Do you want more high-end dental patients? Those people who show up for their appointments and pay their bills on time? I’m willing to bet the answer is a resounding yes. What you might not know is that internet dental marketing is the answer.

So many dentists want to replace repetitive, lower-value cases with those patients who understand the worth of high-quality dentistry—specifically those patients who want cosmetic and implant services.

Unfortunately, implant and cosmetic dentistry are often the most difficult services to sell. But that’s not to say it’s impossible. It all comes down to how you market your practice using internet dental marketing.

What do patients find online when they search for dental implants in your local area?

Does your dental practice show up each and every time? In an ideal world, it would. But to make that happen, you need to ensure you have a complete and compelling online presence with a cohesive content structure in place.

Look at Dr. Burk of Anchorage Midtown Dental. When Dr. Burk bought the practice, nearly 70% of Anchorage Midtown Dental’s patients were Medicaid—a number much too high if Dr. Burk was going to scale the production of the practice while also doing more of the work he loved.

That was only a few years ago. But now, since we began investing in and building Dr. Burk’s online dental marketing, things have changed drastically. Now Anchorage Midtown Dental ranks in the top five organic Google results when potential patients search “dental implant patients in Anchorage.” What’s more, in the same time period, Anchorage Midtown Dental has massively scaled production from $1.2m to $8m!

It’s not always easy to start attracting more high-quality dental patients to your practice, but it is very possible when you use the right strategy of internet dental marketing.

The key lies in a powerful online marketing strategy that positions you as the premier implant and cosmetic dentist in your area.

Ready to learn how to attract more implant and cosmetic patients and being skyrocketing your dental practice’s production? Download the complete case study with Dr. Burk to get started today!

Click To Download The Full Case Study With Dr. Burk!

Do your patients understand what a dental implant is?

It sounds like a simple question, but think about it. How many times have you sat a patient down to discuss dental implants only to have their eyes glaze over?

Do you get the feeling that most people have no idea what a dental implant is? You’d be right. In fact, most people, when they hear the term ‘implants’, don't think about teeth!

This means that you need to be sensitive to your patients’ sensibilities and knowledge, and you must explain dental implants in very simple language, especially if you want those patients to be receptive to the idea.

We've put together a simple conversation map {below} that can help you discuss dental implants as successfully as possible with even the most uneducated of patients.

Start With The Benefits

When you begin discussing dental implants with a patient, you are basically selling the person on the idea. To sell the benefits of dental implants, get right to the point of it very early on in the conversation.

For instance, instead of telling your patient that a titanium post will be surgically implanted into their jawbone, whereby a crown or bridge will be affixed to that post, which is technically correct, say something simple like, “A dental implant will fix your broken tooth.”

Or, better yet, tell your patient that a dental implant looks and feels just like a real tooth, and that the only way to determine if someone is wearing a dental implant is via x-ray. That’s the type of language that most patients will respond to.

Other Implant Advantages

They Look Like the Real Thing: Most patients will want to know why they should get an implant. To sell the person, focus on their aesthetics. A person’s looks are very important to them.

But instead of telling your patient, you’ll look better, use storytelling to help the patient envision a new and better them. Tell them that walking into a job interview will go far better if their smile is complete, white and gleaming. Walk them into the interviewer’s office and help them envision their new bright smile, and the killer first impression they’re bound to make.

No More Tooth Loss: Losing a tooth is a big deal, and patients will want to know that you can prevent them from losing anymore teeth. To better sell dental implants, tell the patient that having implants will help to save their remaining teeth, preserving their natural smile for years to come.

Completely Reliable: Your patient will be more receptive to the idea of implants if he knows that he can always rely on the implant to remain strong, aesthetically pleasing and in place for years to come.

Instead of telling the patient that you’re using titanium or a composite ceramic that is ultra-strong and durable, which may be true, let the patient know that you are using materials that are compatible with their natural body.

The benefit to highlight is that these materials have a low chance of rejection, which lends greatly to the dental implant success rate of 93%-96%. Help the patient see years into the future, with the dental implant always performing as intended.

Improved Confidence: In addition to convincing patients how they’ll look and how well the implants will function, be sure to talk about how patients will FEEL with implants.

Again, use storytelling and help the patient visualize the results. Talk about how confidently they’ll be able to eat an apple, if they’re a previous denture wearer who was unable to do so. Talk about how confidently the person will be able to smile in a crowded room. Or how well the person will be able to talk if tooth loss has caused a lisp, for instance.

Use Simple Language Before Complex

Of course, eventually you’ll have to explain to the patient how the process works and what you’ll be doing during the implant procedure.

This is the time for explaining the difference between a subperiosteal implant and an endosteal implant. It’s the time when you might discuss sinus augmentations and ridge modifications.

But get too technical too early on and your patients’ eyes will quickly glaze over and they’ll only picture you digging in their mouths with lots of pointy objects instead of the benefits of implants you should be selling.

When it comes to convincing your patients that dental implants are the ideal treatment for them, it’s best to take their point of view. Consider what terms they’ll understand – such as broken teeth, missing teeth, dentures and bridges. Only after you’re on the same page, should you turn the page and go more for more complex terminology and ideas.

You’ll have a far easier time selling dental implants if you can help the person see the improvement to their quality of life in as little as nine months (or even sooner).

