According to a survey published in the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA), 81.8% of people are keen to undergo teeth whitening treatment. Tooth color was cited as the biggest source of smile dissatisfaction, explaining why North America accounts for 33% of the world’s multi-billion dollar teeth whitening market. With demand forecast to increase 40% by 2026, teeth whitening represents a promising growth opportunity for your practice.
Growing your practice with whitening
Teeth whitening makes a huge difference to your patients. A whiter smile has been shown to have a significant positive impact on oral health-related quality of life, self-perception and wellbeing. Satisfied patients are more likely to return and to tell others about you, generating repeat business, new patients and additional revenue for your practice.
When your patients have a smile they feel proud of, they’re more inclined to take care of it. A 2021 randomized controlled study found that teeth whitening served as a strong motivating factor for maintaining good oral health and had a positive influence on long-term oral hygiene. This can lead to more frequent hygiene appointments and better oral health outcomes – a win for both patient and practice.
Teeth whitening can also generate interest in further esthetic procedures. It’s an accessible, affordable and quick way for your patient to start feeling excited about their smile potential. In addition to returning for top-up whitening, then, they may return to your practice for further esthetic or restorative work.
Colgate Optic White Professional
As you can see, teeth whitening opens up a number of additional revenue opportunities for your practice. Colgate Optic Whitening Professional was designed to help you take advantage of these opportunities while offering your patients incredible results.
The Colgate Optic White Professional Take-Home Whitening Kit (sold as Colgate Optic White Light Up in Australia) delivers dramatic whitening results at home in just five days. The hydrogen peroxide whitening serum is applied with a mess-free applicator pen and dries quickly to a thin film, reducing the risk of gingival contact and irritation. Then the patient simply places the rechargeable LED device over the teeth for just ten minutes, once a day. The kit contains enough serum for four complete whitening cycles.
The benefit for you is that the take-home kit requires no chair-time, staff time or additional equipment on your part. That means you can add a lucrative revenue stream to your practice with minimal effort or overheads.
Promoting your whitening offer
1. Talk about it!
Some dental professionals find it difficult to broach the topic of whitening for fear of offending patients or being seen as “salesy”. The statistics indicate that the majority of your patients are absolutely open to whitening, so don’t be afraid to start the conversation. Enquire about any esthetic concerns they might have and let them know you can help. Ask about upcoming life events like vacations or birthdays, as these are often big motivators for whitening.
2. Take a shade match
Taking a shade match at every appointment is a good way to neutrally approach whitening. You can compare previous shades and objectively mention any differences in shade, offering a cue for your patient to tell you if they’re unhappy with their current tooth color.
3. Offer lifetime whitening
Lifetime whitening is where you offer free or reduced-cost whitening maintenance for patients who follow your recommendations in regards to hygiene recalls and other oral health matters. As well as improving their long-term oral health, this incentivizes your patients to attend their appointments and could prevent last-minute rescheduling or cancellation.
4. Price wisely
Consider your long-term goals when pricing your whitening service. If you primarily hope to attract people who will spend more on further esthetic work, you might want to price on the higher side. But if you’re more interested in fostering long-term relationships, a more accessible price tag may be better.
Was this article helpful?
If you’d like a response, Contact Us.