How River Run Dental Spa Revived Itself Through a Superior Patient Experience

“You can’t pay me to go anywhere else!”

“I seize every opportunity to refer someone (friend or stranger!) to you.”

“Where have you been all my life?!”

These are just some of comments left on River Run Dental’s Google reviews page. River Run has 488 reviews (as of this writing) averaging 4.9 stars. Just from glancing at River Run’s Google reviews, you can tell patients love River Run Dental Spa. Working with River Run Dental Spa over the last 6 months, we’ve also witnessed this first hand. With such devoted and happy patients, River Run Dental Spa recently opened its second office. So how did Dr. Brent Rusnak, founder of River Run Dental Spa, build such a strong brand?

Family dental to dental spa

River Run Dental Spa comes from humble beginnings. After graduating from the VCU School of Dentistry, Dr. Brent Rusnak opened his own practice, Rusnak Family Dentistry, in 2006 in Richmond, VA. Just like any other dental practice in the area, Dr. Rusnak and his team were able to grow the practice organically by consistently delivering exceptional care to their patients. However, like most other dental practices, growth eventually plateaued.

The problem? Rusnak Family Dentistry was just like any other dental office. In the 21st century, great care is not enough. Patients demand more than just the best care, they also want a great experience. An experience they can talk to their friends about, write online about, and recommend on social media. Dr. Rusnak realized this and set out to differentiate his practice by reinventing the patient experience.

River Run Dental Spa launches

Starting in 2010, Dr. Rusnak and his team began to revamp the entire dental experience. Not just bed-side manners, but every single patient touch point – from the patient calling the office to the waiting area to sitting in the chair. Dr. Rusnak experimented with many variations of the patient experience – new furniture, softer lighting, new greeting scripts, and more. Slowly, but surely, the experiments started to work. The results of these changes lead to Dr. Rusnak being named Richmond’s Top Dentist by Richmond Magazine in 2013 (and every year since).

With a superior patient experience, organic word-of-mouth patient referrals, and great media recognition, new patient growth sky-rocketed. In 2016, to better reflect the vision of Dr. Brent Rusnak – delivering a spa-quality, dental experience – Rusnak Family Dentistry rebranded itself as River Run Dental Spa.

Partnering with NexHealth to push boundaries for a superior patient experience

“Just one tap and pay. Patients love the experience.”

A lot has changed from 2013, when Dr. Rusnak embraced his new vision of providing a spa-like, dental experience, to 2019. Today’s patients always carry a smartphone. They’re able to pay for their Starbucks drinks, request a car for a ride, and shop for practically anything, all from their phones. In order to stay ahead of the curve and meet their patients where they already are, River Run Dental Spa decided to partner with NexHealth.

“With NexHealth, we are able to solve one of the most frustrating parts of a patients’ experience with a dental office,” says Leslie Blackwell, Marketing Director at River Run Dental Spa. “We’re able to simplify our billing experience to just one tap on their smartphones. We text patients their bills; all they do is click on the text, put in their credit card, and pay. No need to login or create a password. Just one tap and pay. Patients love the experience.”

Before NexHealth, like most dental offices, River Run was sending patients their bills in the mail and asking that the patient mail back payment through a check or call the office. The practice realized that this had to change in 2019. This was another opportunity to differentiate River Run. Why should patients have to mail a check to pay the office when they pay for everything else in their lives online or through their smartphones?

After searching far and wide for a payment platform that meets River Run’s high standards, River Run Dental Spa decided on NexHealth. “What we love about NexHealth is its simplicity. All patients have to do is tap and pay.”

With its second office in Short Pump, River Run is now bringing its spa-quality, patient experience to more Virginians. While River Run’s level of success may be difficult to replicate, their model is simple: provide a great end-to-end patient experience. “The volume of new patients we see at River Run is at the top end of most practices on NexHealth.” says Alamin Uddin, NexHealth’s co-founder and CEO. “River Run is a great example of what can be achieved with a great, end-to-end patient experience. We love working with Dr. Rusnak’s team.”

To learn more about River Run Dental Spa, visit riverrundentalspa.com.

You can also find River Run on instagram @riverrundental.

Or at their newest location in Short Pump, VA.

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