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Orthodontists: 1 Secret & 3 Tips to Get Grandparents to Pay 4 Braces

Posted by Tom Lombardo | Wed, Aug 20, 2014 @ 12:00 PM

How Do I Pay for BracesYou have ten seconds to list three male and three female celebrities who wore braces. Go!

10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…0

Got ‘em? OK… The correct answers are:

David Beckham, Zac Efron, Niall Horan, Cher Lloyd, Cheryl Cole, and Tulisa Contostavlos.

How did you do? In other words, how versed are you in the names of contemporary celebrities ranking in your youngest patients’ wired world? If the only examples you can come up with are Tom Cruz and Drew Barrymore, then they probably think you’re so old you have a pet dinosaur.

Your Secret Is Out

It matters because orthodontia’s greatest secret is out: the public knows that even though the American Association of Orthodontists consumer-facing website, mylifemysmile.org, says that achieving a “healthy bite” is the primary goal of orthodontic treatment, no definition of “healthy bite” exists.

Even the kids understand that without a definition there’s no way to know if your treatment has succeeded or not. Which actually doesn’t matter, because they didn’t come to you for a “healthy bite” – they came for a beautiful smile. As one orthodontist put it, “It's probably time to level with the public and loudly proclaim that bite alone doesn't determine orthodontic need.”

This does:

I used to suck my thumb when I was little, and that left me with crooked teeth. It runs in my family as well. My parents say that braces are too expensive and unnecessary, and won't get me them. My front two teeth are pushed forward, and are slightly crooked, and so are my bottom teeth. They are also slightly yellow. I feel so horrible about them. I sometimes cry when I see how terrible they look.

That’s from Seventeen magazine’s “Traumarama” section where girls can ask anything and get a straight answer.

Part of the magazine’s response is admirable:

It sounds like you are in a tough position. Have you been honest with your parents about how you feel…really letting them know that the appearance of your teeth is knocking your confidence down a notch?

They get top marks for empathy, but their financial advice – doing extra chores – will almost certainly prove inadequate for helping her family come up with $2,000 to $8,000 to cover the expense.

Funding May Be Close to Home

Perhaps they should have recommended asking Grandma and Grandpa for help.  According to both the American Association of Retired People and the Wall Street Journal, gifting braces to a grandchild not only transfers assets tax-free but also lets the grandparents enjoy the fruits of their generosity, something that doesn’t happen when leaving an inheritance. 

Which brings us back to the list of celebrities. When Grandpa and his granddaughter come into your office, you don’t need to convince grandpa of anything, so long as your doctorate degree is nicely framed and hanging somewhere he can read it. All you need to do is to win over the granddaughter, and she’ll take care of Grandpa for you.

How to Make Your Patient Do All the Work

To make that happen, you need three things.

First, an overview of what the granddaughter is thinking about:

  1. Should my braces’ rubber bands match my school colors?
  2. Will having braces get me the right attention – or radically backfire?
  3. Accessorizing my outfits while wearing braces may be a challenge.
  4. Niall Horan looked amazing when he got his off.

Keep these in mind so you can make tactful in-the-know comments to the granddaughter so she’ll keep Grandpa moving forward.

How Do I Afford BracesSecond, brag about your appointment scheduling system that sends out reminders via text. Ask Grandpa for his phone number, too, so he can get reminders too and feel like he’s part of the whole experience (and be sure to assume that Grandpa has a smartphone because Baby Boomers are the biggest market for them).

Your new patient will think you’re cool if you’ve integrated her phone into her treatment, but this really works more in your favor than hers. One study showed that no-shows were reduced by 23%, resulting in an average of $31,500 in additional annual production. And why not make sure you send out the texts around your patient’s morning recess, so she can tell all her friends that she has an appointment with you and that, this time, she’s going with the fluorescent glow-in-the-dark rubber bands?

And third, take care of Grandpa.

He might need a little mollification before arranging payment, so give him a couple of medical benefits to consider: Straight teeth remove pressure from the gums and keep them healthy, and straight teeth should help his granddaughter speak more clearly, all of which builds her self-esteem.

And he will also almost certainly need you to accept his check.  Over the course of the recession, one in five Americans increased his use of checks. Affluent people of all ages and Boomers in particular use them for the fiscal control they provide. Most checks are written for large amounts (the average is over $1,100), so chances are Grandpa expects to pay you with one.

Of course, you have a check processing company, but you might consider working with one that has a special set of products tailor-made for your practice, including a rock-solid guarantee that assures you of payment on every validated check, and no-cost loaner equipment that allows you to deposit checks directly from your office with remote deposit capture (RDC).

You’re going to help the granddaughter feel better about herself and you want to make sure grandpa feels well-appreciated for it, so when you get your next issue of the American Journal of Orthodontics, slip a copy of Seventeen inside and read that instead, knowing that you’re gaining credibility by connecting with the grandparents through their granddaughter. 

 

Medical Remote Deposit Capture Insider's Guide

Topics: Dentists

Written by Tom Lombardo