Research

Why COVID-19 increases your need for contactless payments

April 24, 2020 By DentalBuzz Staff 1 Comment

We love sharing good information that empowers dental practices to make unbiased decisions, which is why our friends at SoftwarePundit didn’t even have to send us any sort of payment, contactless or otherwise, to get the word out about their dental software review site. This category of solutions should be on the top of your research list right now, for obvious reasons.

by Bruce Hogan

Traditionally, dental practices have been slower to adopt new technology than other medical practices. Most dental professionals can understand why – implementing new technology is a time consuming and tedious process! However, the benefits of overcoming these barriers are often well worth the pain. Do you remember the days before automated appointment reminders? Without software tools, front-office staff were forced to manually call patients before every appointment!

Practices nationwide are increasingly adopting payment processing technology called contactless payments. Contactless payments refer to a variety of ways that patients can pay for treatments digitally, whether it’s paying through a text message or using a mobile wallet like Apple Pay. Patients are no longer forced to pay by mailing a check.

Why are dental practices starting to offer contactless payments? It’s what patients want! A recent study showed that 35% of customers are interested in paying with a text from their phone, but only 4% of small businesses offer this payment option. Additionally, 62% of buyers under the age of 35 would frequently or always pay with a text from their phone if they could. Allowing patients to pay the way they want to is an effective way to increase revenue and patient satisfaction.

Covid-19 is accelerating the need for dental practices to adopt payment technology. With shelter-in-place orders, patients can’t physically come into your office to pay for treatment they have received. Many practices are understaffed or closed right now, and do not have the capability to print and mail statements. Most importantly, when patients do begin returning to practices, contactless payments will allow patients to pay without any direct physical contact with your team.

Benefits of Contactless Payments for Dental Practices

There are three primary benefits of contactless payments: they lead to improved operational agility during crises like coronavirus, increased revenue, and reduced administrative workload.

Contactless Payments are Particularly Beneficial During Coronavirus

Contactless payments are ideal during Covid-19 because it allows patients to pay for treatments without being physically close to staff. Practices can use contactless payments to collect payments for services they have rendered prior to the shut down. This would be especially beneficial for cash-strapped practices that need an immediate influx of cash.

Additionally, contactless payments could be a part of the operational changes that practices make to increase safety after reopening. Contactless payments allow patients to maintain a safe distance from front-office staff when making payments. It’s congruent with the social distancing behavior that we’ve been practicing since March.

Finally, contactless payments are a valuable tool for practices that offer teledentistry appointments. After appointments are finished, you can immediately send patients a payment request digitally. This makes the payment process much easier and faster for both parties.

When practices offer patients more options to pay, they pay more often

Weave, a patient communication software company, commissioned an independent market research firm to survey a random sample of 380 small business customers and 350 small business owners to understand their behaviors and perceptions regarding payment options. In this study, the research firm found that small businesses that offer more payment options increased revenue by 29%. The study’s conclusion supports a common sense notion that we, as consumers, can all relate to – we are more likely to pay, if we can pay the way that we want to!

Contactless Payments Makes Billing Easier for You

Contactless payment software also reduces a lot of clerical work for dental practices. Traditionally, the collection process involves printing and mailing statements, entering billing information, and managing merchant accounts. Most contactless payment software automates these tasks for you. For example, the billing process using Weave’s text-to-pay feature involves a single text. The patient inputs their own payment information, and the software automatically processes the payment.

Types of Contactless Payments

There are several types of contactless payments. While they differ slightly, all share the benefit of patients being able to pay remotely.

Send Payment Requests by Text

Practices can use software tools, like Weave, Podium, and Doctible, to send payment requests by text. You simply enter the patient’s phone number, input a treatment amount, and attach a statement. This is much easier than traditional collection methods that involve printing and mailing statements, collecting billing information, and charging each transaction manually! Patients input their own billing information into the text, payments are automatically processed, and the money goes straight into your bank account.

