Is your dental practice keeping up with the times? In 2023, many patients — particularly the younger generations — are looking for dental practices that offer modernized services. Updating your dental treatments and patient experience with the most modern techniques and technology can help you attract more patients in this digital age. 

But if your dental practice has been operating the same way for decades, you may wonder why modernization is necessary. Learn how modernization can enhance dental practice growth and a few tips to help you update your practice. 

Why Is Dental Practice Modernization Important? 

Old-school dental services may suit the patients who have been coming to your practice for years, but if you want to continually attract new patients, you'll need to stay competitive with the practices around you. 

Why focus on modernizing your practice? Once you begin updating your services and patient experience, you'll enjoy these benefits:

• Boost patient retention: Your existing patients will come to see your practice as one that will suit their needs long-term. 
• Attract more patients: Patients who are searching for a new dental practice to join will be more likely to choose one with updated scheduling processes than one that looks outdated. 
• Increase patient referrals: When patients see how modern and high-tech your practice is, they'll want to refer their family and friends to your practice, providing word-of-mouth marketing that can increase your patient base. 
• Improve your practice's reputation: Your dental practice will develop a positive reputation for employing modernized dental solutions — instead of maintaining a negative reputation for being out of touch with the modern day.  

• Enhance your dental care: Using the most modern dental technologies can allow you to reduce treatment times, provide more comfortable experiences for patients, and streamline exams, all of which can aid your dental care. 

Overall, dental modernization is an important part of your practice's marketing strategy, which plays a crucial role in your dental practice growth. When you fall behind the other practices in your area, you'll have a hard time winning patients over.

Your practice needs to do everything you can to show current and potential patients that you are the best option for dental services in the area, and implementing modernization strategies can certainly help. 

Modernization Strategies Your Practice Could Implement

So how do you keep your dental practice current? Here are a few strategies to get you started:

Read Modern Dental Journals 

You likely already read dental journals to stay in the know about dental procedures and treatments. But have you thought about adding a modern-focused dental journal to your reading list? 

For example, the Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice and Modern Dentistry Media are two journals that can key you into modernization strategies other practices have already begun implementing.  

You can also expand your search outside of journals and look to dentistry websites for articles about contemporary dental practices. This information can help you stay competitive and avoid falling behind on emerging technology.

Digitize the Patient Experience 

Modernizing your dental practice also involves taking measures to digitize and streamline patient processes. For example, gone are the days of patients needing to sit in a dull waiting room while they wait for the doctor. Your patients can instead choose to wait in their cars, thanks to Dental Intelligence Virtual Check-In.

Your practice can also implement modern solutions that allow patients to:

• Schedule their appointments online
• Fill out digital forms
• Communicate with your office via text

These solutions can help you target modern patients who prefer virtual communication instead of phone calls.

Update Dental Technology

Your dental practice should also update your equipment and technology regularly to provide the best patient experience. While purchasing new technology can be a sizeable investment, you should think about how it will pay off in terms of patient revenue. 

Some new dental technology practices have begun using include:

• Intraoral scanners
• O-pH optical prototypes
• AI diagnostic technology
• Laser dentistry equipment
• 3D printing for intraoral devices

Your practice doesn't need to update all of its technology at once, but even modernizing one or two pieces of equipment can provide a significant payoff.

Dental Intelligence: Cutting-edge Solutions for Modern Dentist Offices

Are you looking for an easy way to start modernizing your dental practice? With Dental Intelligence, you'll enjoy patient automation features such as appointment reminders, a user-friendly patient portal, and many more. Request your Dental Intelligence demo today to see how this solution can benefit your dental practice growth.