EDITORIAL
Educate your referring dentists
Vincent G. Kokich, Editor-in-Chief
Tacoma, Wash
M
ost orthodontists would agree that after
a decade in private practice, a gradual shift
in referrals occurs in a quality-oriented ortho-
dontic office. Once a clinician begins to produce satisfied
customers, previous patients and parents begin to refer
their friends to their orthodontist. After all, we would
all prefer to have testimonials from successfully treated
patients if we were searching for someone to provide
some type of health care service. But, alas, most ortho-
dontists would still agree that a handful of loyal, refer-
ring general dentists is also necessary to keep an
orthodontic practice healthy and profitable.
However, some general dentists might not remain
loyal referral sources. How do you reward your referring
dentists? Do you take them to lunch? Do you provide
holiday gift baskets? Do you treat their children for a re-
duced fee or no fee? In the early days of my practice, I did
most of the above to make certain that these dentists
knew that I was still alive and available to treat their pa-
tients. But over the years, I found that these gestures did
not provide the loyal relationship with a referring general
dentist that endures for many years. Today, I believe that
there is a better strategy for endearing your referral sour-
ces—one that produces a win-win-win situation for the
patient, the referring dentist, and the orthodontist.
We would all agree that dental and orthodontic
materials and techniques change at a fairly rapid rate,
especially in recent years. Therefore, referring dentists
may not be aware of what you as an orthodontist can
do to assist them in caring for their restorative patients.
Where would a general dentist obtain this information?
After all, general dentists do not attend orthodontic
meetings. Restorative dentists do not read orthodontic
publications. So, to receive new information about proce-
dures that could assist a general dentist in managing a dif-
ficult restorative situation, he or she would have to rely on
information provided by an orthodontist such as you.
But if you do not archive and photograph your treated
cases routinely, where might you obtain educational ma-
terials to update your referring dentists about techniques
and procedures that could enhance the successful
Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2013;143:753
0889-5406/$36.00
Copyright Ó 2013 by the American Association of Orthodontists.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajodo.2013.04.003
treatment of your mutual interdisciplinary patients? The
answer is the On Demand Webinar series, housed on the
AAO Web site. Did you know that your association is
actively recording, archiving, and providing webinars and
recorded lectures about topics that would be educational
and beneficial to your referring dentists? Over the past 2
years, I have been actively involved in presenting several
interdisciplinary webinars on a variety of restorative and
periodontal topics related to orthodontics. Several practi-
tioners over the past 2 years have taken advantage of these
live sessions to educate their referral sources.
Typically, on the evening of the webinar, an orthodon-
tist will invite referring dentists to attend the webinar in
his or her orthodontic office. The orthodontist will provide
some refreshments; the webinar lasts for 75 minutes, and
afterward the orthodontist is available to answer ques-
tions regarding the topic that was covered. The AAO has
received many favorable comments from orthodontists
who have participated in this manner. But there is an
even better way to participate in this type of learning en-
vironment and earn continuing education hours—and
that is the On Demand Learning Program.
All of these webinars plus many lectures from the An-
nual Session and Winter conferences are recorded and
then archived on the AAO Web site. All orthodontists
who are members of the AAO can access these recorded
lectures to provide an educational experience for their
referring dentists. The advantage of using a previously
recorded lecture is that you can stop and start the lecture
from time to time to interject your personal opinions or
to further explain a point that might not have been de-
tailed sufficiently for your colleagues. What a wonderful
way to spend an evening with your referral sources and
be the center of their attention. This is truly a winning
way to gain a loyal referral source and improve dentistry
at the same time. Check out the On Demand Learning
Program on the AAO Web site. These lectures are a great
way to educate your referring dentists.
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