Mary Ellen Cagnassola

Practices need to find a method of advertising that works for them, whether it's Facebook or direct outreach.

When it comes to advertising, Dr. Anissa Holmes, the creator of the online dental community 

Before Facebook became the entity it is today, Holmes paid for ads in Yellow Pages, local newspapers, airline magazines, even mailer coupons. But in 2010, she noticed something that changed the way she advertised for good. 

“When I started advertising on Facebook, I was getting five new patients for every $50 spent. The $800 I was spending on Yellow Pages delivered the same number of new patients,” Holmes said.

From there on out, her advertising decision on where to put her ad dollars was a no-brainer.

That’s not to say, however, that there is no value in traditional modes of advertising, Holmes said. Many of them are still effective, and if a practice is seeing a positive ROI from billboard and newspaper ads, they should continue doing what works for them. 

For practices just starting out or struggling to bring in new patients, though, social media is a powerful tool whose cost is a small fraction of what billboards and print ads cost.

“For my clients who we run Facebook campaigns for, none of their budgets are over $500,” Holmes said. “Billboards just don’t do what Facebook does.”

The value of Facebook is not solely due to its comparably small cost, according to Holmes. The reason Facebook is the best strategy, even stacked up against other social platforms, is because it allows businesses to target their audiences using data and measure the metrics on those ads. 

“A dentist’s target demographic is using Facebook. That’s where people hang out, when they wake up in the morning and when they go to bed at night,” Holmes explained. “Before, people were watching TV, now they’re on social media. It gives you a captive audience.” 

From age to occupation to marital status, people put a lot of themselves on Facebook, which allows you to control who sees your advertising. In fact, Facebook even tells you who has visited your website in the past, clicked your links or viewed your videos. You can then put an advertisement directly in their news feed.

While it might sound like Facebook is doing all the work for you, Holmes emphasized that the content you put out dictates the success of your ads.

The power is in images and video, she said. Show the patient what you can do for them rather than putting out generic images and content that has nothing to do with your practice.

“People don’t want to see reposts of dental cartoons. Anytime you’re posting, share the story of your practice. Use testimonials and outreach to build a community,” Holmes advised. “Once people like you and feel a connection, they will want to come in.” 

Dr. Michael Abernathy, owner of Summit Practice Solutions, favors a different approach. While he acknowledges that social media marketing is important, it is only a piece of what dentists should be doing to market themselves. 

“The type of marketing that dentists need to be doing is direct response marketing, meaning that whatever it is you’re doing, it should elicit a phone call,” Abernathy said.

But what does this mean? According to Abernathy, the most important step you can take to attract new patients is the following three things: be in network, be able to treat the whole family, and offer convenient hours. 

That being said, marketing is still a necessary part of getting your brand out to the community. For Abernathy, he found the most success by direct mail and local ads. He urges dentists to stay away from milquetoast advertisements and strive to be the “purple cow” among a herd of boring billboards.

“The real branding comes once a patient enters the office,” Abernathy explained. “Digital marketing has become too common and too impersonal. For every 100 pieces of mail you send out, you will get 1.5 new patients. But it’s effective, personalized marketing.”

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Even the best dentist will never be able to make a body dysmorphic patient happy. 

Dr. Michael Teitelbaum, owner and director at 

, had an inkling that something was off about his patient’s behavior.

It started with the reason the patient came into Teitelbaum’s practice. Sure, many people had sat in the same chair to have their occlusions adjusted, but this case was different.

“He said that his life would be so much better if he could have the bite adjusted on not one side of his mouth, not a section of his mouth, but one particular corner of one tooth,” Teitelbaum recalled. “It was very unusual.”

The second red flag was the miles-long list of other clinicians the patient consulted prior to Teitelbaum, all of whom were unable to successfully treat the man.

“There was one clinician who lectures a lot and who I really respect, and he had been to him 17 times to have his bite adjusted. If this guy couldn’t satisfy him, then what were the odds that I could?” Teitelbaum said.

As it turns out, he couldn’t — no matter how flawless a procedure’s results, the patient’s apparent Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) would never allow him to perceive any improvement.

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BDD, defined by a persistent and intrusive preoccupation with a minor or imagined defect in one’s appearance, occurs in roughly 3 percent of the population, according to a 

. Cosmetic dentists and surgeons deal with these patients infrequently, but in higher numbers than other practitioners. And if those dentists aren’t prepared for BDD sufferers, legal and financial problems aren’t far off.

Patients with a BDD diagnosis cannot legally consent to cosmetic treatments like whitening or occlusion adjustment. Diagnosed or not, treating these patients is an exercise in futility.

“Ethically, it’s the wrong thing to do because the person has a psychiatric condition. It’s like trying to take advantage of someone who is drunk on a date — they’re not in control,” Teitelbaum said. “From a financial standpoint, it doesn’t pay to do the treatment because the patient is never going to be satisfied, and the dentist will have to redo the procedure.”

BDD patients don’t materialize often, but when they do, dentists need to be aware of the three common complaints that unite sufferers of this psychiatric condition.

Before pressing the patient about their fixations, it is crucial for the dentist’s legal protection that a trusted staff member, such as a receptionist or dental assistant, is present to witness the conversation. The number of people in the room must be kept to a minimum to secure patient confidentiality.