Send Payment Requests by Email

Many software tools allow you to send payment requests by email. The process is similar to sending payment requests by text. You enter the patient’s email address, attach statements, and enter payment amounts. The software takes care of the rest.

Process Payments with a Desktop Application

For patients more comfortable paying for treatment over the phone, many solutions have desktop applications with a payment-processing tool. Front-office staff can input card information directly into the app, and the tool automatically processes the payment.

Receive Payments Through Mobile Wallets

Many patients prefer paying for treatment using a mobile wallet, like PayPal OneTouch and Apple Pay. Making this payment option available makes the billing process more convenient for your patients.

How to Get Started with Contactless Payments

Here’s a list of steps that we recommend when searching for the right vendor. Typically, the process takes about 1-2 months from initial research to completed software implementation.

Create a Short-list of Potential Vendors

Make a list of the vendors in the market that interest you. We recommend Doctible, Podium, and Weave to get your list started.

Research Each Vendor

While doing your research, keep an eye out for the most important qualities in the vendors. This includes price, features, and quality of customer service. SoftwarePundit provides in-depth analysis on many vendors that provide contactless payments. Check them out!

Talk to Existing Customers of Each Vendor

One of the best ways to learn about vendors is to speak with customers who have used the product first hand. Customers will typically speak candidly about what they like and dislike about the product, and give you a clear idea of what you should expect. SoftwarePundit for Dentists is a Facebook group created to serve as a platform for dentists to discuss dental software.

Go Through Sales Process

Reach out to each vendor, and begin the sales process. The sales process typically involves a series of steps including:

Introductory call
Product demo
Product testing
Contract negotiation & signing
Software implementation and staff training

Are You Ready to Find The Best Software for You?

Finding the right software to implement contactless payments can be a confusing process. Our job at SoftwarePundit is to make this process easier, and help you pick the best software that fits you and your team’s style and needs. Come visit our website if you have any questions about contactless payments in dentistry!

Bruce Hogan is Co-founder & CEO of SoftwarePundit, a technology research firm that provides advice, information, and tools to help businesses thrive. Bruce has experience investing at multi-billion dollar private equity firms, leading teams at venture-backed Internet companies, and launching new businesses.

A wake-up call to infants

August 26, 2013 By DentalBuzz Staff 3 Comments

A Wake Up Call to Infants: Dentists Recommend ‘Healthier Lifestyle’

by Elizabeth McAvoy, RDH

Dental professionals have issued a serious wake-up call to infants around the world, encouraging them to live a healthier lifestyle. The bold announcement comes in the wake of new research that suggests up to 40% of American children have cavities and more serious dental caries by the time they reach kindergarten (i). According to a new study, those cavities are most likely the result of an unhealthy lifestyle during infancy.

To better understand how poor oral health during infancy can lead to cavities later in life, researchers at the University of Illinois studied the origin and spread of oral bacteria in babies between the ages of 12 and 24 months. Lead researcher and University professor, Dr. Kelly Swanson, summarizes the findings by explaining, “The soft tissue in the mouth appear to serve as reservoirs for potential pathogens prior to tooth [formation],” (i).

Infants Respond to Warning, Asking Parents for Help

In wake of the University of Illinois study, infants are asking parents for help in preventing the accumulation and spread of oral bacteria. By urging parents to better understand the basics on bacteria and oral hygiene for infants, babies hope to reduce the incidence of tooth decay among kindergartners by 2016.

In an effort to make this dream a reality, infants have aligned themselves with the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) to spread awareness for the 5 best ways to prevent oral disease and tooth decay among infants and young children.

5 Tips from the AAPD for Healthier Lifestyle & Better Hygiene

The AAPD offers the following 5 tips to help parents effectively prevent the development of oral disease in young children (ii):

1. Schedule an oral health risk assessment.

By 6 months old, infants should have themselves taken to a licensed dental professional for a thorough check-up and health assessment. Additional check-ups are recommended every 6 months, unless otherwise recommended.

