By Roger P. Levin, DDS

The orthodontic practice as a business model is actually rather simple. The more new patients you have and the more of those patients that you close, the higher your practice production. So it stands to reason that one of the keys to orthodontic practice success is and will always be acquiring new patients. And getting off on the right foot with new patients requires making a great first impression.

It’s Friday and we are doing a happy dance over here at Ortho2 World Headquarters. Not just because it’s almost the weekend and we gain an hour of sleep this weekend, but because half of our customer base is using Edge Cloud! That means half of our customers are no longer backing up their practice management data, half of our customers have said so long to servers, and half of our customers are living a worry free life about what happens to their data in the event of a natural disaster. Now that is something to do a happy dance about!

via GIPHY

For the second time in seven years, I was able to travel for work. The first time was in 2016 for the Ortho2 Users Group Meeting. I was the at-large winner chosen to attend to see what the meeting was all about. During the meeting, I helped Kim Barker, Ortho2 Meeting and Event Coordinator, with various tasks throughout the day to make sure everything ran smoothly. I assisted our customers with their questions during the meeting, and enjoyed the opening reception.

By Roger P. Levin, DDS

Orthodontists are experiencing increased competition and it’s not just coming from other orthodontists. More and more aligner treatments are being offered from general dentists and direct-to-consumer companies. This is having an effect on many orthodontic practices, but there are specific ways to protect the practice and maintain a highly successful future. Consider these five strategies to help protect your practice:

Edge Specialist is nearing
its release. And if you don’t have a pediatric dentist in your office, you may wonder how your office will benefit from this new module. Even if you aren’t planning to implement Edge Specialist, there are many changes within Edge Cloud that
have been added to help your practice.

By Roger P. Levin, DDS

After you’ve been a practice leader for a number of years, it becomes clear that your best referral source is your patients. Getting patient referrals is an inexpensive and relatively easy way to ensure that your practice has a steady stream of new patients. So what will get patients raving about your practice? From the time a patient walks in the door until they leave, you have the opportunity to impress them and make them feel great. Dentistry is a service industry and how you treat patients is crucial to your success. But providing great customer service isn’t just simply about being nice. In fact, you should start to view customer service as a management system that has a process with clear objectives, which include increasing referrals from current patients.

The 2018 AAO annual meeting is just days away, and we’re so excited to see everyone in Washington D.C.! We’ve been hard at work on some new modules at Ortho2 headquarters and can’t wait to show you the new features that will help your practice run more efficiently. Not only will you be able to see these great features at the meeting, but you’ll also be able to take advantage of our special pricing during the show. Here’s what you can look forward to seeing at AAO booth 1701!

Have you ever had that moment of panic when you realize you’ve lost all your important data? Our phones, tablets, and computers have become integral pieces of technology that hold a lot of information and data from our lives. Think about it - how many times a day do you take pictures with your phone or save important data on your computer? We depend so much on technology, however, we forget that accidents happen and all of our files can disappear due to glitches or lost or stolen devices.

Updated 3/22/2018

Anyone who owns a computer knows at some time the device needs to update to stay on top of added securities and features. While it may seem like a hassle to update, and restart, it really is for our own benefit to be on the latest version of operating system (or app, or software, etc.).

This year was my first year attending the annual Ortho2 Users Group Meeting and it didn’t disappoint! As the Multimedia Marketing Coordinator at Ortho2, I’ve spent a lot of time working on UGM email campaigns, posting on our social channels, and helping design various materials leading up to the event. It was exciting to see the hard work behind the scenes put into action.

I had heard many stories about the meeting from UGM veterans, and I was eager to experience the meeting for myself. Since returning home to Iowa, my brain is still rushing from all the excitement. For those of you who haven’t experienced a UGM yet, here are my top five reasons why you should consider going.