ne of myfavorite exam-ples of the pos-itive resultsthat oral con-scious sedationand anxiolysisproduce isShervin Erfani.

If you harbor even a mild curios-ity about how oral sedation den-tistry (OSD) might impact yourpatients and practice, you have toread Erfani’s story.

More than most well-educatedprofessionals, Erfani knew heshouldn’t neglect his oral health.Yet, like a large percentage of thegeneral public, he was an appre-hensive dental patient, makingexcuses and putting off muchneeded oral health treatment. Heshared with me how he requireda full-mouth rehabilitation dueto chronic Temporo-MandibularJoint (TMJ) dysfunction.

Many Americans who sufferfrom TMJ dysfunction don’trealize the root cause of theirproblems. Those who do oftenfear the cure more than the dis-ease. This patient’s TMJ disor-der required intense and invasivecorrective measures. He dreadedthe prospect of having to sitthrough multiple prolonged pro-cedures, both for the anxietyeach one was sure to provoke, aswell as the repetitive disruptionsto his professional life.

Then, Erfani discovered seda-tion dentistry and its anxiety-free by Michael Silverman, DMD

XX October 2003 / www.dentaleconomics.com

Getty Im

ages

“Panic Room” part three

PANIC PROFITto

O

From

attributes. One of the more prac-tical benefits that OSD providesfor busy professionals is that themethod typically allows the den-tist to perform complex dentaltreatment in fewer visits, or evenin one stress-free session. “I amjust so glad that I went throughit because all my TMJ symptomsare gone,” Erfani reports.

I also want to introduce AllanRingard and recount his experi-ence with OSD. He is a good-humored fellow who enjoys theoutdoors, especially fishing. LikeErfani, he spent long hours inthe dental office. Anxiety was hisconstant companion.

Complicating Ringard’s lifewas the fact that his business wasdeep in debt. Although he wasworking harder than ever - cram-ming more and more work intoeach overflowing day — thedeparture of a key associate, theloss of an important businesscontract, and the economicdownturn left him awash in redink. Though it might sound likesome far-fetched televisioninfomercial for a miracle weight-loss pill, OSD actually curedErfani of his TMJ symptoms andRingard of his debt burden.

You see, these two men arethemselves practicing dentistswho are among the more than2,500 general dentists nationallywho have received their trainingin OSD from the DentalOrganization for ConsciousSedation (DOCS.)

This is the final installment ina three-part series examining thebenefits and practical applica-tions of OSD, a safe, market-tested, consumer-endorsedmethod of treating anxiouspatients. Thousands of generaldentists have already embraced

OSD and reclaimed hundreds oflapsed patients who previouslyavoided much-needed dentalcare.

The truly amazing aspect ofOSD is that it has not only trans-formed the quality of life forpatients, it also has revolution-ized the lives of the trained den-tists who provide the service.

I’ve personally witnessed thisprofessional enrichment hun-dreds of times. Not only do thevast majority of dentists who useOSD discover they enjoy theirwork more than ever, virtually allof them make more money than atany point in their careers.

For example, due entirely toOSD methods as taught byDOCS, Dr. Erfani has boostedhis income by $25,000 a month -that is $300,000 annually! Moreimportantly, he has had the privi-lege of changing his patient’slives.

As for Dr. Ringard, well, theanxiety he once felt was not as adental patient, but as a dentalprovider who had no choice butto meet with a bankruptcy attor-ney in January 2002 to exploreways of discharging his $100,000debt. Rather than chapter 7,however, he chose to enroll in aDOCS course. By July 2002, Dr.Ringard and his practice “... were out of the hole and backin the black,” he reports.

What are your dreams? Whatwould you do with an extra$50,000 in the bank at the end ofthe year? How about $75,000?Or even $100,000 and more?Can completing a DOCS courseand adding OSD to your practicereally help make your dreamscome true?

Absolutely! I can give youexample after example of dentists

just like Dr. Ringard, in marketstiny and titanic, who haveachieved their life’s goals fasterand easier than they ever imag-ined possible. These successfulDOCS graduates have also giventhe gift of life-enhancing, anxi-ety-free dentistry to theirpatients.

In the first two parts of thisseries, I explored the safety andhealth issues related to OSD andlooked at the training and invest-ment necessary to establish thesetechniques into your practice.OSD has been extremely welltested in the real world, withoutproblems. Training for an entirepractice and purchasing all of therecommended equipment toimplement OSD can be accom-plished for well under $10,000.

As I wrap up this final article,I will detail the marketing strate-gies DOCS recommends to drawhigh-margin OSD patients toyour practice.

I know many dentists whohave set aside the extra incomeearned from their OSD invest-ment toward an early retirement.By attracting just four sedationpatients a week to an existingdental practice, a 50-year-olddentist could easily set aside anextra $144,500 a year, after pay-ing income tax, for an earlyretirement at age 61. Just imag-ine what that would mean to ayounger dentist who starts savingeven sooner!

My good friend and DOCScolleague, Dr. Anthony S. Feck,who practices in Lexington, Ky.,increased his annual productionfrom $800,000 a year to nearly$2.4 million. In June 2003, Tonytook his entire dental team on afour-day cruise to the Bahamas.

Dr. John Frerich estimates his

In the third and final installment of his series, the author highlights marketing techniques that will help general dentists successfully

incorporate Oral Sedation Dentistry (OSD) into their practices.

www.dentaleconomics.com / October 2003 XX

XX October 2003 / www.dentaleconomics.com

CONSCIOUS SEDATION

practice in rural western Minnesotahas grown 15 to 20 percent in thetwo years that he has been offeringOSD. Once every two months, Dr.Frerich closes his office and histeam heads to a local hospital towork pro-bono on mentally handi-capped patients.

