Sometimes it can be hard to make dental visits fun and engaging for children before they come and after they leave their appointment. Below are five ideas you could implement in your office to help children stay engaged and excited before, during, and after their visit.
#1 – Make the visits rewarding.
You can make the rewards based on anything you’d like – good dental care between visits, a great examination, being brave during a tough procedure, etcetera. Then let them choose a fun reward they can take home and enjoy. The rewards don’t have to be an extravagant prize that breaks the budget either. They could be a toothbrush and travel cap, floss, lip balm, a small toy, stickers, sunglasses, a water bottle, stress ball, or more!
In addition, you could choose to get personalized items that have your logo, information, and/or a message included that would help promote your practice. Tess Oral Health specializes in personalization and offers a large variety of personalized toothbrushes, travel caps, a variety of floss, and fun, personalized lip balm designs. Tess Oral Health also offers personalized bundle options, so you can get multiple items at a great price!
#2 – Encourage patients to bring comfort items.
When you are working with younger children or special cases, comfort items can really help ease stress and fear. Have your team encourage new patients or patients that are stressed during visits to bring their favorite item, whether it be a stuffed animal, a blanket, or even a book! These items will not only help comfort and distract them, but they are also great conversation starters to help engage the kids and get them excited throughout the visit.
#3 – Have fun trivia and activities.
While some offices may be limited in what can be accessible in the waiting room, there are still fun activities that can engage patients. One idea is to start a monthly trivia game for patients to be able to enter to win a prize. The game could be as simple as guessing how many candies are in jar to win the jar or more difficult as guessing the answer to a riddle for a chance to win a gift card. And if you want to engage with patients who may not have appointments that month, you can post the game on social media to receive more entries.
An additional idea is to provide take-home coloring pages for your younger patients. You can make them dental themed and include your information at the bottom. It’s just another fun way to engage your patients outside of the office and get them excited for visits!
#4 – Make a club.
Create a little club that your patients could be a part of – the clean teeth club, the brushers club, the braces on or off club, the milestone club, etcetera. If a patient qualifies, they get their photo taken and put up on the wall where they can see it each visit. You can even make a little wall decoration to put the photos on to make it a dedicated area to the photos. Patients can be excited at seeing their photo and/or look forward to working hard to earn their spot on the wall.
#5 – Provide a take-home dental kit.
After their appointment is finished, send them home with a toothbrush kit to help them stay on track between visits. Tess Oral Health has a large selection of pre-assembled kits you can customize to fit your patients’ needs. You can choose from a variety of items that come in a clear, zipper kit bag including a toothbrush, floss or flossers, travel-size Crest® toothpaste, a 2-minute timer, a travel cap, and more! Another perk with Tess Oral Health kits is that most of the items can be personalized to include your logo, information, and/or a message!
Finding new ways to engage your patients can still be fun, easy, and safe! Tess Oral Health wants to help you bring a smile to your patients face throughout the day and success to your business. For more information on personalization or to get started on your order, visit TessOralHealth.com or call 1-800-762-1765.
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