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Growing Your Dental Practice with a New Branded Product BY SARAH SHARFSTEIN, VP OF CATEGORY STRATEGY AT ASPEN DENTAL
When trying to grow a dental practice, there are many paths to take. Some of the tried-and-true methods are bringing more doctors on board, attracting new patients, and introducing new technologies and services for better patient care.
But one method that is often overlooked: developing a new branded product that meets an unmet need for your patients.
Understanding the needs of patients and doctors In dentistry, we get to know our patients well. Doctors, hygienists, and dental care teams understand patient needs and challenges – both individually and at scale. And that
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means we are continually looking for opportunities to improve their experience, their health, and their smile. In 2018, when I joined Aspen Dental, the largest network of branded dental offices in the world, after spending more than a decade working in the clear aligner space – we saw a great opportunity – a white space for the company. The Aspen Group (TAG) is a healthcare services organization
MARCH/APRIL 2022 • DENTIST ENTREPRENEUR ORGANIZATION
headquartered in Chicago that supports doctors and dental care teams at nearly 1,000 independently owned Aspen Dental practices across the country. As a healthcare service organization, its primary objective is to support practice owners and doctors so they can provide better care to more people. TAG is continually looking for new ways to support doctors and their teams – to help them advance their knowledge and expertise in new and innovative areas of dentistry. While Aspen Dental has long been known for providing general dentistry and restorative care – including dentures and implants, one area where I immediately saw opportunity to differentiate in orthodontics was clear aligners. Clear aligners have been part of the orthodontics category for more than two decades. But the opportunity was: truly understanding what consumers were looking for, understanding the challenges doctors face, and finding a new way to fill that gap in the clear aligner space. When it comes to clear aligners, we know consumers are looking for consistency in the brand experience, and a doctor-guided experience that will prove effective and long-lasting results – something they could not truly find anywhere else. This was the challenge.
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