If you’re like most dentists across America, your practice revenue and personal income have been greatly affected in the last month. Maybe you can’t pay your rent or mortgage and perhaps you’ve temporarily laid-off most or all your employees. We’re relying on the federal government to provide our small businesses with assistance and grants but we’re not sure when it’s coming.

We all know that recessions happen and now we’re painfully aware that a virus can devastate our businesses. Independent dental practices already struggle to compete against corporate offices and the pressure to participate in PPOs – and now this…

But what if you had other revenue in addition to your in-chair production?

Until recently, a practice’s revenue was based solely upon the production it could generate while treating patients. However, an in-house dental savings plan with recurring revenue will now generate practice income on a predictable schedule, whether the dentist is working in the office or not. Since most dentists are “not” working right now, it’s easy to see that having a plan in your office is crucial. Practices with successful plans have thousands of dollars in extra revenue this month even though they are closed.

Think of it as the Costco or Netflix business model for dentists.

Dental savings plans, also referred to as membership or loyalty plans, allow dentists to create a program in their offices that is an alternative to dental insurance. Plans have an annual or monthly membership fee and additional discounts on other services. Often, the membership fee will cover all or part of preventive services.

The most important component of a dental savings plan is that over time, it creates a growing, predictable revenue stream for the practice, especially if the plan processes annual or monthly enrollments automatically. This not only allows practices to weather fluctuations in monthly collections, but it also creates a valuable asset which increases the value of the practice.

In-house membership plans with automatic re-enrollments grow your practice.

In addition to recurring revenue, dental savings plans benefit your office in the following ways:

• New Patient Generation: Uninsured patients have a compelling reason to choose an office that offers a plan, which likely results in less out-of-pocket expenses for the treatments they receive.
• Competitive Advantage in the Community: Any practice with a dental savings plan has a competitive advantage over any practice within the same community that does not, since plans attract uninsured patients.
• Higher Treatment Plan Acceptance: Statistics show that a patient who participates in an in-house plan spends 4% to 26% more on their dental care as opposed to uninsured patients that are not members in a plan. Offering a plan in your office will provide value to your uninsured patients and they will be more likely to move forward with the treatment you recommend.

Approximately 2,000 practices offer an in-house plan for their patients. Now is the time for your practice to prepare for the future and create a plan.

As an IDS preferred vendor partner, SmileMore Marketing helps dentists create smart in-house plans using a variety of practice metrics. They provide plan management software, marketing materials, team training, and monthly support as well. One hundred percent of the plan enrollment fees deposit directly into your business bank account.

The SmileMore Dental Savings Plan^TM is a fully customized program, but in response to the COVID-19 crisis, two additional programs have been launched. This will allow IndepenDENT Dental Solutions members to implement a plan quickly and affordably, regardless of your budget.

If you’re interested in learning more or discussing a plan for your practice, we recommend you schedule a call with Christine Bahu at SmileMore Marketing or email her at [email protected].

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