Care Day By Rick Kushner, DDS

Whew! Comfort Dental has survived another holiday season. December is a busy month, for us because of Care Day, a charitable tradition we created that donates free dental care to the Colorado community. Every year, right around Christmas Eve, we open our doors and give all patients a basic dental procedure for free on a first-come, first-serve basis. Care Day was easy back when we started it in 1985 with only a handful of offices. Now, each of our seventeen offices participates on this day. It’s a huge commitment for our staff—we’re asking them to give up their cozy Christmas Eve to spend the day in a crowded office full of waiting patients. Why the heck do we do it year after year?

Well, it’s just a nice thing to do. And Care Day is also a natural extension of Comfort Dental’s mission: to provide fair-priced quality dental care to all people, particularly those that may not be able to afford it otherwise. It’s true that many children and adults in this country don’t receive the dental care they need due to lack of dental insurance and adequate personal finances to pay for healthcare out-of-pocket. In fact, last year, nearly one-third of Colorado counties lacked access to dental services for low-income and at-risk populations, according to the Colorado Commission on Children’s Dental Health. Many of the patients we treat on Care Day are citizens in dire need of an initial exam or a filling. They come on this day because dental care is usually not within their financial means.

I’ve been asked, “Rick, aren’t you afraid that the publicity Care Day generates will lead people to believe that Comfort Dental serves only the underprivileged, thus creating a negative image about your patient base?” No, I’m not afraid of this because we successfully treat patients from all walks of life every day. Care Day happens to be the one day when we let the underprivileged know that we’re committed to providing dental care to all people, even if we have to do it for free.

My partners and I believe that Care Day means even more this year when our nation is suffering from an economic recession and the highest unemployment rate in many years.

Care Day is a special example of how we strive to keep costs down when patients need it the most. During hard economic times, many dentists believe that raising rates is the best way to compensate for fewer patients walking through the door. Our approach is just the opposite: When times are tough, keep your rates low and acquire all those patients that can’t afford to go to your competition.

It’s this philosophy that keeps a steady stream of patients coming in our offices when other dentists are trying all the patient acquisition tactics in the book (while quietly raising their rates!). Give something back to your patients—I promise you’ll keep more of them around longer!

Although Care Day is unique to Comfort Dental (that’s a hint—no copycats please!), I encourage all dentists to find their own way to give back to the communities they serve. As a benefit to the public, Care Day helps many people, and we feel good about that. As a benefit to Comfort Dental, our philanthropic contributions help us stay top-of-mind with the public and contribute to our large and steady patient base.

In summary, my holiday advice is: Don’t be a Scrooge—keep your rates reasonable, accept all types of patients and payment plans, and give charitably to those in need. Any short-term financial losses will be more than overcome by long-term gains.

Contact: Aaron Ferstman of GD&A Public Relations for Dr. Kushner and Comfort Dental Inc., 303-623-2529, aaron@gda-pr.com