Naturally, you avoid painting the gel onto the soft tissue, restorative materials, and exposed root surfaces, but the process is easy. The viscosity of the gel enables it to remain in contact with the tooth surface long enough to penetrate into the enamel and lighten darkened areas.
Whitening pens will hold enough gel for 30-60 applications, depending on the product. Most manufacturers advise the user to apply the whitening gel twice daily for a two-week period. The taste is pleasant and noticeable results are generally seen within the first couple of days.
The business win for the practice
Return on investment for initiating conversations with patients about whitening pens can be substantial. Only one to two minutes of chair-time instruction is required to demonstrate how to use the pens while on the go. Selling five pens per day in a four-day work week at a price point between $20-$30 could yield a $10,000-$15,000 profit per year. If only two pens were sold per day in a four-day week for higher priced pens, the profit could easily be over $20,000 annually.
And, don't forget, this is for a U.S. market that spent $13.5 billion on surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures in 2015, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. People are willing to invest in methods to look younger and improve appearances. Dental professionals should not miss this opportunity to make patients happy and increase practice revenue.
If you are not currently seeing whitening pens walking out the door in your practice, come up with an overall plan to tap into the whitening desires of your patients. This could include strategies to increase in-office and take-home whitening-just don't forget to include whitening pens in your menu of whitening options. Also, here's some good news: Philips Oral Healthcare recently developed a well-planned success guide for Philips Zoom users, and many of the same strategies to increase Zoom sales also apply to whitening pens. Tap into this free resource at zoomsuccessguide.com.
If you aren't currently offering whitening pens, decide which brand of whitening pens to offer to your patients and have all team members use them twice daily for two weeks to experience your own results. Sharing your own experiences increases trust and excitement among patients. Use social media to share your experiences.
As a team, role-play and brainstorm about how to initiate whitening conversations with your patients so it is "top of mind" and comfortable for all team members to engage in conversations about the benefits of using whitening pens. Remember, less than 15% of whitening conversations are initiated by dental professionals, and you can change that experience for your patients.
Ask patients to report their experiences with whitening pens on social media. With their permission, post before-and-after photos on your practice's social media sites. Also be sure to keep whitening pens visibly available where patients check out in case they forget to pick one up during their dental procedures.
When it comes to whitening pens, it is a clear win-win for patients and the practice if you are willing to employ the Field of Dreams commitment to get it started and the Nike method to keep it going. RDH
Ideas for integrating whitening pens
Whitening pens can be dispensed easily due to their ease of use, low price point for sales in the office, and low tooth sensitivity outcomes. Following are ideal indications for whitening pens:
- Patients who have previously completed in-office professional whitening or at-home whitening who are in need of a touch-up
- Patients who are noncompliant with the tray system for touch-up whitening
- Patients with darker isolated teeth surrounding crowns, veneers, or resins
- Busy patients interested in easily maintaining professional whitening results
- Whitening candidates seeking to "test the water"
- Patients who tend to be sensitive to other whitening options
- Welcome gifts presented to new patients joining your practice
- Unexpected gifts presented to patients having completed necessary nonsurgical treatment
- Loyalty gifts for long-term patients
- Birthday, Valentine's Day, and special occasion gifts
- Kind of like flowers . . . for no reason at all!
Likely, your team can creatively suggest many more indications to sell or gift whitening pens to patients. This would be a great topic for your next team meeting because the investment is minimal and the satisfaction high.
Karen Davis, RDH, BSDH, is the founder of Cutting Edge Concepts, an international continuing education company, and practices dental hygiene in Dallas, Texas. She is an independent consultant to the Philips Corp., Periosciences, and Hu-Friedy/EMS. She can be reached at [emailprotected].
