Futuredontics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dentsply Sirona, recently launched Dentistry.com in the United States. The digital platform is a free online community designed to connect patients and dental professionals.
The company’s goal in launching Dentistry.com is to improve the state of dental health by increasing the number of new patients who go to the dentist and accept treatment.
The platform was unveiled at the recent Dentsply Sirona World meeting, held earlier this month in Orlando, Fla.
The site features a search engine for patients that supports filtering by a number of criteria, including insurance network. Additionally, the site has plans to house a comprehensive directory of dental practices across the country.
The website capitalizes on the shift of consumers to making booking decisions based on consumer reviews and the ability to make an appointment online. “People live and conduct all their business on their phones today. Dentistry is challenged because it has not embraced this new mobile-centric reality. Complicating things is the fact that consumers don’t value dentistry as they do more trendy healthcare pursuits like yoga and meditation,” said Brian McCarthy, executive vice president of Dentsply Sirona’s subsidiary Futuredontics and leader of the Dentistry.com project team. “Dentistry.com is the online destination where the industry can band together to elevate the perception of dentistry to its proper place in healthcare.”
Attendees at Dentsply Sirona World were able to “claim” their practice during the event, giving them the ability to manage their own page on the site where they can list information about themselves, their practice, and other relevant information that would assist patients regarding their search. According to the company, the platform provides access to national and local audiences, improves website SEO, and helps connect dental professionals with more new patients by listing services, insurance plans, and business hours.
Dentistry.com plans to roll out more features in the future, including a patient appointment booking function and practice management system integrations.