Lifetime whitening
Many practices are now offering free “touch-up” kits to every whitening patient each time that patient comes in for a re-care visit. This program takes a variety of shapes, including a ready-made copyrighted system called “Free Whitening for Life”. (You can Google that phrase to find a link to their service.) Whether you call it “Whitening for Life” or “Lifetime Whitening” or any of a dozen variations, the net result is the same: you encourage re-care visits by giving the patient a reward.
If two tubes of whitening gel costs you $12, and you give out this $12 reward twice a year to your patients, is that too much of an investment to get a steady supply of patients who faithfully appear at the right time for their hygiene appointments and exams? Most practices are happy to make that investment, and their patients have enthusiastically embraced the program.
It works because the reward “feels” like an expensive gift to the patients, but your cost is minimal. It’s the classic win/win situation. You’ll need to tweak the details to fit your own practice. Some dentists charge a specific rate for the intial whitening, including the tray. Some have a fixed price for an intial one-hour whitening, and produce trays for the patient at the same time. Most practices have a flat fee for when the patient needs replacement whitening trays.
Marketing to your existing patients, or internal marketing, will always give you great bang-for-the-buck. Keep looking for opportunities like this to maximize the value of all those charts in your filing cabinets.
