Transforming Patient Experience With
AI Chatbots at Dental Practices
People dread the dentist’s chair. (Shocking.)
As a dental practitioner, you've probably accepted that you're not everyone's favorite person. But it's a real bummer knowing that over 60% of the population is terrified of dental visits. If that's how most patients feel, is there anything you can do to make the whole experience a little more inviting? Actually, yes.
AI continues its reign as the technology of the year and for good reason.
As experts delve into what AI can do at scale, businesses everywhere are hopping on board. And two areas are scoring big: improved customer interactions and automation of low-value, time-consuming tasks. In no time at all, businesses are ramping up their profits and helping employees do meaningful work.
And the dental world? Yeah, change isn’t exactly its strong suit. Can you believe that about 80% of dental offices in the U.S. still only use the phone to book appointments? Hold on, here's the kicker – research shows that adopting online booking can boost appointments by 24%!
Navigating Patient Behavior and
Preferences in the AI Era
When dealing with businesses these days, people are exploring beyond traditional communication channels. Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. So, step one in improving the patient experience at your practice is getting to know them better.
Now, if a good portion of your patients are over 50, they might stick to the good ol' phone or shoot out an email. But let's be real, traditional setups can be a bit outdated. The key isn't to replace old ways but to enhance them with intelligent features that actually work. When you sync your phone and email with AI, you can be there for older patients on their favorite channels while you catch up with the modern times. So, if they ring late at night to book an appointment, they won't end up talking to voicemail.
Establish your presence on texting platforms to engage younger patients
Millennials and Gen Z are all about texting and social messaging. Seriously, who isn't glued to their phones these days? But to really tap into this, you need to make use of these channels the way they do. Just having an SMS set up won’t cut it. They expect instant, two-way messaging. A whopping 75% of millennials consider texting a non-invasive and more personal way to talk to businesses. By hooking up your text channels with AI, you can chat with patients instantly on SMS, your website, and other social messengers, making your conversations smooth and effective.
The best part? Digging into patient behavior might just give you answers to those everyday practice management challenges you deal with.
Dental Practice Challenges (+ Ways to Improve
Patient Experience With AI)
Growth challenges faced by dental practices in the U.S.
Staffing shortages to patient fears, here’s the lowdown on some of the biggest challenges that loom over dental practices today and how to tackle them while improving the experience for your patients.
Incessant phone calls
Wouldn’t it be great if every call at the practice turned into an appointment? Sadly, things don’t work that way. Patients ring for all sorts of reasons, even just to ask about practice hours. The issue kicks in when unnecessary calls clog up the line, making patients with more pressing problems wait longer.
We earlier discussed how younger patients prefer texting over calls, but guess what – phones still won’t stop buzzing at dental offices! Solution? Set up an AI chatbot for your phone system. It can handle routine questions and even assist with scheduling appointments without bothering your staff. And if there's a tricky question, you can smoothly transfer it to a skilled staff member during office hours.
Staffing shortages
The dental field really took a hit during the pandemic, and staff shortage became sort of a new normal. It's rough out there – hygienists, dental assistants, admin staff, everyone's in short supply. To push through this tough time, practices need to be able to make the most of their staff time. Automate those mundane tasks like setting appointments and answering FAQs with AI. That way, your staff has the freedom to focus on patients and promote your services.
No-shows on appointment day
Patients missing appointments is a pain. It disrupts schedules, wastes specialists' time, delays treatments for others, and hits your wallet (those empty slots could've been used by someone else!) But here’s the deal. You can cut no-shows in half with a nifty trick – appointment reminders. AI chatbots handle this like a pro, shooting out reminders and making rescheduling a breeze. They even re-engage patients using targeted messaging.
Patient fear of procedures
Aside from the fear of pain, patients dread dental visits because they're not sure what to expect during procedures. This anxiety poses a big challenge for practices. Patients end up postponing appointments or skipping necessary treatments, throwing off schedules into chaos and affecting revenue. AI chatbots can step in as friendly guides, giving patients all the info they need about procedures and answering their questions. They make sure patients feel comfortable and ready for their visit.
Appointment management
Still managing appointments the old-fashioned way? Oh, what a hassle! From last-minute mix-ups to double bookings, it's a disaster just waiting to unfold. But here's the good news: automating scheduling with AI turns it into a user-friendly self-service experience. Patients can pick slots that suit them, all on their own time. And with synced calendars across platforms, there's no risk of double bookings or other hiccups, making the process incredibly smooth.
Blind spots in service delivery
Dentists can get swamped with work, leaving the business side of their practice hanging. But neglecting a system to handle patient feedback might be a missed opportunity. With AI, not only can you talk to patients instantly but also know whether your responses are helpful. How? By automating feedback collection after appointments through texts, calls, or emails. And that's not all – it dives deep into patient queries and other data, spotting trends that offer valuable insights that can help improve how you deliver your services.
How Concerto’s AI co-pilot can take
your patient experience to the next level
Running a dental practice means juggling one too many hats — dentist, entrepreneur, marketer, manager, and the list just keeps growing. It must get crazy overwhelming!
But hey, you'd never want to compromise on the quality of care you give your patients, so you've likely got a CRM system set up. And to make things hassle-free, maybe an appointment scheduling solution too? Then an integration for insurance, a payment gateway… that’s a lot of tools, especially when you just want to focus on the work you love.
Enter Concerto Co-pilot, your practice's new BFF!
It’s all about convenience and personalized AI conversations for your patients and a robust backend solution for you! Concerto Co-pilot lets patients book appointments through texts, phone calls, or website chat. It answers any questions they might have about your practice or procedures, calming their concerns and making life easier for everyone.
Managing appointments is seamless with the synchronized calendar, and our unified inbox lets you see all patient conversations in one place. No more switching between devices or relying on multiple people to sort out requests. With the analytics dashboard, you can get insights into the kind of questions patients have and how well you’ve been handling them. And at any point, if you see a need to take over the conversation, you can!
It’s a true co-pilot in every sense of the word. Managing all aspects of your practice from a single place, it lets you set your sights higher without getting bogged down in the details. Curious to see how it works? Just let us know when you're ready, and we'll reach out!
