Boost Vet Practice Profits and Pet Health with Dental Services

Veterinary dentistry is one of the practice's most underrated yet profitable services. When done well, dental services are a foundational part of veterinary healthcare and business growth.

Not only does it bring significant health benefits to our patients, but it can also strengthen your practice financially and deepen client trust.

Let’s look at a few ways you can effectively promote dental services in your practice to maximize value for patients, clients, and your bottom line.

1. Prioritize the Value of Veterinary Dentistry

Studies show that 80% of dogs and 70% of cats over three years old have some degree of periodontal disease.

Left untreated, dental disease can progress into painful conditions that affect the entire body, from the liver to the heart. We all know this, but communicating it effectively to clients can be challenging.

By establishing dental services as a priority, your team can emphasize the long-term health benefits of preventive dental care to clients, reframing it as a necessity rather than an add-on.

If not already, focus on incorporating dental evaluations into routine exams. By including a dental grading scale during check-ups, you’ll show clients where their pet stands and explain how an immediate cleaning or other dental treatments can prevent further complications.

Dental health packages are another effective way to highlight the ongoing need for dental care, creating opportunities for consistent follow-up visits that allow for early intervention.

2. Make Dental Treatments a Core Service

Dental procedures are often necessary and highly valued by pet parents; However, it’s important to make these services visible and accessible to clients. Here are a few things to consider:

Dedicate time and resources: consider blocking specific days for dental procedures, so your staff has adequate time to perform them properly. Having a dedicated dental day (or even half-day) can streamline your scheduling and bring in predictable revenue.

Invest in quality equipment: high quality dental stations and state of the art dental x-ray equipment are well worth the investment. Efficient, effective cleanings increase client satisfaction and help to reduce your costs.

Offer bundled packages: Consider bundling your veterinary dental services, like offering annual cleanings that include pre-anesthetic blood work, dental scaling, polishing, and post-care consultations. It makes it easy for pet parents to see the value of dental care and can motivate them to commit to regular treatments.

3. Educate Clients on the Importance of Dental Health

Encourage client buy-in through education. A single mention may be forgotten, but frequent touchpoints can leave a lasting impression. Here are a few considerations for helping deliver the message:

Use visual aids: Show clients a real example of the improvement dental work can make. Before-and-after photos, diagrams, and models can help illustrate the impact of dental disease and the transformative benefits of treatment.

Explain the connection to overall health: Share that patients often have pain and infection that can be alleviated by a cleaning. Periodontal disease affects more than the mouth; it can lead to heart, kidney, and liver problems, which many clients find eye-opening.

Offer routine reminders: Dental disease is progressive, so reminding clients through newsletters, postcards, app notifications, and social media posts about dental check-ups and cleanings keeps it top of mind.

4. Invest in Staff Training

A knowledgeable and compassionate team is your greatest asset. If your team is confident in their ability to educate clients about dental health, it becomes far easier to engage pet owners.

Ongoing in-house training covering topics like dental disease identification, effective client communication, and equipment handling can be helpful to keep your team sharp.

Beyond the basics of scaling and polishing, ensure your team can identify common issues like resorptive lesions, fractured teeth, and advanced periodontal disease.

Consider bringing in a veterinary dental specialist for an annual refresher course to keep learning engaging.

5. Financial Benefits of Expanding Veterinary Dental Services

Aside from the health benefits, there are many financial advantages to investing in dental services.

Many veterinarians see dental treatments as a high-value service, generating significant revenue relative to time spent.

Let’s look at why it’s so profitable:

High margins, predictable revenue: Dental services offer a predictable income with proper veterinary dental equipment and streamlined scheduling, and regular dental check-ups increase client retention.

Minimizes emergency costs: By actively recommending preventive care, we can reduce the risk of clients facing expensive emergency treatments later.

Improved cash flow: Offering flexible payment options like payment plans or financing options for major dental work can increase acceptance rates for expensive procedures.

Building a well-rounded dental program benefits everyone involved—your patients, clients, and practice. Invest in your team, embrace client communication, and make dental care visible and essential to your services.