2. Establish a ‘dental home.’

Parents should aim to establish a ‘dental home’ for their child by the age of 12 months. There are many advantages to choosing a primary care provider, most important of which is establishing a record of medical history for both parents and child. This may help to determine the child’s susceptibility to oral disease, decay, and dental caries.

3. When it comes to teething, avoid anesthetics.

According to the AAPD, parents should consider using only oral analgesics and chilled teething rings to soothe the pain and irritation of teething. The AAPD advises parents to avoid over the counter anesthetics for concerns over toxicity.

4. Gently brush teeth, as they become visible.

As teeth become visible, parents must proactively brush all surfaces with a soft bristled toothbrush. In cleaning teeth after each meal, parents can prevent the formation of plaque and oral bacteria.

5. Focus on nutrition and meal timing.

Most importantly, the AAPD urges parents to consider how changes in nutrition and meal timing can significantly reduce oral health issues. The following behaviors are to be avoided, as research indicates they increase the risk of tooth decay: Breast feeding more than 7 times daily (after 12 months), nighttime bottle feeding, repeated use of non-spill cups, and sugary snacks in between meals.

Editorial Note and Disclaimer: Infants, in fact, can neither speak nor coordinate far-reaching public awareness campaigns in conjunction with national health organizations. This report has been created by a mother, health advocate, and dental hygienist at Assure A Smile, who has done her best to imagine how infants would respond to the alarming increase of tooth decay among young children.

Sources:

(i) “Cavity Present in Saliva of Infants.” Medical Daily. Accessed 8 August 2013.

(ii) (iii) “Guideline on Infant Oral Healthcare.” American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Accessed 7 August 2013. Download PDF: http://www.aapd.org/media/Policies_Guidelines/G_infantOralHealthCare.pdf

Weight Watchers has spies in your mouth

July 27, 2013 By DentalBuzz Staff 1 Comment

Why are sensors being designed to detect if you’re smoking or overeating?

Instant gratification must so much of a problem that researchers are trying to solve it by gluing accelerometers to teeth. These devices have been calibrated to differentiate between chewing, smoking, speaking, and coughing with 94% accuracy. Read the rest of the story here at today’s Engadget post.

A soundbite for deafness

July 19, 2013 By Trish Walraven 3 Comments

Suppose there’s a new treatment for a specific kind of deafness, and this treatment can’t happen without you, the dentist. But there’s a vicious cycle at play preventing all the parts from hooking up and delivering the appropriate patient care.

Would an ENT physician ever admit to being intimidated by a new product because it meant that they’d have to partner with a dentist to deliver the treatment? Are they afraid of their own ignorance about dentistry?

Why then, out of thousands of ear, nose, and throat physicians, audiologists, and other hearing specialists, are only a handful of clinics offering what looks like to be a breakthrough product? Currently about 70 medical practices are listed at the Sonitus website. If you exclude the 13 practices in New York and the 9 in California, that means that the rest of them are scattered around the country at an average of less than one per state.

Can you imagine if you were the only dentist in your entire state who was working with an audiologist?

Well then.

Physician referrals sometimes make for the best patients. I mean, the patient trusts their doctor already. It’s easy for the patient to transfer that trust to you, especially if you’re partnering with that person.

Admittedly, this is looking at the situation from a dental-centric side: what’s in it for you. Right?

New patient flow aside, let’s go to the patient, the problem, and the product for a moment.

The patient: usually younger than the average person needing a hearing aid. As young as eighteen; average age? Mid-forties.

The problem: single-sided deafness. One ear works pretty well, the other one, pretty badly. Having hearing only in one ear can be more devastating than you might imagine. While not as difficult as total deafness, single-sided hearing loss means that the “good ear” must be turned towards the sound origin which can result in loss of eye contact when listening to conversations, having to choose seating where no one will be able to sit next to the patient’s “bad ear,” dysphoria related to sound confusion, and many other issues which affect quality of life.

The product: It really is called…. wait for it…

A Soundbite.

