As we emerge into a world of post-pandemic practices, all of us are familiar with the negative ways our daily lives have been shaped.
Heather Colicchio
Founder and President, American Association of Dental Office Management (AADOM)
But now that hindsight is 20/20, we’re also seeing the positive outcomes of some of those ever-so-slight changes in our daily routines. New practices, new habits, and new ways of doing things that we actually like.
In dentistry, it’s no different. We were forced to think outside of the box, and some of those changes actually became our strengths. Here are just some of the biggest factors that drew dental practitioners, teams, and patients together more than ever before, and will continue in our new normal:
1. Increased communication (and trust)
Wherever you live, dentists in your region were probably doing things differently than those in other states. The increased communication that dentists and dental teams had with one another — and their patients — had one huge benefit: trust. By communicating clearly about steps, guidelines, and safety protocols, patients were able to gain increased trust and comfort from their dental providers, and feel safe going in for appointments.
2. New ways to “see” patients
For the first time ever, we saw emergency regulation changes allowing dental insurance benefits to cover tele-dentistry appointments on HIPAA-secure third-party platforms. These outlets have since become more normal for things like cosmetic and orthodontic consultations. Especially with complimentary assessments available, tele-dentistry platforms are now an exceptional way to connect with prospective new patients.
3. Contactless everything
From contactless payments to checking in from your car in the parking lot, our wireless devices became dentistry’s right arm. Making payments simple to complete in an online platform meant nobody had to touch any extra surfaces or spend too much contact time in close contact with other individuals. In turn, this helped offices better regulate collections practices and expedite the check-in/check-out process for patients. Even online scheduling turned into an expectation.
4. Entrepreneurship
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. With the immediate need of having to practice safe dentistry in new circumstances, dentists and dental manufacturers got fairly creative. In some instances, this meant inventing equipment that literally removed aerosols from immediate treatment areas. The technology within dentistry that was accelerated by the pandemic will continue to shape the future of dentistry.
While we could have all done without a pandemic, the way the dental industry adapted gave all of us a jump-start that might have taken a decade otherwise. We were pushed out of our comfort zones and came out stronger because of necessity.
