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Howard Speaks

This Could be Your Most Profitable
Time of the Year



Howard Farran, DDS,
MBA, MAGD
Publisher,
Dentaltown Magazine 		It’s that time of the year again – time for turkey and mashed potatoes smothered in three different kinds of gravy, time for waiting in shopping lines 100 people deep to buy expensive gifts for loved ones, and time for making special holiday plans with friends and family (whether you like them or not). It is also time to remind your patients to utilize their insurance benefits before the year’s end! Each year at this time, our Today’s Dental family practice in Phoenix, Arizona, mails out a letter called “Today’s Dental Unused Benefits.” Not only does this letter inform our patients about their remaining dental benefits, but more importantly, it reminds our patients about the necessary treatment they should complete before their dental concern gets worse. In a perfect world there would not be calendar-year insurance benefits, nor patients who allow their insurance coverage to dictate their dental care. Unfortunately, the reality is, when you take insurance, both are major factors in how your practice does business, which also affects your monthly production.

If you want to start sending out unused-benefits letters, the first step is to print a report from your practice management software of all patients who have unused benefits for the year and who have treatment that has not yet been scheduled. My office manager then goes through the list to verify that treatment has not already been completed, or that there are no outstanding balance issues on the account. Flag the patients on your list who do not meet your criteria, and whom you do not wish to include in the merge file. This is done to eliminate paper waste, and to keep your office from looking stupid to a patient who has already completed treatment! Next, simply generate the merge file. Contact your software support for instructions on how to generate a merge file in case you need help with this. The next step is to create the letter (see Fig. 1 for example) and merge the file of patient names to your letter.

Fig. 1





If you do not have the merge feature in your office software, you can choose one of three other options to achieve this goal. The first option is to print a list instead of a merge file of all patients who need to be contacted, then create your letter and manually enter the patient’s information. This option is rather time consuming, but in my opinion it is well worth the effort. The second option is to create the letter as a form letter to your patients, but the only drawback is that you lose the “personal touch” this way. The third option is, instead of sending a letter to all of your patients, use your list to call them directly in an attempt to get them scheduled. Whichever option you choose to communicate with your patients, it will be worth the effort.

Something else to think about is that not all insurance companies have calendar-year benefits. This process can be done periodically throughout the year depending on if your patients’ insurance companies are calendar or benefit year.

Fig. 1 is a sample of the letter we send to our patients at Today’s Dental. Notice how we offer a 10 percent discount off of the patient portion if this letter is mentioned. Sending this letter is also a great opportunity to enclose any other marketing pieces you are currently using such as whitening discount coupons, or Invisalign brochures.

The year may be coming to a close, but when it comes to getting patients on the schedule before their insurance benefits run out, get started now! Humans love to procrastinate. Act on this information immediately so this December proves to be a busy and productive month for you and your patients.
Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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