As for me, well, I am build-ing my dream home on aprivate lake island in

Idaho. More importantly, I’ve dedi-cated my life to spreading the goodword about DOCS so that I mightshare my own OSD success as ageneral dentist with others. That iswhere marketing becomes crucial.

We’ve established in the threeparts of this series that OSD is safe,effective, and beneficial to both thepatient and the dentist. I’ve pointedout that DOCS-trained dentistshave already seen more than500,000 patients. Yet nearly 140million Americans neglect to makeregular visits to their dentists, andalmost two-thirds of them are soafraid of going to the dentist that itis a misnomer to call them patients.They are, as I pointed out in PartOne, nonpatients.

So we have our work, and ouropportunity, cut out for us. It is notenough to take our DOCS courseand to buy the necessary equipmentfor your OSD practice. Doing sowill allow you to better serve yourexisting patients — and they’llthank you for it — but it won’t helpyou reach out to the thousands ofprospective patients in your veryown community who need yourhelp, but are afraid to ask for it.Toreach and serve these patients youneed to employ proven marketingtechniques. The combination ofrespected dental practitioner and asavvy marketer may seem incongru-ous, but at DOCS we have honedthe marketing and communicationtechniques down to a science everybit as effective as dentistry itself.

Much of the credit for theDOCS method of marketing goes

have access to a sister service thatwrites the radio ads, produces them,buys the airtime, and monitors theresults. Most dentists need do noth-ing more than make sure their staffis prepared to properly handle theinflux of calls from new patients.

In small and rural markets, radioadvertisements are surprisinglyaffordable. Typically, a dentistmight run as many as 180 advertise-ments a month for under $1,000.Even if it takes 10 spots to promptone reluctant patient to a dentist,that adds up to 18 new patients amonth for a $1,000 investment.Given that OSD patients averagewell over $2,500 in treatments each,radio advertising pays for itselfdozens of times over.

In mid-size and large radiomarkets, the cost of commer-cial air time is higher. But the

potential patient population in larg-er markets is also significantlygreater, making the return oninvestment no less certain.

Because OSD is so appealing toprospective patients who are endur-ing physical and psychological paindue to prolonged dental careneglect, many patients are willing todrive 20, 30, or more than 100miles in response to a targeted radiomessage. DuMolin’s experience hasshown that radio messaging pays foritself with just two new patients amonth.

While radio is a powerful mar-keting engine, it requires a support-ing cast consisting of a Web site,yellow-pages ad, and office signageto be most effective. Indeed, evenafter hearing a compelling, non-threatening radio message, anxiety-prone dental patients are hesitant tojust pick up the phone and call foran appointment. DOCS researchhas demonstrated that roughly halfof all new OSD patients consult theInternet first when seeking moreinformation. The anonymity of theInternet provides prospects a cru-cial sense of safety, privacy, and

to Jim DuMolin, a brilliant market-ing and management strategist whohas taught on behalf of DOCS sinceour founding in 1999. DuMolinhas successfully steered hundreds ofdentists personally through theshoals of dental marketing to anincredibly profitable landing.

DuMolin and I both know thatdentists should be free to concen-trate on being dentists and servingpatients. That is why the DOCSmarketing program is designed as aturnkey approach that satisfies thepractitioner’s need for ease, econo-my, and effectiveness. The DOCSmarketing program rests upon aproven, four-prong approach.DOCS teaches its members how touse radio advertising, a Web site, ayellow-pages ad, and building signsto win back fearful patients. “Whenyou are working with marketing,everything is synergistic,” DuMolinsays. “It all works together.”

Because each new OSDpatient accounts for morethan three-and-a-half

times the profit of a standard dentalpatient, radio advertising makesperfect financial sense, even for rel-atively small practices. “The num-ber one thing that will give you themost immediate return on yourinvestment is radio marketing,”explains DuMolin. DOCS members

DOCS research has

demonstrated thatroughly half of

all new OSDpatients consult theInternet first when

seeking more information.

comfort. Often, their very first “toe in the

water” is sending an email from aDOCS member’s Web site askingfor more information on OSD. Theyellow pages ad and office signscomplete the circle. A prospectiveclient who hears the radio ad, but isnot yet Internet savvy, will likelyturn to the yellow pages for moreinformation. Office signs not onlysnag the occasional passerby, butalso help to reinforce the otherthree forms of messaging.

Throughout the marketing pro-cess there are two principles to keepin the forefront of your mind.

1: If patients don’t know youexist, you can’t help them.

2: DOCS has made it simpleand painless to draw in fresh, in-need patients.

Believe me, no matter how awk-ward you think you might be whenit comes to promoting your practiceto prospective patients, DOCS hasa method that will make you looklike a seasoned marketing wizard. Ifnothing else, I hope this three-partseries gives you pause to considerhow you can best serve the anxiousdental patient. DOCS is proven towork for any dentist, although Iknow it isn’t right for every dentist.

If you have additional questionsor would like more information, Iencourage you to visit our Web siteat www.sedation1.com, or phoneour offices at (877) 325-DOCS anddiscuss your interest with us.

I hope that in 12 months, oreven 18 or 24 months that I’ll get apostcard or note from you — justlike the one I recently receivedfrom Dr. Shervin Erfani, the SanDiego DOCS member who is bothan OSD patient and practitioner.

“We have been able to collectmore money, decrease the numberof hours we work, and, most impor-tantly, concentrate on one patient ata time, which was my goal in thefirst place,” Erfani writes.

DE

CONSCIOUS SEDATION

XX October 2003 / www.dentaleconomics.com