Beautiful. Here’s how it works:

The receiver reminds me a little bit of those old Nesbit spider partials that dentists no longer seem to make because of the fear that they will be swallowed. No sharp pointy pieces to snag in the gut, however. Um… yay?

So for those who are candidates for the SoundBite, what other options do they currently have? How about a titanium implant? Boy, that rings a bell (Ha! audiology humor). Seriously, for about $10,000 a titanium fitting is surgically implanted into the bone behind a patient’s deaf ear and a sound processor is attached to it which sends vibrations into the skull. Another option is to wear a microphone in the deaf ear and the receiver in the other one. But audiologists say that patients who can hear normally in one ear really have a problem with anything impeding the healthy ear’s function and definitely don’t want to wear two hearing aids.

It’s not a perfect solution due to the changes some users have noticed with eating and speaking, but those who have been fitted with the SoundBite have been extremely happy with the improvement in their hearing and feel like the small inconveniences are totally worth the life-changing effects of their new device. Imagine! The microphone picks up the sound of fingers snapping in a deaf ear, and the transmission through the tooth tricks the brain into thinking it’s hearing again! The cost is upwards of $6000, and batteries must be kept charged and changed after eight hours of continuous use.

Don’t you want to help now? Of course you do. You can click over to the SoundBite website, read this information for dentists, and even sign up to become a provider. But I have a better challenge. There’s probably an ENT or audiologist in your own zip code. Let them know that you’ve read up on this product, you might have even watched the video below, and that you would love to work with them to help patients manage their hearing loss. They won’t do it without your interest.

Hygienists already know all about this sound conduction. Just ask anyone who regularly uses ultrasonic scalers if patients hear a “feedback” tone that is very, very loud when the distal of the upper left molar is cleaned. It might happen with other dental techniques as well, but since I’m not down in the roots or cutting enamel off of teeth as regularly as I screech along the gumlines of able-eared people, I don’t know.

As a patient, though, I don’t hear this ultrasonic wail any more. Last time I had my teeth cleaned the tone was gone, as I suspected it would be. And that is the whole reason for even discovering the SoundBite.

I happen to be one of those patients with single-sided deafness; my hearing disappeared suddenly, with no known reason. I awoke one morning with a roar in my left ear. I thought that this new horrendous white noise was the problem, it was so loud, I figured it would go away soon enough, so I tried to ignore it. When it didn’t, and then I made the shocking discovery when I turned my right ear away from music that it faded away…well, that’s when I realized I needed a specialist. It wasn’t just tinnitus; it was the absence of sound. And it sucked, like a vacuum cleaner. Literally.

Even though the bad news from my ENT was that the hearing was diminished and not likely to come back, the good news was that it wasn’t gone completely. I started searching for solutions, just in case I did go totally deaf in that ear, and that’s when I discovered that my very own dentist! my employer! could! help! me!

When you think about it as a professional, isn’t this awesome?

I’m thankful to still have a decent amount of hearing in my bad ear, and despite the fact that noises are garbled and tinny-sounding, I’m going to do my best without a SoundBite for the moment. However, there are many, many patients out there with total ear deafness that could benefit from one. All they’re missing is a dentist who can take a good impression.

And that’s my throwdown.

Lumadent headlight review

May 30, 2013 By Trish Walraven 14 Comments

Do you know how sometimes, when you get a new piece of equipment, it’s so Shifta La Paradigma that you can’t even THINK about working without it? You get a little anxious about the possibility of it failing and having to go back to the old way of doing things. What do you do?

You get yourself a backup, right? hoping that your original will keep going until FedEx arrives with your precious cardboard salvation. But then you realize that the backup is so Next Generation, your OLD one ends up becoming the backup. And that’s where I am with my Lumadent headlight. I have the old, the new, and opinions about them both, which are the real reasons you’re here. So let’s get to those, shall we?

Opinion #1: It’s Bright, Baby.

