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Telehealth has become an increasingly popular tool for many healthcare practitioners. But despite offering many benefits to patients and practices alike, only 23% of US dentists1 use virtual dental care.
Virtual dental care uses telecommunication tools, including video conferencing, phone calls, and even email and chat, to connect patients and dentists regardless of location. Many dentists who provide virtual patient care find it an excellent way to provide basic dental services, such as routine oral health checks or treatment plan discussions.
The Benefits of Virtual Dental Care for Patients
Virtual dental care may be the key to attracting more patients to your practice while improving the patient experience for your existing customers. With virtual dental care, patients can experience easier access to care including urgent care and added patient convenience.
Easier Access to Care
Cost is one of the largest barriers to patients seeking basic oral health care. Many people avoid scheduling regular checkups or routine care to save money, but this approach leads to more serious concerns in the future.
Virtual dental care is much more affordable than an in-office visit, making it an appealing option for many patients. These virtual consultations help build up a strong dentist-patient bond which will help convince the patient to accept specialized in-house treatment when necessary.
Virtual care is also a better option for people who live far away from their preferred practice or who have mobility concerns. Many people may struggle to obtain transport to their dentist, but if these patients have a phone and a relatively good internet connection, they can get in touch with their dentist whenever they need to.
Added Patient Convenience
Scheduling a dentist visit requires more than just setting aside an hour or two on the patient’s part. Patients need to consider traffic and commute time when booking their appointment, and any changes will often result in a missed or late session. Virtual dental care alleviates these issues and makes going to the dentist more convenient.
Access to Urgent Care
Virtual dental services can provide a channel for after-hours communication that improves overall practice efficiency and reduces unnecessary emergency room visits. Patients can receive treatment advice as soon as needed, and practices can schedule emergency sessions to deal with these urgent issues first thing in the morning.
The Benefits of Virtual Dental Care for Practices
Virtual dental care also has significant benefits for dental practices that go further than improving the patient experience. Video consultations can transform how your practice offers dental services, leading to unprecedented levels of productivity and efficiency.
Generate Leads
As very few practices offer virtual dental care, telehealth services can help you stand out from the crowd. Real-time virtual patient health platforms can streamline bookings and connect patients with a dentist much faster than traditional methods. You can even incorporate the platform into your CMS or marketing tools to engage patients further and generate high-quality leads.
Boosted Productivity
A virtual consultation often just requires a dentist to talk with the patient, freeing up other staff to take care of in-house customers. This reduction in chair time means that your practice will be able to take on more patients without affecting their quality of care.
Cost Savings
Licensed dentists do not need to wear personal protective equipment or use sterile equipment while conducting a video consultation. Your practice can pass these savings on to the patients or use them to invest in growing your business further.
Finding the Right Telehealth Platform
Incorporating video consultations and virtual dental care into your existing practice workflows can be a challenge, but it’s one of the key steps to ensure a stellar new patient experience. Whether you want to improve your patient loyalty or attract new customers, virtual patient care offers many advantages that are difficult to ignore.
Dental Intelligence has helped hundreds of dental practices implement new tools to meet the challenges of today’s dental industry, and we can do the same for you. Schedule a demo to discover how we can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and help your practice thrive.
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