As our reliance on computers has increased over the last two decades, many people have talked of an eventual paperless society, where people rely exclusively on digital communication. True, a Web site should be an important part of your dental marketing plan, and you may engage your patients with e-mail or social media. But the power of paper lives, too. Print media is easier to read, more visible and more environmentally friendly than you might think.

Increasing the flow of new patients is critical to the success of your dental practice. Most endodontists, periodontists and other dental specialists agree that referrals from other dentists and physicians represent the single most significant source of new patients.

Endodontists around the country tell us that dentists are making fewer referrals than ever before. Too often, the only cases referred are either very difficult to treat or ones that have “gone wrong.”

We are often asked why marketing for a dental specialist is different from the marketing activities of a general dentist. The key difference is the way patients determine which endodontist, oral surgeon or other dental specialist to choose.

If you are an endodontist doing a lot of single-session root canals, patient recall may not be a prime issue for your practice. However, for most periodontists, prosthodontists, orthodontists and pediatric dentists, increasing patient recall is critical to the financial well being of their practices.

The short answer is—not much at all. According to Google Analytics, the average time to grab a Web surfer’s attention is somewhere around 30 seconds. Infostar claims that its nonaudible pages average 1 minute, 24 seconds—considerably longer, but still a very short period of time.

It is one thing to have a Web site for your dental practice, but it is another thing to have a Web site that generates new patients. Take a close look at your Web site. Who is it about? You or your patients?

When Roger Levin graduated from the University of Maryland College of Dentistry in 1982, he had no idea what career changes lay in store for him. Like any new DDS, Levin imagined his life as a full-time practicing dentist. But once he was firmly established in his family’s practice, he soon developed a new passion, and one that would change the professional lives of hundreds of dentists: practice management and marketing.

It’s 1982. You’ve just earned your DDS. Your family has a thriving dental practice that’s welcoming you with open arms. Your life is set. Right? Not if you’re Roger Levin. For Levin, the attainment of a DDS was just the beginning of his education.

Levin did join his family’s practice – and soon learned that a widespread problem for many dentists was learning how to successfully market their services and efficiently manage their practices. As a practicing dentist with an avid interest in business, the young doctor set out to change that and ended up with a new, and highly successful, career.