Opportunity and challenges await your practice if you create a welcoming environment for Hispanic dental patients.

Latinos, the fastest growing ethnic group in the U.S., comprise almost half of the Illinois immigrant population. Nationally, 43% say they have visited the dentist in the past 12 months. Still, the demographic remains resolutely underserved with only 27% of Hispanic teens receiving dental sealants compared with 44% of white, non-Hispanic teens.1

To attract and retain Hispanic patients, you must prepare your practice.

1. Staff Appropriately. Statistics show Hispanic families have at least one English-speaking family member—but often that person is a child. Your practice needs a Spanish-speaking staff person to handle telephone, Internet and adult patient interactions.

2. Learn Spanish. The doctor should be able to communicate with the patient in Spanish.

3. Place Ads in Spanish.  Place print ads in local Hispanic media—in Spanish. Use photos of Latino models and make sure your translations are culturally correct. Use Latinos in your English-language ads in communities with a big Hispanic population to showcase your recognition of the bilingual community.

4. Translate your Website to Spanish. Offer a Spanish-language version of your Web site. Include photos of Hispanic models. Make sure the informational links offer Spanish-language pages. If you do not have a website, create one. Statistics show 56% of the Hispanic population connects to the Internet.2

Visit www.InsmyleDental.com to see a dental website designed by MidwestDentalSolutions with Spanish translations.

Sources:

Trends in Oral Health Status: 1988-1994 and 1999-2004, April 2007 U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Series 11, No. 248 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_11/sr11_248.pdf

Fox, Susannah.  (March 14, 2007). Latinos Online.  Pew Internet & American Life Project; Livingston, Gretchen, Pew Hispanic Center. http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/Latinos_Online_March_14_2007.pdf