In addition to improving health outcomes, patient education has a strong business rationale. Keeping dental patients informed about treatment options, oral health conditions, and the latest advancements in dentistry can increase satisfaction and retention rates and even help you attract more patients. 

With this in mind, check out our top tips for developing and delivering effective dental education for patients:

1. Ensure That Your Educational Materials Are Accessible 

As a dental professional, you likely default to technical language without even realizing it. That’s not a problem when speaking with other oral health experts, but you want to avoid medical jargon when communicating with patients. Use everyday language where possible, and keep your informational materials concise, simple, and easy to understand. 

You also need to remember that people process information differently. Auditory learners learn by listening, visual learners learn by seeing and reading, and process learners learn through association and application. Your educational materials should cater to the different learning styles and feature a well-balanced mix of text, practical examples, and high-quality visual aids, such as:

• Photos
• Graphs
• Videos
• Animations
• 3D dental models

Generational differences can also influence how people absorb information. Older patients may prefer paper-based brochures and booklets, whereas millennials and Gen Z patients are more likely to use digital resources like blogs, online articles, mobile apps, and other software solutions. Keep those differences in mind and consider providing both hardcopy and electronic educational materials in your practice.

2. Don’t Scare Patients — Empower Them

It’s important to educate people about various oral diseases and conditions, as well as the potential consequences of neglecting oral care or failing to address issues early. 

However, you don’t want to terrify your patients into inaction. Instead, create a sense of agency and empowerment by detailing the available treatment options, laying out concrete steps patients can take to improve their oral health, and explaining how your practice can help.

You should also set time aside for one-on-one discussions before, during, or after appointments. By personally answering patients’ questions and appeasing their concerns, you can help them feel seen, heard, and supported. In addition to improving dental care outcomes, that’s a highly effective way to increase retention rates and generate repeat business.

3. Step Up Your Branding Efforts

Informational materials can do more than provide dental education for patients: They can also promote your business. 

At a minimum, everything from the waiting room brochures to the informational videos on your website should feature your practice name, logo, brand colors, and contact information. 

Don’t stop there — make sure that your materials also reflect your dental health philosophy and your services. Do you prioritize a healthy lifestyle and regular preventative care over invasive procedures? Make sure your communications, branding, and informational materials get that message across.

If you want to really stand out from the crowd, consider developing original content using intraoral photography, case studies, and patient interviews from your practice. Many dental care providers repurpose and recycle the same generic information, so creating unique materials can help you cut through the noise.

4. Use Loyalty Rewards To Facilitate Patient Education 

Patients today don’t want to read boring leaflets. The patient education of the future is fun, interactive, and gamified. 

That’s precisely the philosophy underpinning the patient loyalty program by Dental Intelligence. Our smart solutions for loyal patients can incentivize various behaviors that will improve health outcomes and make your practice more efficient, such as:

• Confirming appointments
• Being on time
• Submitting insurance information
• Filling out patient forms
• Referring family and friends
• Making payments on time

Crucially, you can customize our loyalty program to reward patients when they engage with messages from your practice, including educational communication. 

Educate, Engage, and Delight Your Patients With Dental Intelligence

Dental patients today expect to have information and services at their fingertips. To outrun the competition, you must stay ahead of the technology curve and deliver the modern solutions your patients seek and love.

At Dental Intelligence, we understand the importance of creating interactive dental education for patients. With our smart solutions for dental practices, you can not only engage and inform patients but also receive powerful analytics, benefit from online scheduling, process payments online, and more.

Don’t take our word for it. Contact us to schedule a free demo and learn how to attract new patients, retain existing ones, and boost your revenue.