Knowing what your patients are concerned about is key to running a successful dental practice but can be difficult to truly know. Luckily, we have insight into “the minds of the people” using a bit of digital savvy.
At Vaniman, we continuously look for insight into how we can help improve the lives of staff in dental offices and labs. It’s part of our DNA. As such, we look in a wide variety of places for inspiration.
Today, our focus landed on Google. Google is the #1 search tool for people using the internet receiving an estimated 5.2 billion searches per day.
That’s a lot of people asking for a lot of information.
So, we decided to leverage our digital know-how to get some search data results relevant for dentists.
To start, we needed a question or “search term” that a lot of patients are asking Google that’s relevant right now. Not wanting to leave this to chance, we rolled up our sleeves and did some research to find the most asked question by patients related to visiting their dentist.
So,
What is the most common question dental patients are asking today?
...Is it safe to go back to the dentist?
We pulled data from multiple sources to find volume and location information about this question. Since February, we can see a massive spike in people asking this exact question on Google.
There's been a whopping 1,100% increase in search volume!
Since personal thoughts and views change from state to state, we also included a chart below which shows the density of where those searches are coming from.
The darker blue color indicates higher search volume and interest.
As is usual, the highest populated areas have the most volume and interest; with one important outlier.
With a population of 6.1 million people, Missouri dentists may want put in some extra consideration regarding patient concerns.
For one reason or another, Missouri has the highest interest and volume of people asking if it's safe to go back to the dentist.
However, it’s not all panic out there… The most pandemic-related search in Missouri is currently, “Can we still go fishing in Missouri during the coronavirus disease?”
Touche. Missouri. Touche.
So how can you put this information to good use?
This data indicates that people may still be unsure about visiting their dentist.
Here's what we suggest:
- Make sure you tell your patients and customers the safety measures you’re taking to lower chances of COVID-19 transmission.
- Communicate on Social Media that you’re open for business for all types of treatments.
- Share your disinfection procedures as a sign of trust to your patients, maybe even get some pictures and get those posted.
- Create a new page on your website about infection control where people can find out how your office is handling things.
Keeping your patients informed is key during these times so hopefully these tips will help you provide better care and education.