why use an App?

Not every practice has a website, but most do. I used a company in Poole years ago, and they were excellent. For them to build a basic website now is over £5000, and a monthly maintenance fee of around £30. So this is a list of the pros and cons of an App. Click on the picture for the article or google another review.

I looked at buying a dental App about seven years ago, and they did everything I wanted but did not have an interface for the user to monitor themselves. These "dental apps" were standard templates and were not possible to customise for the user at the time. So I decided to investigate making my own. So first, to address the cons above. If we indervidual dentists collaberate.

The expense - NO. Not if we share the cost, and it's free for most DCPs. 
Compatability-NO. Initially, the App worked well on both platforms but needs regular updating, and we need to pay the developer.
Expensive to maintain and update-NO £10 a month is not costly for dentists.
Difficulty getting approval-NO it's approved and available on both platforms.

​Download it now to check. It's a free download on Android and IOS.

The most significant benefit for the dental team is it promotes and protects you. Send the patient their BEWE via email on your practice software, and you have a record of their periodontal advice, and you can also promote further procedures you recommend, or they may want. Click here for the template I used and on the business card for the PDF.
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Handing out the business card to the patient, with their information on one side and yours on the other, is old-fashioned marketing and enhances the second most common form of building your client base. The first one is retaining your current patient list by improving the service you provide for your patients. Suppose they share the App with those you may never see. It may encourage the public to see someone, especially with the oral cancer nudge within the App traffic light system, which is one of the many advantages of an App over a mobile website.
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Save a life, SHARE teeth4life.

If you order 1000 business cards, each card will cost you 3p. The App is straightforward to customise. Just go to CARE4TEETH.CO.UK and register yourself. It's similar to setting up a Facebook page. Follow the original text advice on the registration website and for further help and advice on completing the registration go the teeth4life YouTube channel (please subscribe) and the prevention and MID teeth4life website.

If you can do this and have the time. Why not register the rest of the dental team? You could charge pro rata at their hourly rate🤔. The more people on the App, the more likely it will be shared. If anyone wants to customise their three free services when registering as a Hygienist or DCP, contact me and I'll add it to the resources. Many of us work part-time and have other interests, such as a dog walking service, reflexology, art and you could include it here to help boost awareness and potentially your income😁

Type in teeth4life on your App Store, and download it for free. The App enables anyone to have an internet presence to which they can direct their patients and engage with social media as much or little as they want. In My Dentist, type in Bristol, then search for my virtual practice, Teeth4life, for some profile examples. If you can see your practice, but no one appears registered, it's because the dentist registered, but they are unaware I have started charging £10 a month. Please give them a nudge. It will remain fixed for the life of the App for the first 100 to register. I will then be in a position to rebuild the App following further feedback from the public and the profession. If more register, we can add a few more features, as shown here, including a teledentistry platform that could enable us to save more time, earn more money, and improve our well-being. If we collaborate, we can provide our DENTAL HEALTH SERVICE. ​

The App promotes you, and you can do as much or little marketing for yourself. You can update your profile at any time and add all your work practices. Just put your individual hours on your profile, and ensure the practice opening hours are correct for the practice, not just you. Link to the practice website details if you have one. Especially if you have online booking, which personally I think is poor, Teledentistry will work better. 

To engage the user, your patients can personalise it for themselves and their family. It engages your patients in a manner that a webpage can't. It is full of video animations that follow the government's regularly updated, delivering better oral health toolkit. You have to highlight the videos you feel most appropriate to their needs. From your services, you can also address their wants.
The App would benefit more if a dental professional body endorsed it.
​Want to help?