Dr. Frank Clayton

The Atlanta Center for Dental Excellence reviews this automated marketing and communications solution.

Demandforce D3 offers features such as: Two-way text message capabilities for patients to confirm appointments; intelligent newsletters that enable practices to segment the patient base; and a digital consultant that displays critical practice health metrics against aggregate data across the Demandforce network, highlighting areas for improvement.
	demandforce.com

Even while riding out an uncertain economy, I just added another employee. For $1.14 an hour, how could I afford not to? This team player shows up on time, doesn’t gossip with the others, takes no lunch break, does great work without fail and is loved by patients. You can hire an employee just like this one if you are ready to embrace the thought of greater efficiency through technology.

My stellar “employee” is Demandforce, computer software that helps me manage my practice without wasting valuable front desk or doctor time. Through text messaging and e-mail, Demandforce reminds patients of upcoming appointments, alerts them when it’s time to schedule an appointment, and allows them to schedule without interrupting my front desk.

These are the three main features, but there are many others: Demandforce collects patient reviews, which help me analyze practice performance; allows new and existing patients to request appointments; and promotes my practice without costly postage and printing expenses. This software has delivered far and away the best return on a dental investment I have made.

Demandforce operates behind the scenes, and you don’t have to have an IT degree to make it work for you. In its simplest form, it looks at your schedule at the end of every day and then sends out reminders, either text or e-mail according to each patient’s preference. We set ours to send a confirmation two days before an appointment and then again 12 hours prior.


	The clinicians of the Atlanta Center for Dental Excellence (theacde.com) conduct independent, unbiased reviews of products and services based on actual ongoing use in an active practice. Evaluation criteria include overall quality, contribution to practice success and return on investment. In the five-star rating system, one star indicates a “poor” rating, and five stars indicate a rating of “excellent.” After a visit, Demandforce e-mails the patient to request feedback, which you can use to measure patient satisfaction as well as promote your practice. Demandforce then collects responses from existing patients, which can be found online by potential patients searching for a new dentist. All of these components work together seamlessly and automatically to optimize office production and efficiency.

Patient retention and internal referrals are much less expensive than marketing to a new patient, and Demandforce makes internal marketing easy. For instance, you can e-mail promotions to existing patients without additional cost. Say you have an idea for his-and-her whitening for Valentine’s Day-perfect for the procrastinating male who not only waits until the last minute, but also wants to share in the pleasure of whiter teeth. Demandforce can send out an e-mail postcard, and the patient simply clicks a button to purchase. No phone calls, no stamps, no worries. Plus, each promotion is tracked and measured so you can see which ones work best and which ones might need some tweaking.

Unlike cavity prep varnishes, the Internet is not fading away. Technology has allowed dentistry to ride the wave by enhancing our clinical world, and it provides just as many benefits for the administrative side. Computers are the mitochondria of our offices, working behind the scenes not only to power better clinical results, but also to boost profitability and decrease stress. Allow your staff to give your patients uncompromised, quality face-to-face time; let Demandforce handle the grunt work. Together, they’re a winning, seamless team.


	The Benchmark column is written by the directors of the Atlanta Center for Dental Excellence, an alliance of practicing clinicians dedicated to progress in dentistry. The ACDE advises dental companies on product development and marketing, and provides PACE-approved high-level continuing education. To learn more, visit theacde.com, or contact Molly Thompson at info@theacde.com.

Frank Clayton, DDS, is founder and president of the ACDE. He speaks to sales professionals on marketing to dental clients, and he practices general dentistry in Suwanee, GA. 

Articles

The Atlanta Center for Dental Excellence reviews this automated marketing and communications solution. Demandforce D3 offers features such as: Two-way text message capabilities for patients to confirm appointments; intelligent newsletters that enable practices to segment the patient base; and a digital consultant that displays critical practice health metrics against aggregate data across the Demandforce network, highlighting areas for improvement. demandforce.com

Product Review: Demandforce D3

	Zirconia is a wonderful restorative material with superior strength and esthetics. During the past 10 years, labs and dentists have increasingly incorporated zirconium crowns into their practices. But as tough as these crowns are, failure can occur, particularly because many labs didn’t follow protocol in producing the first zirconium-porcelain crowns. Unfortunately, the strength that makes a zirconium crown such an attractive option also makes it very difficult to remove with a conventional bur.

	You might have successfully placed many, but then one Saturday you get the dreaded call-a patient has a fractured crown. Your stomach drops a little; you look in the chart and hope it was that PFM done in ’96 on tooth No. 2, not the zirconium-porcelain crown you placed on No. 12 in ’06.

	Fears rush through your mind, sparks flying (literally); wearing out three or four conventional burs; applying so much pressure on the zirconium that you gouge the butter-soft dentin. On top of everything, the patient wants it off today. You’ve got a recipe for misery.

	But I have found a way to eliminate the sparks, preserve my best conventional diamond burs and dramatically reduce procedure time. On the advice of a colleague, I tried KOMET’s ZR-Diamonds™ series ZR 943 bur with a patient who required several crown removals. Having created sparks of my own and gone through several burs per tooth in the past, I was ready to try any alternative that promised to be the right tool for the job. One ZR disc and eight minutes later, I had removed crowns from tooth Nos. 7, 8, 9 and 10. My assistant looked at me as if to say, “That was too easy.” It was then, and still is.

	In the year since I began using it, the ZR 943 has saved my office thousands of dollars in conventional burs and chair time. This bur laughs at zirconia while it creates the perfect path for removal. Make a score line along the buccal and lingual surfaces, and then use your favorite crown remover to complete the job. Following anesthetic, removal now takes one to two minutes per tooth.

	Understandably, a tool this powerful comes with a note of caution: If it removes zirconium with ease, imagine what it can do with an errant graze to tissue. But with a little practice and extra care, you actually reduce risk with the ZR 943 rather than increase it. You don’t have to apply heavy pressure when cutting these tough copings as you likely have with conventional burs. On the contrary, a light, sweeping touch is all it takes. After a few uses, you will become accustomed to this bur’s power. 

	Changing operatory protocol and trying a new product is unfamiliar territory we all have to enter some time. I was skeptical when I first read about the ZR 943, but my doubt has been laid to rest. With the widespread use of all-zirconium crowns and zirconia’s continued use as a strong, viable dental material, I anticipate that these burs will be a must for your bur kit. Don’t be caught unprepared on a Saturday. Keep the sparks and your stress level down and have a ZR 943 ready to use on your next zirconia removal. 

	The Benchmark column is written by the directors of the Atlanta Center for Dental Excellence, an alliance of practicing clinicians dedicated to progress in dentistry. The ACDE advises dental companies on product development and marketing, and provides PACE-approved high-level continuing education. To learn more, visit 

Frank Clayton, DDS, is founder and president of the ACDE. He speaks to sales professionals on marketing to dental clients, and he practices general dentistry in Suwanee, Ga.

 conduct independent, unbiased reviews of products and services based on actual ongoing use in an active practice. Evaluation criteria include overall quality, contribution to practice success and return on investment. In the five-star rating system, one star indicates a “poor” rating and five stars indicate a rating of “excellent.”

 Zirconia is a wonderful restorative material with superior strength and esthetics. During the past 10 years, labs and dentists have increasingly incorporated zirconium crowns into their practices. But as tough as these crowns are, failure can occur, particularly because many labs didn’t follow protocol in producing the first zirconium-porcelain crowns. Unfortunately, the strength that makes a zirconium crown such an attractive option also makes it very difficult to remove with a conventional bur.  The scenario