92 Million Millennials
Millennials are the largest segment of the U.S. population at
92 million. Many millennials were raised going to the dentist
every six months for a ‘cleaning’. Their message to dentistry
is they don’t value that care. The Pew Research Foundation as
that millennials have the lowest frequency of dental visits.
The 92 million millennials can’t be easily button-holed, they
are diverse. The conclusion of a recent survey shows that,
compared to older generations, millennials are more likely to
prefer speed and convenience over personal, comprehensive
interactions with healthcare professionals.
Teledentistry: Not More of the Same
To better meet oral health needs, we need to see beyond
stand-alone dentistry practices and the absence of cavities.
Teledentistry expands the traditional dental practice. Doing
more of the same won’t change the future or create more
opportunities.
Teledentistry is the exchange of health information via electronic
communications to improve a dental patient’s clinical
status. It can increase access to care, quality of care and
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reach to the community without adding more chairs. Using
technology, dental professionals can screen, record, triage,
diagnose and order care to be performed remotely.
Pop-Up Practice – Going to Them
As a generation, millennials prefer choices over compliance.
Your practice using teledentistry could, like Carnegie Deli,
hold a pop-up sponsored screening event.
For those in New York and many around the country, it was
a sad day in 2016 when New York City’s legendary Carnegie
in December 2018 but just for a few days. The return was
an 8-day pop-up to support a popular Amazon Prime Video
series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
much more than a mirror, explorer, probe and HIPAA compliant
cloud-based intra-oral camera system. It could be set-up
at a place of business, civic center, church or senior center to
provide screening services. It could offer more using portable
equipment. The equipment investment can be easily less
4-5x higher.
A pop-up for millennials could be at their place of work. A
conversion rate at these type of events could be great. Why?
Many of these millennials have no dental home. You will get
new patients.
Floss Bar Example
Floss Bar is brainchild of a former New York hedge fund
manager. They tout their services this way, “At Floss Bar, we
are constantly looking at ways to do dental differently and
bring innovation to an industry that is in desperate need for
it,” according to its website, which also touts “no shaming, no
up-selling, nor surprise fees, no waiting times.”
This hedge-fund manager seems to understand the market
in ways traditional dentistry does not. For millennials prefer-
Teledentistry Opportunity
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graphs. Kodak is a recent example of a massive institution
that expended too much energy defending old technologies
and failing to properly embrace the disruptive innovation
represented by digital imaging.
The world is ever-evolving with countless solutions to make
your practice faster, more organized and more competitive.
When things are going well, it can be easy to get comfortable.
At the same time, while you are comfortable in your success,
a new innovation like Uber, Airbnb or Floss Bar comes along
and disrupts the status quo. Your practice becomes the next
Kodak. It’s time to embrace the future with teledentistry.
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