Using promotion to increase dental practices.

Providers of professional services are beginning to experiment with promotional activities as a means to increase business and to remain competitive in the 1990s. The authors report the results of a nationwide survey of dentists that was conducted to identify the incidence and impact of promotional tool use among dental professionals. Of particular interest is the effect of different promotional tools on dentists' patient contact activity. Interestingly, dentists employed a variety of promotional tools in their practices and generally viewed promotion as acceptable. Yet, only dentists who used publicity as their sole promotional mechanism reported significantly improved patient contact activity.