Flex Learning Hub

Meet Brandon Savage, Flex's longtime Onboarding Agent and IT Support Technician.

We’re explaining the differences between practice management and patient communication systems in dentistry. Spoiler alert: it's a bit of an "apples to oranges" comparison, but they’re both great for your practice!

There are two critical components for building a successful dental practice: managing the day-to-day operations of your business and fostering relationships with your patients through consistent communication. While most practices are well-versed in practice management software to keep their operations organized, there is usually less familiarity with patient communication software for maintaining patient engagement. And, there can often be confusion as to what services each software offers. Let’s take a quick look at the differences between practice management software and patient communication systems and the benefits each can provide to your practice and your patients.     

From cool functionality upgrades to new outside-the-box features, we’re giving you a glimpse into the Flex future. It’s way closer than you think! 

As a business, we understand that dental practices have different needs when it comes to technology. We’ve designed Flex and its subscription options so that each practice can get the features they need while not paying for features that may not be for them. No round pegs in square holes here! We want you to love every feature in Flex so that your user experience is top-notch.

With that in mind, here is a quick look at the 3 different Flex packages, what’s included, and what you’ll pay. 

Marketing is the food that feeds every business to help it grow, including dental practices. No matter the industry, a good marketing approach consists of several key components: building a brand, generating interest in your product/service, acquiring new customers, and fostering successful relationships to create repeat business. And, at the end of every successful marketing initiative, you’ll want to measure where your best leads came from so you can optimize your marketing budget and calculate your return on investment. Just like every business, your dental practice needs to be able to attribute your marketing wins to their respective campaigns so you know which of your investments is working the hardest.

In this article, I’m going to show you how to utilize the tracking links feature in FlexSchedule online scheduling to help determine the ROI of your practice's marketing strategy.   

Fun Fact: Chris is a big fan of The Simpsons and even has a dog named Flanders 

From branding to content creation, Flex relies on our marketing team to put our best foot forward in communicating with the dental industry. So, who is behind the scenes pulling the proverbial marketing strings? It's Chris Koch, a long-time dental technology marketer that joined Flex as his next big adventure. Let's meet Chris! 

A successful online review initiative in your practice is a great way to get the attention of patients in your community. In a recent survey by Software Advice, 90% of patients say they rely on online reviews to make their decisions about which healthcare providers to visit. So, how can Flex help you take your online reviews from non-existent to 5-stars and help bring in those patients? Read on to find out!

Storybook Smiles Children’s Dentistry is a pediatric dental practice located in the town of Tyler, Texas. Founded 2.5 years ago by Dr. Dylan Patrick, Storybook Smiles provides a full range of pediatric dental services from birth until age 18.

Dr. Patrick met with me for a quick chat to talk about Flex and its impact on his growing business. 

How is Flex? Dr. Lauren Poole of Sweet Truth Dental on why Flex is a great fit for her new practice:

"I have just opened my first start-up dental practice and one of the vendor names I kept hearing about was Flex Dental. We chose to use Open Dental as our software service and knew the integration with Flex was one of the biggest selling points. I have been open for a few weeks now and Flex was, by far, one of my greatest decisions. It has made patient communication seamless, payments easy, and my staff is THRILLED with how helpful it is for them. Made by dentists, for dentists. It's wonderful."

“Let me think about it.” 

These are five very common words that are used routinely when any of us are asked if we would like to move forward with a purchase. I’m the king of “Let me think about it.” Often, I want to put off a purchase because I didn’t really understand the need for the product or service I was being offered. The "sales pitch" may have sounded good but the details weren’t explained well enough or I just didn’t feel a sense of urgency to move forward. I also have a notorious habit of trying to avoid payment discussions, preferring to do pricing research independently. Later on, when I have finally made the purchase, I often wish I had done so sooner. 

Our team has worked with thousands of dental practices over the years and one common challenge the majority face is increasing their case acceptance. Usually, the patient has concerns about what exactly is being recommended, doesn’t understand the treatment being proposed, or has financial questions that they may be too timid to ask. Let’s take a look at how the treatment plan presentation module in Flex helps address these issues, facilitate conversation, and keep your patients engaged so that your team can boost acceptance and keep those ops full.