|
New Articles
   |
July 2009 | dentalproductsreport.com Vacation emergencies When out-of-towners suffer a dental emergency, how will they know to select your practice? Learn how to market for vacation emergencies.  Photo: Pando Hall/Getty Images With summer already one month deep and vacation season in full force, dental practices in resort towns and tourist destinations should consider a new demographic of patients: the vacationer. When a dental emergency happens to a patient far from home, what should you do to get your practice noticed? According to the American Dental Association some of the most common dental emergencies include: a bitten lip or tongue, broken tooth, cracked tooth, broken jaw, knocked out tooth, object caught between teeth and toothache. And although there are many ways for the patient to handle these injuries on their own, with a cold compress and a glass of milk, most won’t know the proper protocol. (See sidebar for more information). Danny Bobrow, MBA, executive director for Climb for a Cause, and president of the American Dental Marketing Company, suggests putting yourself in the vacationers shoes. If you were out-of-town and needed emergency dental assistance, how would you go about looking for urgent and quality care? One way, Bobrow said, is to reach out to all the local hotels, resorts and bed and breakfasts located near your practice. Especially those that are popular hot spots for vacationers. Try talking to hotel management or the concierge about your services and ask them to recommend guests with dental concerns to contact you for help. Another place to go is your local hospital. In dental emergencies where a lot of blood loss occurs, patients are likely to go to the emergency room. Be sure that once they arrive the nurses in the ER know to recommend you and your practice for emergency dental care. Be sure to stress your capability to handle dental emergencies as part of your practice’s services and ask that your services be mentioned to 911 operators as well. And don’t forget advertising. Put an ad in the yellow pages or local newspaper. Bobrow spoke to Dr. Louis Feldman, of Cape May New Jersey, where a majority of the year, the population is made primarily of vacationers. Specializing in several areas of dentistry, including endodontics, Feldman has an ongoing ad in the local paper that emphasizes that they treat and can handle almost any dental emergency. Additionally, his ad stresses that he is endorsed by Urgent Care. According to Urgent Care’s website, they are a after-hours and walk-in facilities that offer medical care. Especially convenient when patients cannot wait for an appointment, they are also useful when patients’ doctors (or the patients themselves) are on vacation. Dr. Feldman’s endorsement by Urgent Care secures that he will be recommended to those vacationers then need dental attention without knowing where to go. Since the Cape May Urgent Care is located at the foot of the bridge, anyone entering Cape May is forced to see it as they drive into town, increasing the chances that they will go their should an emergency arise. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
|
|
Printer Friendly
Email Article
