Easy ways to promote dental month, Webinar on Jan 15

January 2013

4 easy ways to promote dental month

As your team prepares for National Pet Dental Health Month, create dental awareness using both internal and external promotions. Here are four ideas:

Show clients what happens behind the scenes. Pictures can increase acceptance for treatments. Create a smile book showing each step of a dental cleaning, or make a slideshow for exam-room computers or tablets. Your dental slideshow also can serve as a screen saver, playing images when exam-room computers hibernate.

Send an email blast. Target clients with pets age 3 and older that have not received dental treatments. Explain that plaque on pets' teeth can progress into dental disease and damage vital organs. Describe dental services that your hospital offers, from professional to home care.

Create dental posters. Show before-and-after pictures of a pet's dental cleaning. Display posters in exam rooms and lobbies. Upload your poster to Costco's Photo Center (www.costco.com), and then pick up the 11 x 14 image mounted on poster board at your local warehouse. An 11 x 14 poster costs $9.99.

Engage social media. Each month, chose a medical theme with weekly postings. Having a monthly medical theme will let you take a strategic approach to social media. In between themed posts, share patient photos and other content. Create four themed posts to promote dentistry in February. Using your smartphone or digital camera, make a video of a technician narrating her steps while taking dental x-rays. Then have a veterinarian describe findings. Post the video on your clinic's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Join us Jan. 15 for our webinar on
promoting preventive dentistry

Although 80% of pets over age 3 have dental disease, only 38% receive treatment, according to the 2009 AAHA compliance study. Most practices are performing corrective rather than preventive dentistry. You'll learn about:

Emphasizing medical benefits
Presenting the dental treatment plan
Structuring dental fees based on the grade of disease
Following up on dental procedures that don't get scheduled

Join us on Tuesday, January 15 at 12 or 3 p.m. Eastern time for our webinar on "Promoting Preventive Dentistry." For $99 per hospital, your webinar includes a handout, 1 hour of CE credit, a CE certificate, and unlimited playback of the recorded webinar following the event. Participation in the live webinar is limited to the first 99 hospitals, so RSVP now. If your team isn't available on Jan. 15, you may purchase access to the on-demand session for the same price of $99, allowing you to then set your staff meeting around your schedule.

To enroll, call us at 720-344-2347 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mountain time.

Create an annual training plan for your team

Each January, ask employees to write down five skills or knowledge areas they need to improve and submit them to the practice manager. Once results are tabulated, the manager can identify topics for staff meetings as well as individual's learning goals.

So staff meetings don't deteriorate into gripe sessions, create an annual training schedule. Meetings should have a CE focus, growing the skills of your team while improving patient care.

Communication Solutions for Veterinarians makes training easy with our monthly webinars. Buy individual sessions for $99, or enjoy greater savings with our annual practice membership. Annual membership includes 12 live or archived webinars and 12 hours of CE credit. We're rewarding hospitals with a "Buy 11, get 1 free" perk for an annual total of $1,089 paid at enrollment.

Each session includes access to the live or archived webinar, handout, 1 hour of CE credit, and CE certificate. Choose from live sessions at 12 or 3 p.m. Eastern time, as well as unlimited access to recorded sessions.

January 15: Promoting preventive dentistry

February 12: How to say it: Talking to phone shoppers

March 14: Selling the value of diagnostics

April 9: Creating the client experience: Before, during and after the exam

May 14: Strategies to get cats back

June 20: Phone skills for veterinary teams

July 18: Capturing compliance every patient visit

August 13: Best practices: Senior care programs

September 12: How to use social media to promote preventive care

October 8: Best practices: Exam communication

November 14: Protecting your pharmacy in today's changing marketplace

December 10: Rejuvenating client service to keep clients coming back

Dental Tips

Wendy S. Myers & Opus

In This Issue

Jan. 15 webinar on promoting preventive dentistry

Create an annual training plan

When a client leaves

Script of the month:
What to say when clients request medical records

When clients request pets' medical records, find out why they are leaving your practice. Say, "We would be happy to provide copies of your pets' medical records. Our hospital strives to provide exceptional patient care and client service. May I ask why you're leaving our hospital?"

If moving: "We hope your family and pets enjoy your new home. I will staple our business card to your pets' medical records. If your new veterinarian has questions about the care that we've provided, he or she is welcome to contact us. If you move back to our community, we'd love to welcome you back to our hospital."

If due to client service: "We want to find a solution that you're happy with. Let's talk about what we can do to resolve the problem. We would like the opportunity to continue to provide veterinary care for your pets."