title: Management and marketing for the general practice dental office.
abstract: This article reviews trends in the dental marketplace. Marketing is an essential element of dentistry. Communicating treatment options with patients is one aspect of marketing. Treatment planning helps patients understand the relationships between oral health, occlusion, temporomandibular joint function, and systemic health. Through marketing, dental practice owners inform patients of ever-changing treatment modalities. Understanding treatment options allows patients to make better, informed choices. More options leads to a higher level of care and more comprehensive dental treatment. Managing a practice requires tracking its financial health. Economic statistics measure the effect of management decisions that mark the direction of a dental practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, 121 Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA. eicddsoms@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Earl
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Clarkson
authors.forename: Sanjeev
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhatia
mesh_terms: D000329:Advertising; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003190:Comprehensive Dental Care; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003770:Dental Offices / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D003797:Dental Staff / Q000458:organization & administration; D005376:Financial Management / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D005792:General Practice, Dental / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009909:Oral Health; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011215:Practice Management, Dental / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011787:Quality of Health Care