There are proven connections between a person’s overall health and their dental health and many companies now offer some type of dental plan to help their employees remain healthy and available for work. It has been shown that plaque that builds up on the teeth often flows into the person’s system adding plaque to the heart and affecting their coronary health as well as their dental health.
A person who has had limited or no dental health throughout their life may also end up with diseases such as gingivitis as well as severe cavities and rotting teeth. While the teeth may affect their appearance gum diseases can lead to complications in other health care concerns. Plaque is made up of colonies of bacteria and poor oral hygiene allows the bacteria to grow and infect other parts of the body. It is also a major contributor to bad breath.
While bad breath is often attributed to poor dental health, it is not the only cause. Food, such as onions, is digested and put into the blood stream. As the blood returns to the lungs to be re-oxygenated, it puts the odor of the food back into the lungs where it is released as bad breath. This also happens to others such as smokers and no amount of brushing, flossing or scraping of the tongue will eliminate this source of bad breath.
Oral Hygiene Is Big Business
Taking care of the teeth is so important to most people and the country spends over $3 billion a year on dental health products such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss and tongue scrapers as well as breath mints and gum. While many will spend hundred of dental health products, they shy away from trip to the dentists and have a feeling of pain before they enter the dentist’s office.
In part, dentists may be to blame for some of the reluctance of people to seek professional help with their dental health. Previously, many dentists were judgmental in their approach with patients, which made them feel even more uncomfortable than the actual work being done. Today’s non-judgmental approach to dentistry is having a positive effect on good dental health.
Recent studies have also concluded that that poor dental hygiene can be a contributing factor to ischemic stroke, one of the most common types of stroke in the United States. The plaque buildup can cause release of plaque which can settle into small blood vessels more common in the brain.
Many dentists are scared because of the looming recession. These three dental practice marketing tips will not only save your practice from falling into an economic downturn, but could make this the best recession of your dental career.
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Dental web marketing is often seen as an unnecessary area of advertising for many oral care professionals. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. With the drop in the economy, rise in gas prices, and skyrocketing inflation, dental offices are seeing fewer and fewer patients. With the constant loss of people leaving practices due to death, moving, and switching care providers combined with no online presence, practices are bleeding at both ends. Dental web marketing allows dental experts the opportunity to attract those that are seeking treatment by opening themselves to a target rich environment. The three following myths are the common reasons why many dentists fail to expand their practice to its fullest potential.Dental Web Marketing Attracts The Wrong PeopleA majority of the oral care professionals who fail to use dental web sites wisely often believe they only attract small kids and young adults. With daily lives becoming busier and the population getting older, baby boomers and the elderly are going online in staggering numbers. They are also finding their health care providers online because it is convenient. These two groups are also spending more on their oral health than other demographics. For dentists or oral surgeons who market their practices wisely, this translates into a large increase in profits.Other oral care professionals feel that online marketing attracts too many people outside of their local area, making it a waste of their advertising budget. Just like with telephone ads and brochures, people outside of the area will see the ads, but the locals who find your practice will outnumber them significantly with the right marketing tactics. Marketing and web sites are designed to aim directly at the communities in the local area.Dental Web Sites Are To CostlyBefore the arrival of the World Wide Web, dentists spent billions on traditional advertising methods such as ads in malls and mailings advertising their practice in order to target their ideal market. Today, these methods simply don’t work. Target audiences have turned to the Internet to find their dentists, doctors, and orthodontists. Dental care professionals that are increasing their advertising budget for paper advertisements are simply aren’t getting the ROI needed make their practices a profitable venture. Dental web marketing is becoming one of the most important areas of marketing available to the oral care profession.Dental web sites and online marketing are not as expensive as many oral care professionals believe. With the right choice, dentists can have a top of the line online site set up and maintained along with solid marketing strategies for a price close to what they may already be spending on traditional advertising. To put things into perspective, if Internet marketing only attracts 30 new patients, that practice can easily make $50 000. These kinds of profits can increase greatly, depending on how many new referrals these new clients bring in. The ROI of online advertising and marketing can quickly exceed that of traditional marketing.Current Patients Don’t Benefit From Online MarketingFailing to communicate with patients is one of the main reasons patients transfer to competing practices. Basic things such as emailing newsletters on a regular basis and updating dental web sites are an excellent way to communicate with current patients. Topics like monthly specials, information on new dental services being offered in the practice, or simply exploring a particular service such as teeth whitening can make a significant difference. A communication line is kept open and it makes patients aware of procedures or promotions they may not be aware of. Having newsletters coming into the inbox of a client makes it easy for them to forward information to others as a way of increasing referrals. Being online also makes it convenient for patients to book, postpone, and cancel appointments. These three false views of online marketing can seriously hamper a successful practice from bringing in a steady stream of new patients. Dentists and oral care professionals who use dental web marketing and dental web sites wisely will quickly see their ROI significantly improve and have overflowing schedules.Christine O’Kelly writes for Officite. With more than 3,100 satisfied customers, Officite is on the cutting edge of premier dental web sites and are leaders in dental web marketing.
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