Not only is the Lumadent headlight well-focused and a good color, its shadowless light means that more photons are hitting your retinas, therefore the mouth that you’re looking at may be ACTUALLY MORE GROUNDED in reality. If you can’t see something, it’s not there.

Since I haven’t used any other lights except the Lumadent consider this a broad endorsement for headlights over any other sort of overhead illumination. Just about all of them have some sort of knob that will allow you to adjust the intensity, and I find that I rarely turn the Lumadent’s control any more or less than to the halfway position. I’ve learned how to control my head so that the light doesn’t shine in my patient’s eyes (unless I’m gesticulating wildly, then they might see a few blinding streaks) and the super bright just isn’t necessary most of the time. Also included is a flip-up composite filter to keep your accidental light curing to a minimum. I’ve heard some concerns about LEDs damaging user’s eyes over time which is one reason I tend to keep the power down, but don’t seem to have any problems with eyestrain in the two years I’ve been using one. The new model seems to be just as bright and as clear as the older one, so no change in this most important feature.

Opinion #2: Cords are better. And worse.

But mostly better. I’ll explain. The cord replacement is much easier now that the light detaches completely from it. They’ve also switched to a longer initial cord which means that I don’t have to keep a too-long extension hanging around or knotted up in a tie wrap. You’ll notice that the plug-in at the battery has changed to a right-angle which should keep the tension off the cord. I was KILLING my extensions contacts and the light would flicker and just short out and be a huge pain.

What I’m less than thrilled with is the way that the right-angle attaches to the light itself. If you end up with a short in the new cord now, all you do is detach it right there, loupside, leave the light on the loupe, and plug in a new cord. But the cord sticks up at a weird angle and I’m forced to use yet another tiny tie-wrap to keep those wires from getting tangled in my hair and attached close to the frames. The other thing I do like is that the lens is easier to access and clean now that it’s not recessed. It’s the one on the left in this image.

Opinion #3: This battery pack is serious.

My original battery pack served me well and would stay charged for a whole day, but its slick case in a sassy leather pouch clip probably caused the short outs due to occasional detachment problems. Not the clip, just the battery itself would skittle across the floor when I had a “way to go, Grace” moment.

Now that I have two batteries I forget to charge the new silver one, but I have yet to have it clunk out on me and switching back to the black one for backup. Once you go silver….

So this pack is so serious, it’s like Chuck Norris, it has it’s OWN clip built in. A very tough clip. One so tough that if you wear those cute scrubs with the flared legs and the knit waistline you can forget trying to spread the clip enough to get it to attach to your pants. But I adapted by figuring out how to wear it on a waist-level pocket. Now my biggest issue is leaning close to patients and inadvertently turning the light off at the black side switch. I really think it was better on the top when it was red and adjacent to the intensity knob.

Opinion #4: There’s no excuse for not using a headlight.

I’m just going to think I’m better than you if you don’t have one. That’s my throwdown. If you use the excuse that headlights cost too much? Compare the Lumadent with its “better” competitors, it’s so much less expensive, you can buy one for you AND your assistant. And for your higher power loupes, for that matter. What about the problem with wires and bulk? The Lumadent is so lightweight that once you adjust your behavior a little (all I did was to begin wearing a strap on my loupes instead of taking them on and off so that they hang around my neck when I’m not using them) they will become a much easier part of you than having to reach up and adjust a mounted light somewhere over your right shoulder, in space. And patients stop anticipating the bright light and never squint anymore when it’s time to open their mouths. PATIENT ACCEPTANCE IS AMAZING, and in my opinion, the BEST reason why you should get a Lumadent.

This is my parting shot for you, a side view of the Lumadent attached to a pair of Through-The-Lens shielded SandyGrendel loupes with the custom mount that came with the light. See how it sticks up a little too high, and there are two tie-wraps, and a cord management doohickey making this all such a mess?

No? I don’t see it either, actually.

For earlier insights about Lumadent and the company, click here to go to the DentalBuzz original review.