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Dear Heidi,<br />
We routinely offer gift certificates to our clients. They are a great way to surprise<br />
someone with a gift of teeth whitening or even a larger service such as<br />
veneers. Our patient’s husband purchased an eight-unit veneer gift certificate<br />
for her so that she could have her teeth restored before their daughter’s wedding.<br />
How great was that? The issue is we do not know if we should include an expiration<br />
date on the gift certificates. Our fees are subject to change each year, and<br />
if the gift certificate is purchased and not used until five years later…our fees<br />
would be different. Do we put a dollar value on the certificate or a specific<br />
procedure/service? Thanks for your advice…these certificates were a big<br />
success during the holidays!<br />
Cheers,<br />
H.H.<br />
Chicago<br />
Dear H.H.,<br />
I love your idea… gift certificates can be fun and work well, even in our dental<br />
offices. Especially when someone forgets to purchase a gift for a loved one!<br />
What a fantastic surprise that Mother of the Bride had in your office! I will share<br />
with you that 30 states have enacted laws banning gift cards and certificates with<br />
short expiration periods and requiring issuers to turn over cash from expired<br />
cards to the state! Eight states have added these laws in 2007 alone. Some states<br />
require the certificate to be valid for at least five years. This can hurt small businesses<br />
that have great intentions and thrive on using gift certificates. Due to these<br />
rules, my advice would be to have the certificate state a monetary value. That<br />
way if your fees change, it will cover a certain portion of the cost and the customer<br />
will be responsible for the rest. It will make it more of a win-win for you<br />
and your clients.<br />
Happy New Year!<br />
Heidi<br />
Dear Heidi,<br />
We do a lot of chair side and take home bleaching in our office. My patients always<br />
want to know exactly what color their teeth are when they start and then<br />
again when they end their bleaching regimen. I am not crazy about our current<br />
shade guides. Can you recommend a guide that works well for this purpose?<br />
Thanks,<br />
Dr. B<br />
Pennsylvania<br />
<strong>LVI</strong> VISIONS • JANUARY • FEBRUARY • MARCH • APRIL 2008 59
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