2011 Annual Session - High Technology and Short Treatment Times or Great Case Acceptance: Is it Either/Or, or Can You Have Both?/ The New Normal and the Future of Orthodontics

High Technology and Short Treatment Times or Great Case Acceptance: Is it Either/Or, or Can You Have Both

For the past 7-10 years, treatment times have been declining. Orthodontic fees have been going up at the same time, but much faster than our national rate of inflation, and orthodontists have been adding extremely high cost technology, whether that technology be in new appliances such as plastic aligners, high tech 3D imaging, or elsewhere. The problem with all of this is that year by year, fewer and fewer patients can afford treatment, especially considering the short term financial arrangements being offered patients today compared to what was offered 10+ years ago, and case acceptance rates today are significantly worse than they have been in the past. Since the decline in case acceptance started well before our current economic woes, and since recessions cause declines in new patient flow but increases in the rate of case acceptance, the reduced case acceptance we see today is not significantly related to our current economy. Essentially the vastly improved technology, and the increased costs of that technology, is shrinking the available marketplace! Are there solutions?

Learning Objectives:

• How to use hi-tech (3D imaging, short treatment times, etc.) and still sell the case
• Why so many patients will not start if you do not finance their case
• How to safely make financial arrangements longer than treatment time
• How to accomplish that and remain delinquency free!

The New Normal and the Future of Orthodontics

Despite what some may be claiming, the future of orthodontics remains bright. The secrets to running a successful practice really are not secrets at all. Learn how many orthodontic practices are coping and even thriving during the "Great Recession." Indeed, in most parts of the country, the orthodontic paradigm has not shifted from the clinically and financially rewarding profession it has always been to the mere provision of a commodity type of service.

Learning Objective:

• Learn how the successful practices remain successful even during tough and changing times