Whether patients can afford treatment impacts the team’s approach. Aligning beliefs, emphasizing value, and using strong financial strategies can increase patient acceptance.

By Roger P. Levin, DDS

There are many factors that contribute to the orthodontic practice’s success. When the right systems and strategies are put in place, orthodontic practices have incredible potential to generate significant patient volume and high levels of production. Orthodontics, more than any other part of dentistry, is a volume-based business that can produce more revenue per day than the other dental disciplines.

One of the biggest keys to success is believing that patients can afford treatment and having the right financial strategies and approach in place to make it happen.

The psychology of orthodontic fees

Orthodontic fees are not based on any scientific methodology as most practices don’t perform studies or any analysis prior to setting their fees. Rather, most orthodontists set their fees based on what other orthodontists have already established. As a result, orthodontic fees are generally within a similar range in most areas. So, where do these beliefs about a patient’s ability to afford treatment come from?

  • First, many parents/patients mention to the front desk after their consult that “orthodontics is expensive.”
  • Second, some parents/patients express to treatment coordinators or front desk staff that they will have to “find a way to pay for treatment” if treatment is to go forward; that it will challenge them financially.
  • Third, orthodontic staff often have sympathy for parents and patients because these are multi-thousand-dollar expenses. They can relate to the challenge of the expenditure.

This psychology is common. It can begin to affect how treatment coordinators communicate with patients, and how front desk staff feel about orthodontic practice fees. This can result in the team not properly following the systems and processes that encourage starts and continuing payments.

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Understanding Maslow‘s hierarchy

Most dental professionals have been exposed to the famous psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is basically a pyramid with different levels in regard to the needs of humans. The bottom level and most basic needs focus on food, clothing, and shelter. As I joke in my orthodontic seminars, there is actually an even more essential human need today and that would include cell phone, cable, internet, and flatscreen. I am joking, but my point to the audience is that the patients coming into the practice all have one or all of these. Patients can afford what they choose to afford, and they choose to afford those basic everyday items that are not necessities. Most people own cars that are more expensive than they can afford, but they can own those cars because of installment payments.

I’m not suggesting that empathy for patients should not be in place, but it can have a terribly negative effect on consults and starts. Here is why: If the front desk staff does not go out of their way to build value in each new patient phone call, those patients might never schedule or come in. Prospective patients don’t get a sense that the practice is proud of everything it does, that it delivers incredible quality, and that it charges accordingly. If the treatment coordinator, as a representative of the practice, is not proud of the excellence of care, customer service, and great orthodontic patient experience, then they may not present with a level of confidence or enthusiasm that expresses this when speaking with a parent or patient. Even these slight negatives can cause parents or patients to seek other offices or reject care altogether. That is a loss to your practice and possibly to the patients.

Practical suggestions to increase starts regardless of fees

  1. Develop exquisite scripting with positive language that focuses on the excellence of treatment in the practice. Over time, TC’s and even orthodontists tend to become more technical and less exciting when presenting treatment. After all, you do it all the time, and if you don’t have scripting, you will gradually default to the technical overview and less to the human side of motivation, enthusiasm, and excitement.
  2. Mention early in the consult that financial options are available. Help the patient understand that they will be able to afford treatment and not to worry about what the final cost will be. In too many consults, the parent or patient sits there simply waiting to hear the fee. They know it is coming and they are wondering if there is any way they can afford treatment. Keep in mind that in America, it is not how much something costs, but how the customer has to pay for it that is the final decision factor. America runs on debt and many parents/patients will be evaluating that in their decision-making process.
  3. Add patient financing as a standard option. Orthodontists generally don’t like this because you believe that you already have patient financing so there should be no need to get it from an outside source and give up a percentage of your fee. This is wrong thinking. There are more people, as we are approaching all-time highest levels of credit card debt, who cannot afford a deposit and cannot afford monthly payments. Sometimes these patients get started only to default on payments within a few months. Having patient financing in place is one way to increase the number of patients that accept treatment. The small part of your fee that you have to give up is minor compared to the final result of still having excellent profit and profit margins.
  4. Focus heavily on the benefits of treatment. Identify three major benefits to focus on and repeat them at least three times in the consult. Parents and patients care much less about the technical aspect of how orthodontic cases are completed and much more about what the benefits are. Most parents and patients want a beautiful smile, so I recommend that you focus very heavily on that. We have seen starts increase almost overnight when we re-orient practices away from too much information and just focus on beautiful smiles as the outcome when communicating with parents and patients on the phone and in the office.

Your patients can afford treatment. Some practices have belief systems that orthodontics is expensive and gradually begin to empathize with that belief system. If you want to maintain or increase your fees, key aspects like scripting, patient financing, focusing on benefits and helping patients believe they can afford treatment go a long way.

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Levin


Roger P. Levin, DDS, is the CEO and founder of Levin Group, a leading practice management consulting firm that has worked with over 30,000 practices to increase production. A recognized expert on orthodontic practice management and marketing, he has written 67 books and over 4,000 articles and regularly presents seminars in the U.S. and around the world. To contact Levin or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit levingroup.com or email [email protected].