All About the Concierge Practice and Personalization in Dental Care

by Jennifer Hawley

Concierge-style dental offices saw a massive influx in 2020, and they’re here to stay. According to a recent report, the concierge medicine market size will reach $1.93 trillion in 2025. Certainly, COVID-19 played a considerable role in its rise in popularity. Many dental offices were scrambling to accommodate social distancing and remote working. As a result, many offices chose to adopt the concierge-style of doing things and mobile services. Patients love it, as they receive far more personalized care from their dentist. Here’s everything you need to know about this exciting new trend.

Understanding Concierge-Style Dental Offices

For those unaware, a concierge dental practice is one where dentists only take a handful of patients rather than seeing as many patients as they can during the day. These select patients each pay a monthly fee for the privilege of having a dedicated dentist. The results are that patients can schedule appointments at any time. They won’t have to wait weeks to get into the office. Beyond that, patients will spend far more time with the actual dentist.

In traditional models, dentists try to see as many patients as possible to generate revenue, only spending a few minutes with each person. In a concierge-style office, patients will spend much more time with the dentist. That leads to more extensive care for each patient, which is a plus. Concierge dentists can dedicate more time and effort to answering patient questions and taking care of their needs.

Customized Service

Since the dentist has more time to spend with each patient, they can also provide customized care. That means designing custom retainers, toothbrushes, toothpaste tablets, and more. Concierge dentists can even recommend personalized vitamins that meet patients’ unique nutritional needs. These can improve enamel and gum health, among other things. The bottom line is that you’ll receive far more individualized care than at a traditional office. Instead of spending most of their time with a hygienist, patients get plenty of one-on-one time with the dentist. That way, they can ask crucial questions about their treatment options, payment, and more.

Some concierge-style offices chose to adopt a fully mobile business model. An example would be In Motion Dentists from Los Angeles. They are a concierge-style office that decides to travel to patient homes with portable equipment. They serve busy executives, seniors, and those that don’t have time to visit an office during the day.

Flexible Scheduling

Another reason patients are flocking to the concierge model is the scheduling. Instead of waiting weeks for a simple tooth cleaning, patients can see the dentist whenever they want. The dentist is there to accommodate the patient’s schedule, not the other way around. That’s great news for busy professionals that have a tough time squeezing in a cavity filling. Not only that, but concierge offices boast 24/7 emergency services for their exclusive patients. Should a patient experience a severe toothache or another emergency in the middle of the night, they can contact the dentist directly. Of course, patients will never have to pay a house-call fee. Instead, it’s all included in their monthly or annual retainer rate.

It’s this kind of personalization that makes patients love the concierge-style model. Nobody likes having to wait months to schedule a visit to the dentist. Long waiting times at reception are another hassle you don’t need to deal with at concierge offices. Since there are only a handful of patients, the reception area is always empty.

Superior Comfort

Concierge dental offices place a lot of emphasis on the comfort of patients. A lot of thought goes into the design of their offices. They often feature comfortable seating, televisions, beverages, and state-of-the-art equipment. Some offices use teledentistry to keep in touch with patients. The staff is also accommodating and open to answering patient questions. A concierge office will go to great lengths to ease dental anxiety.

Concierge-style offices are definitely not a trend that will end with the pandemic. They place the needs of the patients first and allow dentists to free up their schedules. Everyone wins as a result, with more personalized care, flexible scheduling, and lots of comforts.


About the Author

Jennifer Hawley is an occupational health therapist turned freelance writer. She has a passion for digital and health related topics and loves exploring and commenting upon the latest research. When not working, she loves to visit family in Europe, enjoys horse riding with her children and reading as much as possible.


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