Ian Eslick speaks to one of the first practices to join DPAS more than 20 years ago…
Rob Glenning is one of the longest standing members of DPAS – after first implementing their dental membership plan 21 years ago. Over that time, he has owned four practices, and has found that having a plan in place has inspired loyalty among patients who have followed him to each new practice.
In 2017 he started a specialist referral centre at South Devon Dental and once again implemented plans with DPAS. I have worked with Rob over the past two decades and spoke to him recently to find out more about his approach to having a plan in practice and how it works for him…
Ian Eslick (IE): How has the DPAS plan supported you when it comes to selling practices and moving to new ones?
Rob Glenning (RG): Whenever I have moved to a new practice, the majority of my DPAS patients have moved with me. I find that it builds loyalty between myself and the patient, so that they have been happy to come with me to a new practice, which obviously helps to get things off to a good start. It also facilitates bringing patients out of the NHS and I have been able to move patients away from other providers onto the plan we provide. In my current practice there was an existing plan in place from another provider and we have moved them over to DPAS as I believe it is the best solution for the business and patients.
IE: Why do you think it is the best solution?
RG: A plan gives you a guaranteed income every month, it’s there whether I’m on holiday or not and it’s good for the patients because they’re protected from large bills. I also think patients appreciate the convenience of being able to attend the practice for treatment with no money changing hands because it’s already covered. I particularly think that DPAS is the best solution because it is cost-effective with no fripperies which I feel I don’t need. It is also very flexible, which means we can create bespoke plans that allow us to meet the various needs of our patients. I offer three tiers of cover which have varying levels of service, such as including appointments with the hygienists and different discounts on the more expensive treatments. You, Ian, have always been open to change and supported me to adapt what we have in place. When I wanted to introduce a new level of plan you were always helpful in setting up that facility.
IE: What is your approach to introducing the plan to patients?
RG: For me, there is no ‘hard sell’, it’s simply about explaining to patients the savings they could be making by being on the plan. For example, when I finish a course of treatment on someone who has been paying as they go, I will tell them that if they joined the plan they wouldn’t face this kind of large bill in the future. They go away and think about it and it’s very popular, once people join we have a very small rate of attrition. If they don’t join up at that time, I will let them know the next time they come in for a filling that if they had joined the plan that treatment wouldn’t have cost them anything, and that they still have the option to join. Everyone likes to save money where they can, and offering the plan allows patients to do that – as soon as they understand that, they are generally more than happy to join.
IE: Sounds like everything is going really well, how are things at South Devon Dental?
RG: It is going well – we are attracting around 70 to 90 new patients a month, so we’re growing at a good rate. It does help having a constant source of support in you, Ian, and DPAS as we’ve worked together for so long. Dentistry is very much about loyalty not just between patients and the dentist, which you have helped me to build, but also between the dentist and the people that work with them, and that’s one of the many things DPAS has provided me with.
About Rob
Dr Glenning qualified from Liverpool University in 1981 and joined the Royal Navy, serving five years as a Dental Officer before buying his first practice. He is an experienced principal dentist and has owned and run family dental practices since 1986. He achieved Membership of the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners in 1992 and is currently a part-time Clinical Supervisor and Tutor at the Peninsula Dental School in Plymouth.
