More general dentists are reaping the benefits of implant dentistry than ever before. Some of them start by keeping a small percentage of cases in-house, referring out the complex cases. As they get more clinical training, they then increase the percentage of cases they can keep in-house.

In addition to training, dentists and their team need to build trust and connection with patients. When your patients feel connected with you and your practice, your team will be able to close more implant cases. Existing patients will trust you and your team. People who call in response to dental implant marketing will feel welcome, important, and confident.

But with so many demands on dentists’ time, it’s often challenging to properly train your team to build the connection with patients and prospective patients. That’s why we invited Laura Hatch of Front Office Rocks to one of our Driven Dental Marketing LiveCasts. Laura and her team at Front Office Rocks provide top-quality front-office solutions and training to dental offices. Her training is specifically designed to help dentists boost case acceptance, see new patients, and provide top-notch customer service to patients.

With all the technology available to dentists, you might be surprised to learn the most valuable piece of technology for growing an implant practice is the telephone.

If you could master just one piece of technology to see a virtually immediate boost to your practice, make it the telephone. Here are four reasons why.

1. It's the lifeline to the outside.

People can contact a dental practice in many ways. They can email. They can message on Facebook. They can reach out on other social media channels. They can chat on a website.

While those methods are useful for some things, they’re not very effective for talking with potential implant patients. Dental implant patients prefer getting a knowledgeable, empathetic person on the phone. They want a level of intimacy they can’t get using other contact methods.

No method gives your office the ability to demonstrate your expertise and empathy like the telephone. When people call your office, they want to feel like they’re important and in good hands. Whoever answers the phone will make an impression, one way or another. If the caller feels like they’re in good hands, chances are they’ll make an appointment. If not, they’ll move on to the next dentist.

2. It's your connection to current patients.

Because a large percentage of patients needing implants won’t go to a specialist, many dentists find their current patient list to be a good place to find implant cases when starting out.

When they do, the most effective way to connect with them is to have a trained team member call them. Calling on the phone is the best way to make your message more likely to be heard. Phone calls also offer much more of a personal touch than other contact methods. This is very important when it comes to building trust and making patients feel comfortable moving forward with dental implants. Patients appreciate the extra effort it takes to have a person call them and not just send an automated text message. Call your patients and they’ll know you care about them.

3. It's the connection to potential patients.

Assume someone calls to ask about insurance, costs, and capabilities. Your team member confidently talks to them about each of those things.

At that point, one of two things generally happens. Either the person makes an appointment to come in for a consultation or they end the call. If they end the call, even by saying they’ll call back, your chances of turning that inquiry into a potential patient are slim. If they schedule an appointment to come in for a consultation, your chances of placing an implant skyrocket.

Having an empathetic, knowledgeable person on the phone is important. The key to converting callers into potential patients is your team member’s ability to close. Implant dentistry is life-changing for people. It’s also a big decision. Many times, callers need help to take the next step toward getting their smile back, eating normally again, and boosting their confidence.

Your team member’s ability to help callers take that step is vital to the success of your implant practice.

4. You don't get a second chance to make a first impression.

The first direct contact implant patients have with your office is almost always over the phone. They might see an ad, read reviews, or go to your website before picking up the phone. But the first and most important point of direct contact with your office is often when they call. If the person who answers the phone is cold, unsympathetic, or not knowledgeable, the patient will have a poor impression of your practice and move on. You won’t get a second chance.

If the person is well trained and gives them the time, attention, information, and guidance they need, you’re likely to close a high percentage of cases.

Are you training your team members to give patients the care and attention they need over the phone?

As technologically advanced as we are today, the key to a successful implant dentistry practice is still the telephone. Training your team on the importance of the phone and how to effectively answer calls is one of the best ways to ensure implant-dentistry success.

Team training is one of three parts to a successful implant dentistry practice, together with clinical mastery and effective marketing. To help dentists get started with those three critical pieces, we partnered with the leading expert in implant-dentistry training, Dr. Arun Garg. He’ll conduct his Continuum dental implant training to teach you clinical skills. We at Driven Dental Marketing will teach you marketing and team-training systems. You’ll learn everything you need to attract, close, and start performing implant cases.