The Value of Prevention: How Simple Preventive Procedures Transform Your Practice

While most of us agree that preventive care is important, the truth of the matter is, prevention gets placed on the backburner of most dentists’ minds. We get it – between complex restorative cases, emergency calls, insurance headaches, and on top of that running a business, there is little time to think about how sealant placements or fluoride varnish applications can add value to your practice…But indeed these simple preventive procedures offer so much to you and your patients! 

Let’s take a closer look at some of the reasons why prioritizing preventive care will benefit your practice:

1. Increased Patient Satisfaction. Think about it – if you kept getting the flu and your doctor treated the symptoms but never told you about the flu vaccine, which could prevent or significantly lower your risk of getting the flu in the first place, would you be satisfied with their approach? Whether you decided to proceed with the vaccine or not, you would have appreciated at least learning about this option. The same approach applies in dentistry. Caries is a disease, and we know about simple preventive procedures that can greatly reduce the patient’s risk. Are you offering these treatments to all patients? There is a myriad of reasons why you might not. For example, you might assume that since insurance doesn’t cover such procedures for adults, your adult patients will decline. So, why even bring it up? The truth is when you explain the benefits of preventive care properly, your patientsmay be willing to cover the fee themselves. These conversations build trust, showing your patients that you want to help them achieve better oral health! 
2. Fewer Emergency Calls. Dentistry is not easy. You show up every day and juggle a lot of complex situations – insurance denials, patients with severe dental anxiety, the patient who is experiencing complications because they didn’t follow post-op instructions, and so much more. When you finally get to relax on a well-deserved vacation, the last thing you want to do is pick up the phone and learn that one of your patients is in extreme pain from an abscessed tooth. While many dentists still use the “watch and wait” approach, delaying care can sometimes have terrible consequences, and dealing with the stress of an emergency call is not something you want to do while on vacation. Next time, don’t simply place a “watch” on a tooth – consider which treatments to offer the patient to prevent the disease from progressing. Your next vacation will be worry-free knowing your patients are better protected.
3. Professional Satisfaction. There are many individual paths that lead to practicing dentistry. Some people have dreamed about becoming a dentist since kindergarten; some followed in the footsteps of a family member, while others were drawn to the prestige of the profession. No matter the initial “why”, after years of practicing, burnout can start to creep in. It’s just another day, week, month, year of drill and fill…Though you understand the work you do is important, the repetitive nature of the procedures you perform may make your workdays feel monotonous and uninteresting. That is why it’s important to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. While the need for restorative dentistry is undeniable, placing a bigger focus on preventive dentistry can help you find more purpose in your work. Preventive care allows you to make a big difference in your patient’s lives. You have the power to help your patients avoid dental issues and the pain, suffering, and financial burden that come along with them. You can help your patients keep a healthy smile for a lifetime – this is BIG! When you embrace preventive dentistry at your practice, your impact is significant – you are not changing the life of just an individual patient, you improve the oral health of a community! You have the potential for wide-reaching change at your fingertips (literally and figuratively) – what can be more satisfying?
4. Revenue Builder. If you own your own practice, you are not just a clinician but a business owner, too! Let’s face it – in the recent years, we all have been impacted by the rising costs of…virtually everything. Maintaining high levels of patient care while staying on top of ever-mounting expenses can feel like an impossible feat. Did you realize that preventive procedures can be an easy way to not only deliver better care to your patients but also improve your practice’s financial health? Let’s review an example. Regular fluoride varnish treatments can add close to a $30,000 profit per year per operatory. How did we get this number? Let’s break it down by looking at some average numbers:
   • If the average number of patients, you see per day is 8. 
   • Let’s say approximately 60% are at medium or high risk, or under the age of 18, meaning they should be recommended fluoride varnish treatment. 
   • You bill an average fee of $25 per patient. 
   • Fluoride varnish costs you $1 per application. 
   • You pay your hygienist $60 per hour (meaning the 1-minute varnish application equates to $1 labor cost)
   • Your net profit per application will be $23
   • Your profit gain per day = $110 per operatory
   • With 250 working days per year, this is a $27,500 profit. 

The exact numbers will vary for each practice, but you get the picture. Preventive procedures quite literally pay off!

Hopefully the four reasons outlined above help you understand why embracing prevention might be the best thing you do for your practice. These are just a few examples of the benefits you might experience. We hope you become a prevention advocate and experience firsthand how much value this approach to care provides to your patients and your practice. 

Our mission at Centrix is to make prevention easier for you. We have developed preventive solutions like FluoroDose^® fluoride varnish, Champ^® sealant, and SilverSense SDF^® 38% silver diamine fluoride, that have become customer favorites. Our products not only offer unique features and benefits but are also priced attractively, providing you with maximum value. 

We encourage you to check out our full line of award-winning preventive products, loved by both patients and clinicians.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss the specifics of how preventive care can benefit your practice, our knowledgeable reps will be happy to assist. Call 800.235.5862 or reach out to your Centrix Account Manager!