With people taking a more active role in choosing their health care providers, word-of-mouth advertising is increasingly important to the success of your dental specialty practice. A strong Web presence is essential, as is maintaining communication with existing patients and referral sources. But what about the people who ask friends or family members for a recommendation?

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.”

Sometimes dental specialists see generating referrals as a passive activity, as something that just happens. The reality is that the dental specialists who benefit most from referrals have worked very hard to obtain them.

The key to getting more referrals from other dentists and physicians is to be more memorable. If they don’t remember you, they are not going to make referrals to your dental practice.

In the dental marketing world, a referrals-based practice is the “gold standard” most practices hope to attain, but which only a select few will reach. Why? Because a practice that is able to grow and thrive based only on referrals takes years of hard work and dedication, and a willingness to first develop—and then maintain—a series of marketing practices that encourages other people to bring in all of your new patients for you. Sound like hard work? It is. But the rewards are well worth the effort.

Establishing a profitable practice is the goal of most dental specialists. But for busy practitioners the question quickly becomes: How can you effectively build the profitability of your business while meeting the clinical demands of your practice? Here are seven key drivers to consider that will help you accomplish that goal and keep your practice profitable even in this down economy.

Referrals are a powerful way to build your dental patient base, and your profits. If your practice isn’t getting the referrals it should, consider these tips to help improve your program:

In real estate, it’s location, location, location. In making your practice attractive to referring dentists, it’s communication, communication, communication. The biggest mistake doctors can make is not reporting back to the referring dentist on a patient’s status. Even worse: not reporting back to them before the patient calls the referring dentist for an update. Fortunately, there are many ways to effectively communicate to the referring dentist and avoid embarrassment.

Just because another dentist has referred patients to you once does not guarantee that the dentist will continue to make referrals. Getting the initial referral is half the battle. The other half is maintaining good relationships with referring dentists and other healthcare providers so that you do not get lost in the shuffle. Here are five friendly ways to maintain existing physician referrals.