The Story
What Changed in Hanson's Practice.
I'm Dr. Marshall Hanson. I run the Marshall Hanson Method out of Boise, Idaho. My practice today is cosmetic-only. That is not where I started, and it is not where most general dentists think they can land, but it is where Smile Virtual took us.
Before Smile Virtual, I was running a general practice doing a little of everything. Some crowns, some cosmetic, a lot of hygiene exams. The cosmetic work is what I loved, but it was the smallest slice of the schedule. When a cosmetic consult did come in, I was spending an hour at the chair trying to convince a shopper. More often than not, they would say they needed to think about it, and I never heard from them again.
The first time we used a virtual consult, I spent 10 minutes on a video. The patient watched it, shared it with their spouse, and came in already decided. The whole dynamic changed. The in-person visit was confirmation. That is a different job entirely.
What I would tell a dentist thinking about this: it is not a marketing thing. It is a conversion thing. The marketing is already working for most of us. The patient already found me. The question is what happens in the 72 hours between when they saw my Instagram and when they decide. That window is what Smile Virtual owns.
It has been liberating because now I'm doing the types of procedures I actually want to do. I don't think I'd be in the position I am today if it hadn't been for the concept of Smile Virtual. Find your niche, build the content around it, and let the virtual consult do the sorting. That is the whole playbook.