This goes for explaining implants in person or on your website. When it comes to the latter, perhaps you’d like the professionals to handle the digital side of your implant marketing. The benefits? Let’s just say you’ll get far more phone calls, in-office visits and you’ll schedule far more dental implant appointments if you have an easy-to-find-and-navigate implant website.

Now let's answer the question: what does your website need to attract more dental implant patients?

Premium Aesthetics

In order to successfully advertise dental implant treatments, you need to convey value. Be prepared to make the dedicated implant page as lavish as possible.

If you need to find an internet dental marketing service to help you, spend the time and invest in a company that can unify your web presence with soothing colors, high-quality images and other media, such as engaging text and videos.

Trying to do the work yourself or throwing it to a staff member who is unqualified is a bad move, especially when you consider the money your competitors are likely putting into their dental implant pages. Go all out and you’re more likely to pull a high return on your marketing investment.

Engaging Content

We recently spoke of text and videos. This is the content that will comprise your dental implant marketing message. That content needs to be educational, informative and, if possible, entertaining.

Never focus on you or the practice in general. Focus on the patient and emphasize the results patients will gain by choosing you over all the other implant professionals in town. Let patients know how improved their lives will become.

Convince them of the surge in self-confidence they’ll experience, and help them see that they’ll soon achieve a complete return to oral function. Do this on every page you discuss implants, do it via YouTube videos that you feature on your site, and write a few blogs forcing readers to envision a whole new them.

Eye-Catching Photos

Images are also part of your website content. Every image you decide to decorate your site with should be crisp and large enough to make out.

While images of dental implants themselves are always helpful, it’s better to supply your site with images of smiling people. Dental implant wearers are a good idea, before and after shots and even pics of the dental professional and staff will do well to warm a patient to the idea of scheduling an appointment.

Educational Qualifications & Level of Experience

Patients want to know that they’re choosing the best implant specialist for the job. They don’t want just anyone fiddling in their mouth with sharp objects, screwing metal posts into their jawbones.

Your patients want a professional who is highly-educated and experienced, so go ahead and boast – right on your implants page – about your schooling, your continued education and about all the dental implant patients you’ve worked on in the past. Brag about yourself and your accomplishments. This is not the time to be modest.

Available Treatment Options

For best results, describe your treatment options in terms that patients can easily understand. Speak of fixing broken teeth, and of repairing that hole in your patient’s smile.

Mention that implants can hold dentures and bridges in place, and that they’re the most realistic alternative to tooth loss currently available. For your website, stick to the simplest explanations. You can delve into the more complex details during your comprehensive assessment of the patient and subsequent appointments.

Facts & Frequently Asked Questions

Ideally, you will want your website to answer all the questions your patients might have before they get around to calling or walking-in.

You can accomplish this by providing educational and informative (and entertaining) articles on your website, blogs and videos.

You will also do well to provide a page dedicated strictly to the most frequently asked questions. What are implants made out of? How much do they cost? How long is the recovery time? If you can answer these questions before you ever visit with your patients for the first time, you’ll be able to zoom through the initial consultation so that you can move right to scheduling the first implant procedure.

The Cost

Few dental professionals list their prices on their website. This is because they don’t want to deter patients who might find a lower price elsewhere.

But why not list your prices? What are you hiding? If a competitor prices implants lower than you, your patients are going to find out anyway.

You might as well list your prices, which shows your patients that you are confident of the true value of the procedure, and it sets you apart as a professional who is transparent about all business practices, including pricing and billing. You’ll also save time, as patients who know your prices beforehand are less likely to call to ask about pricing. If they call, it’s going to be for the purposes of scheduling an appointment, which is precisely what you want.

Discount Offers

You can also set yourself apart on your dental implant page by offering special pricing for new patients, or price matching if a competitor does undercut you. Experiment with different offers and improve upon the specials being offered by the other implant professionals in town.

Reviews & Testimonials

These days an online review or testimonial is trusted as much as a personal recommendation from a friend or family member. Instead of allowing your reviews to exist ‘somewhere online’, gather them together and place them directly on your website. A dedicated Review Us page letting patients know how to leave reviews, and a testimonials page showcasing actual patients can go a long way towards separating you from any competitors in your local area.

YouTube Videos

Earlier we mentioned videos. These can be filmed easily with any smartphone or web cam and then uploaded to YouTube for free. Or you can hire a professional film crew. Either way, video is a great way to establish an early first impression and to separate your dental practice from the pack.

Some good ideas are video testimonials featuring your most loyal patients and introduction videos where you introduce yourself and your team. Or you could film yourself describing the process for placing implants or the results patients can expect to receive. These videos can also be shared on social media, thus expanding your digital reach.

Calls-to-Action & Easy To Contact

With a comprehensive website that properly sells the implant idea to the patient, there’s only one thing left to do – convince the web visitor to take action. On every page, in the header of your website, in the footer and in the sidebars, you should place calls-to-action that urge the visitor to call, walk-in, email or submit a contact form. A simple, “Call us now to totally transform your smile with dental implants!” will suffice. Remember to hail the benefits of the procedure and you’ll get far better results.

Your patients are only a single dental implant away from becoming the new them they’ve always wanted to be. Help them realize their dreams by populating your website with the above information.

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