By Roger P. Levin, DDS

Orthodontics is under competitive pressures unlike anything we’ve seen in the past. Emerging trends are making it more challenging for orthodontic practice production and practices that don’t understand these trends will fall victim to them.

Emerging Trends
The rise of the following emerging trends is rapidly affecting orthodontic practice production:

• DSOs or corporate dentistry
• Aligner dentistry
• Direct-to-consumer orthodontic care
• Patients shopping for orthodontic services
• More orthodontists

Topics: orthodontic trends, Marketing, Referrals, orthodontics, Roger Levin, referral marketing, practice production

By Roger P. Levin, DDS

When I lecture to orthodontic teams throughout the country, I often hear them express frustration about the fact that more referring doctors are doing their own orthodontic treatment. Understandably, this frustration can cause them to abandon focusing on general dentists as referrals sources. Why court the very people that you’re in competition with? However orthodontists must think of their referral marketing efforts in this way: The more things change, the more they stay the same. While it’s true that general dentists are increasing the amount of orthodontics that they provide, most orthodontic treatment is still supplied by orthodontic practices and referrals from general dentists are still very strong. So turning away from general dentists can be detrimental to maintaining a high-level of practice revenue.

Topics: orthodontic trends, Marketing, Referrals, orthodontics, Roger Levin, referral marketing

By Mary Kay Miller

No matter what industry you are in, if you own a business, marketing online is essential to your success. With an average of 475,000 new businesses opening in the United States each month, it is more important now than ever to make sure your orthodontic practice stands out both online and offline. Many orthodontic teams still fail to see the relevance of investing in their online marketing, especially if they consider themselves a patient referral practice. This couldn’t be further from the truth!

In today’s digital marketplace, the first form of contact with any business is no longer the new patient phone call but the Internet. Consumers google your name and begin researching what pops up. Even if they hear your name from friends or family, the Internet is where they find your contact information and more.

Are you proactively delivering your marketing message exactly the way you want it delivered, or leaving it to chance?

Topics: technology, orthodontic trends, Marketing, orthodontics, Mary Kay Miller, google, online reviews, local search, local business, brand identity, analytics

By Roger P. Levin, DDS

“It’s not whether you win, but how you play the game.”

This is a nice sentiment that we’ve all heard about sports but it doesn’t apply to orthodontics, especially when it comes to your practice’s future. In an excellent business book entitled Playing To Win: How Strategy Really Works, a simple method for evaluating the future is boiled down to one brilliant concept: Where will you play and how will you win?

Topics: technology, orthodontic trends, Marketing, orthodontics, Roger Levin, Social Media, referral rewards, focus areas

By Roger P. Levin, DDS

Orthodontics is under new competitive pressures. There are emerging trends that are making it more and more difficult to increase orthodontic practice production. Practices that don’t understand and address these trends will operate blindly, unable to plan for the challenges ahead.

Emerging Trends in Orthodontics

If you want your practice production to be strong you must thoroughly grasp the following emerging trends occurring in orthodontics:

Topics: technology, orthodontic trends, Marketing, orthodontics, Roger Levin, DSO, aligners

Topics: orthodontic practice management, technology, orthdontics, orthodontic trends, practice management, jess huennekens

by Paulette Johnson
I live in California – the Bay Area to be exact. Recently, legislation passed banning plastic grocery bags. Reusable grocery bags are ecofriendly, good marketing tools, more efficient, and – except for the remembering part – just an all-around good idea. Then I had a conversation with a very intelligent man I know who pointed me to an article about the unintended consequences of reusable grocery bags, including the spreading of e-coli bacteria. Yikes…bubble burst! 

But that conversation got me thinking about unintended consequences versus unintentional benefits. Like going paperless in a practice. No paper, no piles, no filing. What could be wrong with that? The reaction you get from many offices when you discuss the paperless office is fear. Genuine fear about losing control, losing patients, losing appointments…losing.  The thought of no paper, while exciting, can also be frightening. How will I know what each patient needs? 

Topics: orthodontic practice management, technology, orthodontic trends, Paulette Johnson, paperless

The cloud isn’t new, but many are just learning to understand how powerful it can be for offices. Read the facts about myths you may have been hearing about the cloud.

Myth 1: The cloud is a fad.

Topics: technology, orthdontics, orthodontic trends, orthodontic education, Ortho2, tips, cloud computing, pros and cons

by Dr. Craig Scholz

In May, Ortho2 began an exclusive partnership with Orchestrate Orthodontic Technologies to market and sell their 3D orthodontic CAD software. This powerful system allows the orthodontist to easily define tooth movements to design digitally perfect, yet inexpensive clear aligners and retainers in office. What’s unique about Orchestrate is that it is the first orthodontic system that allows the doctor to scan, design and create appliances completely in house. Since the Orchestrate software system is not aligned with any specific brand or type of appliance, it can be used for a multitude of purposes. Many of the existing Orchestrate users refer to it as “Photoshop for appliance design” with its ability to utilize data from a variety of sources and then easily manipulate this data.

Topics: technology, orthodontic trends, orthodontists, orthodontics, Craig Scholz, Orchestrate

by Scott McDonald

The U.S. Census Bureau released data in January 2012 with sobering implications: The bad economy and slowdown in immigration are shrinking the numbers of children in the U.S. for the first time in a generation. The number of people under 18 was 73.9 million on July 1, 2011. That is a decline of 260,000 from the previous year. Overall, the U.S. population is growing at its slowest rate since the mid-1940s.

Topics: orthodontic practice management, orthdontics, orthodontic trends, Scott McDonald