Home care regimen Dental models that show the entire tooth from the crown to the apex of the root can give clients perspective as to why X-rays are needed and why just removing the tartar from tooth surfaces is insufficient. Finding the most effective route to good oral health must involve the pet owner, so it is your job to discuss the different options for home care and let the client decide which one to implement. Brushing is best, but seems to be the most difficult for clients to adopt. Some don’t dedicate time to brushing or have trouble when the pet resists their efforts. Either way, while in the exam room, a member of your team should demonstrate how to properly brush the pet’s teeth while explaining the benefits. They can also discuss the alternative home care products. Encourage owners to be patient with their pet and to start early. Pets may actually look forward to the flavored toothpaste when the owner is consistent and provides positive reinforcement. Cindy Charlier, DVM, DAVDC, says that if people can train a lion to jump through a ring of fire, we can train our pets to look forward to their teeth getting brushed. If you do not get patients on home care early, an ideal time to get the owner to commit is after their pet’s annual CORE procedure, which allows them to start from a clean slate. Upon dismissal of their pet, a sample pack of oral care products should be sent home to see which method will be accepted. Do not send clients home empty-handed. Chews and oral rinses are ideal for those owners who cannot make time or for pets that resist or become stressed with brushing. Whichever product the client chooses for home care, be sure it has the seal of approval from the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC). Recheck exam A complimentary two-week recheck is an important step in determining that your patient is healing, but also provides another touch point to further educate, reinforce home care, and elicit testimonial stories about how their pet’s behavior has changed. These can be the most rewarding for you and your staff because they remind you of why you do what you do. Client testimonials Ask clients who have had their pets’ teeth cleaned to provide a written testimonial on how much better the animal feels since having a procedure. Get permission to snap a photo or have them email a cute picture of their pet so you can create a lobby poster, dentistry hero of the month display, or photo book of success stories. Many clients think their pets are just aging, slowing down, and naturally stopping the things they used to do. That isn’t always the case when their mouth hurts. How many times have your clients come in and raved over how their pet is playing like a puppy again? They might even begin to accept their kisses now that their mouth is clean. Waiting room video When deciding on playing or streaming client education videos in your waiting room, be sure they include information on oral health care all year long and not just during dental health month. On-hold messaging Dental education should be a staple for on-hold messaging, which is another contact point to drive home the importance of oral health and to reinforce the expectation that an oral exam will be a routine part of every visit. Your goal should be that every client who comes in actually asks for a dental exam without prompting. Wouldn’t that be nice! Your website Dental services ought to be featured prominently on your website, and like all promotional messaging, should focus primarily on education about prevention and treatment of oral disease. Include links to articles, as well as downloadable materials and handouts. Emphasize the steps the pet owner can take with brushing and home care products approved by VOHC that can help prevent plaque and tartar. Always encourage pet owners to look for signs of periodontal disease (list them) and to include annual dental cleanings in their budget and plan of care. Online pet portals connected to your site often include information about oral health to back up and reinforce your efforts. Social media platform We live in a digital world—social media is where society turns to get its information. Having a robust social media platform that includes important oral health notifications, videos, and information your clients can access lets them know just how serious periodontal disease is. It will also attract comments and testimonials to provide proof of its importance and benefits. A now substantial and ever-growing percentage of your clients are digital-natives—using social media allows you to reach them. Remember, it is not up to you to do everything on this list yourself. Recruit one of your own tech-savvy enthusiasts on staff to curate your social media. You may even consider the one you are always catching on their phone around the office. Open house events Many successful practices hold an annual open house, replete with bouncy castles and hot dogs for the kids. Engage your clients about oral health as they tour your hospital by including dental stations to demonstrate brushing, talk about oral health, and promote free oral exams. The resulting booked appointments can add a direct return on investment for the open house itself. Community events When you set up a table at the local “taste of the town,” fall festival, or “bark in the park” event, be sure to talk about dentistry. You could also consider offering free oral exams and brushing demonstrations. National Pet Dental Health Month Why do you perform more dentistry procedures in the month of February? National Pet Dental Health Month should be about taking advantage of the industry attention to highlight oral health, happiness, and well-being of pets, not scheduling as many discounted dentistry procedures in the shortest month of the year. Every month should be pet dental month in your practice, and by having these conversations with pet owners early and incorporating an oral exam as part of the patient’s wellness exam, clients will expect and not be surprised when you let them know it’s time for their pet’s annual dentistry procedure. Clients think bad breath is normal when in fact it is a sign of disease. It is up to us to give them the knowledge to pay attention to the mouth. A standardized approach to educating clients on periodontal disease should begin at the kitten and puppy stage, as well as with any new client joining your practice. We have presented a comprehensive list detailing proven channels for client education. Some are essential to support your message, especially the ones your clients experience during or after their visit, which are the easiest to create and implement. The ideas for client education as part of your marketing and community outreach efforts can be even more powerful, but may cost more, take longer to implement, or may depend on your tech savviness. Nonetheless, if you bring the project of creating client education materials to your team, you will be surprised by the enthusiasm and creativity you unleash. Plus, you will create ownership and buy-in with much quicker results. For more tools and resources, see 2019 AAHA Dental Care Guidelines for Dogs and Cats at bit.ly/2SFJlF4. Andrew W. Schultz, Jr., is director of business development and clinical services for Midmark and serves on the board of directors of the Foundation for Veterinary Dentistry (FVD). Schultz also served as director of “Project Milkbone,” a study into the dental performance of companion animal practices and presenter of Double Your Dentistry” at the Veterinary Dental Forum (VDF). Danielle Heberle, CVT, VTSH (dentistry), is clinical services manager for Midmark, and leads Midmark Academy where she oversees a network of more than 50 dental and anesthesia experts who train in over 500 veterinary hospitals a year from a course menu totaling 100-plus hours of related continuing education. She was awarded the American Veterinary Dental College Presidential Medal for Stewardship in 2018.
