For better practice relations.

Since the 1970s dentists in the US have shown a growing interest in converting unmet need for dental care into demand for their professional services. Internal marketing is one approach that has received a great deal of attention. Internal marketing focuses on what dentists and staff can do with current patients better to sense, to serve, and to meet their needs. This paper focuses on work that was done to help dentists market their practices internally. It is not the report of a rigorous scientific study. It is a presentation of findings based on the experiences of one consultant. It should be viewed as a preliminary observational study on identifying what it takes for dentists and staff to convert unmet need into demand. Based on preliminary work, a series of interventions for dental practices was developed. These interventions can best be described as continuing education programmes. The format was either workshops, attended by the staff of large numbers of practices, or in-office consulting, with dentists and staff. The intervention was not standardized but had consistency in terms of five basic elements: awareness raising; training in communication skills; leadership development; team building for the entire dental team; and activities directed toward patients. Findings are based on subjective observations and conclusions. Self-reports from dentists indicate that what was developed can be an effective tool. Whether this is a practical approach for reaching large groups of dentists is a question that requires thoughtful analysis. This paper also includes a presentation of other observations and conclusions drawn from this experience.