Should You Add a Specialty to Your Practice?

Should You Add a Specialty to Your Practice?

Eric Kaufman

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED turning your dental practice into one with a specialized focus? You may have been practicing for years and are interested in a change but have your reservations. Is it too late, and what are the implications? You might have certain expectations, which may or may not play out how you envision. Or maybe you’re not sure what to expect from a particular practice specialization but you’re curious about a transition and you’d like to get some insights.

Motivation for moving into a specialty varies; some doctors are hoping for improved revenue while others are interested in serving a different patient demographic. Maybe you’ve become drawn to the most interesting or cutting-edge aspects of dentistry and want to keep things interesting by facing exciting new challenges. Let’s see if we can paint a small picture to help you decide if a dental specialization would be right for you. There are a variety of specializations to consider, each with its own nuances. Pros and cons for each will vary and be highly dependent on your goals and interests.

Has This Ship Sailed?

Remember being a student planning out a course of study? You might be thinking you missed your chance and that was the time to pursue a specialization—when there were opportunities to explore different options and develop skills and experience while shadowing. Although you may be past that moment, institutions of education can still be used for identifying which programs are popular in your area, so you can assess whether that’s a specialty to avoid or pursue.

It’s natural to worry about unwanted consequences of a serious change to your business. Will I lose all my patients? Will I see a dip in revenue? Will new patients be able to find me after transitioning to a new focus? With a good plan and the right strategy coaching from your marketing partner, these need not be concerns. Don’t let imagined fears prevent you from going after your goals. There’s no need to take chances! Make calculated moves. Be sure to do market analysis to find out how easy it will be to get patients in your area for your chosen specialization—enlist the help of marketing professionals like ProSites to assist you.

Gains and Losses

One of the biggest perks that often comes along with dental specialization is the potential for increased earnings. After all, who doesn’t want to improve their financial situation? If it were as simple as that, though, we’d have an industry filled with nothing but specialists. However, depending on the specific focus, there could be trade-offs and compromises that just won’t be worth it for you.

For example, general care dentists often develop long-term relationships with their patients. This social dynamic is a huge part of the daily experience and quality of their work-life. Often visits are routine and non-emergency. So, your patients are feeling good and acting like their normal selves.

Contrast that with someone who’s been referred to you to address some kind of oral crisis. This is a patient you don’t have a long history with, so there is no social relationship. They’ve come to you so you can fix their problem. The patient might be dealing with panic or feeling like they’re having an emergency—and may have the added stress of financial constraints. Therefore, you’d need to be prepared to—and enjoy—managing those situations. You might find it rewarding to help a patient in a moment of crisis, or maybe the added intensity might feel too stressful on a regular basis.

Naturally, these patients will approach you with a different attitude. Here’s some money, please make this go away. You’ll likely work with them on a short-term basis, and then you’ll be on to another, similar patient. You may long for a deeper, more social daily experience. Or, perhaps, you prefer to operate with greater social distance, get down to business and make quicker money for your hourly efforts.

These generalized scenarios don’t always apply but still serve as an example of the kind of self-assessment you’ll want to consider. So, when you’re exploring a given specialization, gather as much information as you can, not only about financial promise, but also talk to practicing colleagues to get a sense of whether the experience sounds right for you. Most importantly, be honest with yourself about what you want and need.

The consensus among practitioners seems to be that specialists deliver higher standards of care on average because they only do one specific thing. They refine their craft and deliver excellence. Specialists also tend to average more money across the board. However, you really need to like the style of dentistry that being a specialist requires, because you’re likely not making long-lasting relationships with your patients. If you want to nurture and care for families, then general dentistry is a great fit. It can be incredibly rewarding, and you get to tackle a variety of care aspects.

Timing

Timing your transition could be important to keep in mind, along with assessing local competition and other marketing considerations—that you’ll want to have positioned or launched in advance. This is where ProSites can help. Having your web presence tuned to your new specialty and optimized to perform in searches is a great start. Taking a few steps further by setting up an email and social media campaign, and then reviews management, will put you in fantastic shape.

You might be reluctant to start anew after a long career. This is a reasonable concern but shouldn’t be a blocker to transition. All your experience to date will aid in your movement to a new type of practice. But it prompts the question—is there a best time in your career to change to a specialization? Some might argue that you’re best off determining this at the onset. But don’t be deterred. If you’re motivated, a transition can be the right move at any stage.

Implementation

If you think you want to move forward transitioning your practice into a specialty, here are a few preparation and marketing suggestions to encourage a favorable outcome:

• Create a transition strategy that outlines your goals and target audience.

• Keep your site fresh and updated.

• Use email marketing.

• Consider referral oppor tunities and how you’ll establish your network of relationships.

• Display patient reviews and testimonials where prospective patients can read them.

• Offer promotions and discounts.

• Use social media (adding video has an SEO benefit).

• Send out patient satisfaction sur veys.

• Use local SEO.

• Update your Google business profile.

Any specialty would require marketing tactics that are specific to that niche field and strategies to reach the right patient market. In order to hit the target, you should enlist the help of a dental marketing firm. Reach out to NYSDA-endorsed ProSites at prosites.com/NYSDA for a free consultation to discuss the best strategies for marketing your practice, no matter your situation. With over 20 years of experience supporting the dental community, we’re here to provide the industry-specific marketing you need for a successful practice transition. And congratulations on taking this step toward reaching your goal!

Mr. Kaufman is a writer/editor/instructional designer with ProSites, a NYSDA-endorsed provider of dental marketing and practice solutions, including website design, social media and reputation management and video marketing.