Do Dental Patients Want a Warranty On Their Treatment?

We know that peace-of-mind is important to Americans in the form of insurance and protection plans, but do dental patients want more peace-of-mind tied to the restorative, cosmetic, and removable dental treatment they receive from their dentist? 

Americans Spent $40 Billion in 2014 on Extra Peace-of-Mind

In 2014, American consumers have spent close to $40 billion on various types of “peace-of-mind products” designed to protect their major purchases such as smartphones, cars, homes, refrigerators, and other home electronics.   The purpose of these protection plans is to cover the cost of potentially expensive repair, replacement, or maintenance. 

This amount has increased a remarkable 53% since 2009 when Americans spent $26 on the same category of peace-of-mind products. 

That’s an average growth in demand of almost 11% per year!  By contrast, the United States general economy has grown about 4% per year on average during the same period of time since 2009. 

The Initial Recession Shock Contributed to an American Peace-of-Mind Craving

In our opinion, one contributing factor is the recession itself.  As the prosperity bubble popped and deflated, Matures, Baby Boomers, and Gen Xers watched their retirement accounts drop between 30 and 50%.  Home prices plummeted.  Millennials came of age and watched parents and older coworkers suffer.  

We realized we weren’t invincible, and that the unexpected can happen.  Suddenly a value proposition promising a back-up plan “just in case” sounds like a wise decision. 

So now, even though the economy has in many ways recovered and continues to recover, we never completely shook that jarring feeling of loss.  

Patients Want More Peace-of-Mind In Dentistry

Here at Dental Warranty Corp, since 2009 we have been operating under the belief that patients want a greater level of peace-of-mind than is currently available in the typical dental office.  

So far the results would support our original theory.  On average, 42% of patients, or about 2 out of every 5 patients want additional protection on the dental treatment they receive.

If you aren’t familiar with the standard Dental Warranty protection plan here’s a quick summary:

• Practices either offer or give the coverage to their patients, which lasts between 1 and 6 years
• Patients are covered nationwide and are able to redeem with any dentist
• They are covered up to the full original fee they paid for treatment, which covers lab costs and chair time
• Now the patient is covered during insurance imposed wait periods

An Average 42% of Dental Patients Opt for Better Coverage 

Here are the overall average patient acceptance numbers for the protection plan our practices offer for the last few months:

Let’s compare to acceptance rates for other products.  Our average practice acceptance comes in at 42%.  The top 25% of our clients are seeing average acceptance rates of 82%.
 
By contrast, an average 55% of Apple iPhone buyers also purchase AppleCare, 40% of refrigerator buyers opt for extra protection, 30% of auto buyers opt for extra protection, and 15% of home electronics buyers (TVs, etc.) opt for additional coverage.

We think the demand for peace-of-mind in dentistry is pretty high comparatively speaking. 

Are You Keeping Up With What Patients Want?  Next Steps…

If your dental practice is still handling issues on a case-by-case basis with no clearly stated written policy for how you stand behind your work, what patient responsibility is, or what patients can expect in the event that there is an issue, you are falling behind in this area. 

1.    Get a Written Warranty - We strongly recommend that at the very least you begin using a written warranty in your office to clearly set patient expectations.  As a dentist, you may have never had the terrible experience of adding financial uncertainty to an already painful broken restoration.  

2.    What If I Don’t Have Many Redos? – That’s great for your peace-of-mind, but it’s not the point because patients want their own peace-of-mind, and they want to get it in the way that they are used to getting it.  If you have few redos, all the more reason to state in writing how proud you are of the quality of your work and that therefore you are willing to stand behind it. 

3.     Look Into the Dental Warranty System – The evidence is mounting that some, not all, but some patients find value in a higher level of peace-of-mind in the dental office.  If you would like to give them nationwide coverage, or help them guard against life events that can damage the beautiful treatment you provide, then take 15 minutes to speak to someone on the Dental Warranty team by calling (800) 691- 7234, or by requesting more information about Dental Warranty.

Conclusion

On top of the $40 billion Americans spend on protecting their consumer purchases, they also spend  $560 billion on life insurance, and $481 billion on auto, home, and business insurance each year.  

All together, consumers spend a whopping $1.08 trillion on peace-of-mind each year.   We invite you to join us in our goal to provide more peace-of-mind options for dental patients, especially to prepare for the years ahead as healthcare and health insurance is set for more and more change.