7 Ways Oral Surgery Practices Can Enhance Their Patient Engagement Strategy

Running a successful oral surgery practice isn’t just about clinical skills. It’s also about creating strong connections with your patients. That’s where a patient engagement strategy comes in. Of course, your patients always want to know that they are in the hands of an oral surgery expert —  but it’s engaged patients who feel informed, cared for, and valued. 

So let’s explore seven ways you can enhance your patient engagement strategy! Spoiler alert: automated appointment reminders are one of the most powerful tools to keep your practice running smoothly!

#1: Reduce no-shows with appointment reminders

No-shows can disrupt your schedule and hurt your bottom line. By automating appointment reminders, you can reduce missed appointments significantly. These reminders can be customized to go out via email, text, or phone call, ensuring that patients don’t forget their surgery dates. 

There are some concrete ways that you will be able to see this. Patients are more likely to confirm or reschedule in advance. It’s also highly likely that you will begin to see fewer last-minute cancellations. Plus, using automation will save time on manual reminders for your staff.

#2: Build trust with clear pre- and post-surgery instructions

Patients often feel nervous about oral surgery. Providing clear, easy-to-understand instructions before and after surgery can make all the difference. Use emails, texts, or even videos to explain what to expect, how to prepare, and how to recover.

Again, include these instructions in your appointment reminder emails or texts. Patients will have everything they need at their fingertips!

#3: Encourage feedback through surveys

Oral surgery is not like an average dental appointment. There is an important messaging cadence before the consultation and then another before the appointment, reminding patients of pre-medications, fasting, and more. However, you can use the same automation for messaging after surgery as you do for appointment reminders. After surgery and the patient’s final follow-up appointment, send a short survey to ask how their experience was. Did they feel well informed? Was the recovery process smooth? Feedback not only helps you improve but also shows patients how much you value their opinion. Survey links can be easily included in text messages and emails, saving time on chasing hardcopy feedback. Plus, patient engagement software can aggregate the results, making it easy to identify areas for improvement or track trends.

This can also be a great way to gather reviews! Turning happy patients into advocates for your practice is a great way to build your practice.

#4: Personalize communication for each patient

Not every patient has the same needs. A younger patient getting their wisdom teeth removed may prefer different communication than an older patient undergoing a dental implant procedure. Use your system to personalize messages based on the type of surgery and the patient’s preferences, whether that is for text or email. For example, a text message might read:

“Hi Alex, your wisdom tooth extraction is scheduled for Monday at 2 PM. Please don’t forget to bring a driver with you. We’ll see you soon!”

Personalizing communication is a great way to show your patients how much you value them as individuals.

#5: Streamline follow-ups

Following up after surgery is essential for recovery and patient satisfaction. Use your patient engagement system to automatically send follow-up reminders for check-ups or to ensure patients are healing properly. This can offer significant benefits, including:

• Keeping patients on track with post-surgery care
• Allowing your practice to catch potential issues early
• Improving patient satisfaction by showing your thoroughness

#6: Reach out between appointments

Patients are more likely to return to your practice if they feel cared for and informed. Engaging with them regularly through educational content, reminders, and surveys builds loyalty over time. For example, you can send educational emails about oral health or use reminders to schedule annual implant maintenance. (Tip: this can also be a great way to market to your patients!)

#7: Boost efficiency for your team

Automated systems take repetitive tasks off your front desk staff’s plate. From appointment confirmations to reminders and follow-ups, automation saves time and allows your team to focus on more personalized patient care. For example, instead of manually calling 20 patients to confirm appointments, your system can send out reminders in seconds!

Next steps: a checklist for your practice

Here’s a simple checklist to bring to your oral surgeon or practice owner to discuss how you can implement or improve your patient engagement strategy:

• Set up automated appointment reminders for all patient types.
• Create pre- and post-surgery instruction templates for easy sharing.
• Launch a post-surgery feedback survey process.
• Personalize communication based on patient preferences and surgery type.
• Automate follow-up appointment reminders for post-op check-ups.
• Schedule regular educational emails or messages about oral health.
• Train the front office team on how to use your patient engagement software efficiently.
• Monitor and respond to patient reviews online to improve your practice’s reputation.
• Track key metrics (e.g., no-shows, follow-ups, and feedback scores) to measure success.

A strong patient engagement strategy, with tools like automated appointment reminders, can transform your oral surgery practice. Not only will it help patients feel more connected and informed, but it will also make your office run more efficiently. 

Intiveo loves patient engagement

At Intiveo, we are proud to be industry leaders in patient engagement. We offer resources such as guides, reports, template packages, and more, on the issues that matter most to our industry. Be sure to check out our podcast, The Patient Experience Blueprint, wherever you get your podcasts!

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