Creative Patient Education in Dental Sleep Medicine

Creative Patient Education in Dental Sleep Medicine

Dental Sleep Medicine Instructor for Sleep Group Solutions, Dr. George Jones, discusses how he successfully markets Sleep Disordered Breathing in his dental practice

“It seems that many dentists fall into the trap of thinking that marketing is in poor taste, or something sleazy.” says Dr. George Jones, a dentist in North Carolina.  As a dental sleep medicine advocate, and instructor for Sleep Group Solutions, his goal is to raise awareness of sleep apnea in the dental industry.  Dr. Jones shares his success in marketing Sleep Disordered Breathing in a tasteful and noninvasive manner.

In a recent article in the SGS monthly newsletter, Sleep On It!, Dr. Jones says many of his colleagues feel in order to market a procedure or service, one must apply the ‘used car salesman’ approach of a hard sell. “For me, marketing is simply a way to bring awareness to our services and to ultimately start a conversation.” Dr. Jones says to ditch the hard sell approach, and use marketing pieces which start conversations. “We give our patients all the information they need, and ultimately the ‘sell’ happens organically.”

“Silent motivators are a great way to begin conversations.” mentions Dr. Jones. His office uses framed posters hung in the lobby, which pose interesting sleep-related questions. He noticed by the time he was chairside with his patients, they would bring up these sleep-related questions. His office also uses brochures, and promotional items such as eye masks, pens, and his staff sometimes wear custom pin buttons asking the question, Do you snore?

“I also spend a lot of time presenting in the medical community, that way we can begin the referral conversation.” Dr. Jones has found great success in presenting to local MD’s and discussing oral appliance therapy as a treatment for patients diagnosed with Sleep Apnea. “I made a point to show them my documentation, as many PCPs were not aware how effective appliance therapy could be.”

Many promotional items can be found on The Sleep Mall. To learn more about implementing a Sleep Disordered Breathing protocol, log onto Sleepgs.com for dental continuing education information.