“If the person brings up that they can’t hold a job, can’t leave the house, and think about killing themselves, those are the three biggies,” Teitelbaum said. “There’s no reason to kill yourself because your teeth aren’t white enough. It’s not rational, and it requires diagnosis.”

Asking the right questions, the right way, is key to helping BDD sufferers, according to the study. When did the patient become aware of the problem? Why are they seeking treatment now, and how much does this problem consume their lives? If a patient is spending hours a day fixating on what most would consider a minor issue, that is not a patient a dentist should treat.

Most importantly, the dentist needs to put ego aside and accept that no matter what they do, they are never going to satisfy a person with BDD.

“It’s not anything a dentist should even try to fix on their own,” Teitelbaum warned. “It's very tricky, because dentists aren't great at referring to other practitioners in general, and it's extraordinarily difficult to refer someone to a psychiatrist. But that’s what you need to do, and you need to do it in a way that doesn’t offend the patient.”

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Cosmetic dentists and surgeons see traits of Body Dysmorphic Disorder more than any other clinician. The way you handle these cases can put you at legal and financial risk. Find out what one cosmetic dentist advises. 

The Bagua Octagon helps determine where certain energies should reside in your space.

Where you put a chair in your house or waiting room may seem a little inconsequential, but according to Feng Shui experts, the way you arrange your space has a direct effect on many areas of your life and business.

The ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui, which translates to wind-water, is all about energy. Because people are shaped by their surroundings, colors, the objects you keep in a room and where you place those objects dictates the flow of energy, or “chi”.  

As a doctor, you may question the scientific validity of this mystic art. While Feng Shui is considered a pseudoscience, redesigning your space can have a positive influence on your well-being and make your patients happy, too. Here are a few immediate ways you can improve your energy flow both at home and in your practice.

Water, according to the principles of Feng Shui, is a symbol of the flow of chi into your space. A fountain with moving water is said to encourage wealth and positive energy in your life and career. Whether it’s in front of your practice or your home, moving water can only improve your space.

Messy piles and poorly placed objects block the flow of chi into your space. While plants are beneficial when placed properly, they should not be creating an obstacle to your space. Clutter can also be a turn off for your patients, so make sure the entrance to your practice is free of any disorder.

Remember that waiting room from your childhood whose sickly yellow or sterile blue walls left you feeling on edge? Color choices can either make patients comfortable or leave them dreading their appointments. in your home, lack of attention to color can have the same consequence on you and your family.

Different colors and their placement can help different life areas, according to the Bagua Octagon, which helps determine where certain energies reside in your home. See the example above for guidance. As you can see, while painting your walls yellow can bring negative associations, centering the color unifies and balances a space.

This one may seem a tad superstitious, but shutting the doors to your bathroom at home and in your practice is said to protect your finances. Same goes for drains, which should be stopped when they’re not being used. Even if these forces don’t have the mystic influences Feng Shui claims, keeping your practice’s bathroom doors closed will keep this private space out of sight of your waiting patients.

Everyone knows wind chimes are pleasant and relaxing, but they can also encourage people to help you. In your practice, this can lead to increased motivation and productivity from your staff. You may even be able to get your family to participate around the house more by hanging a chime near the front of your home. 

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Chinese mysticism may not be a huge consideration in the way you run your practice. There is no way to verify the value of Feng Shui, but it cannot be denied that paying attention to the colors and arrangement of your home and business can make you â€” and your patients â€” feel more content. Continue below for DMD's top five tips to get you started on improving your Feng Shui. 

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The average debt borrowers graduate with is more than $37,000, according to Credible.

At the American Dental Education Association’s (ADEA) estimate of $261,149, the price tag on becoming a dentist is no small fee.

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, not all cities are created equal when it comes to managing student loan debt. Employment rates, rent and living expenses vary, so it is crucial for recent grads to consider these factors when choosing where to start their lives as young professionals.

Using census data, Credible analyzed the 23 most populous U.S. cities and compared the average income of borrowers with their average monthly housing payment and the average monthly loan payments. Here are the most and least affordable places for post-grads with debt.

: $572 per month. With housing costs, this totals 31.47 percent of borrowers’ monthly income.

: $548 per month. With housing costs, this totals 31.45 percent of borrowers’ monthly income.

: $689 per month. With housing costs, this totals 31.40 percent of borrowers’ monthly income.

: $690 per month. With housing costs, this totals 31.24 percent of borrowers’ monthly income.

: $636 per month. With housing costs, this totals 31.18 percent of borrowers monthly income.

: $688 per month. With housing costs, this totals 26.24 percent of borrowers’ monthly income.

: $671 per month. With housing costs, this totals 26.65 percent of borrowers’ monthly income.

: $628 per month. With housing costs, this totals 26.94 percent of borrowers’ monthly income.

: $663 per month. With housing costs, this totals 27.38 percent of borrowers’ monthly income.

: $587 per month. With housing costs, this totals $27.84 percent of borrowers’ monthly income.

The average borrower monthly student loan payment across the U.S.

The average borrower monthly housing payment.

For recent dental school graduates, loan payments are a heavy burden, leading some to question whether their profession is worth the more than $260,000 in debt. Credible Labs Inc. released a study analyzing U.S. cities in relation to overall student loan debt. Continue below to find out which locations owe the most and the least in loans. 
