by Newer products, such as Universal Adhesives, help large group practices provide optimal patient care.
Patients continue to be more and more informed, thanks to the wealth of information available to them online. In turn, their expectations are higher than ever before, raising the bar for large group practices to provide the best service and treatment possible.
Without access to the newest technology, group practices may struggle to meet patients’ increased expectations, notes Russ Perlman, executive director of marketing & communication, VOCO America, Inc. “Manufacturers can assist their group practice customers with these new advancements by being an active participant in the processes of education, adaptation and implementation,” he says. “Together, group practices can maximize the opportunity to successfully leverage these new advancements that can provide positive results, both on the clinical side and the business side, impacting the level of quality patient care and business efficiency.”
A prime example is universal adhesives, he continues. “From a product perspective, the advancement in adhesives – in particular, the introduction of universal adhesives – has made a significant impact on group practices,” he points out. “For instance, VOCO’s Futurabond U Universal Adhesive impacts group practices on multiple levels, including procurement, inventory management and, of course, clinical dentistry.
“From a purchasing perspective, universal adhesives allow the dental management team to streamline purchasing and reduce adhesive inventories, as well as some secondary product inventories that universal adhesives now share indications with, lowering overall costs,” says Perlman. Clinically, universal adhesives provide the quality and flexibility to meet the various preferences of multiple practitioners within a group practice. “Universal adhesives work in all cure modes and etch modes, as well as with all substrates, delivering very similar bond strength levels and overall performance quality,” he says. “This allows practitioners who differ in preference to use one single adhesive for all clinical situations, which in turn reduces variables and increases consistency on multiple levels, creating more predictable results for both the practitioner and the practice.”
Supporting the dental team
Not only must the dental practice have access to new technology to offer optimal patient care, it must be educated on manufacturer guidelines for proper use. VOCO partners with its group practice customers to ensure they are aware of the company’s new products, including the technology behind these products, notes Perlman. Additionally, VOCO educates its customers to ensure they can “harness and leverage the value of these products and underlying technologies to realize a return on investment on both the business and clinical sides of their practices,” he adds.
“We provide our group practice customers with continuing education programs and work with our media partners to create online continuing education opportunities through portals such as www.vocolearning.com,” Perlman continues. “Furthermore, our dedicated special market sales team works closely with our local and regional reps to ensure our group practice customers have the necessary resources to educate their practitioners and implement these new advancements so that the intended benefits are realized at the corporate, practitioner and patient levels.
“With a fully developed product consultant team, in addition to our in house Clinical Education team, VOCO has been – and will continue to be – a part of the support team that our group practice customers turn to.”
