer!