Holiday tips to engage your dental patients

The holidays are a busy time of year for everyone, including your dental practice!

Between scheduling, rescheduling, holiday hours, prepping for the new year, and holiday celebrations, both you and your patients have a busy season. In the midst of everything, it can hard to come up with ways to engage dental patients.

Below are some ideas for celebrating this holiday season with your patients.

1. Deck the Halls & the Front Desk!

Get into the spirit of the holiday with fun and festive décor and treats!

• Decorate with colorful lights and bright holiday banners to delight dental patients and help them feel more at ease.
• Plan some fun dress up days for the staff as a fun surprise when patients visit.
• Get crazy and creative with Elf on the Shelf shenanigans that you can share on social media to excite patients.
• Offer holiday coloring sheets, snowflake making, and other fun activities in the waiting room or for patients to take home with them.
• Spread the holiday cheer with holiday toothbrushes or holiday lip balms! Pick and personalize our holiday toothbrushes or lip balm with your practice logo and information. These are festive treats for patients and/or perfect giveaways at community events to market your dental practice.

2. Jingle all the social media notifications

Social media is a great way to reach your patients and communities. Get staff and patients involved in sharing holiday cheer and reminders of how to keep your teeth happy and healthy throughout the season.

Creative ideas could include:

• Following your Elf on the Shelf activities and prompting patients to come find the elf.
• Breaking out the holiday props for photos with patients.
• Providing fun tips for patients to keep in mind during the holiday season.
• Promoting any holiday events within the community you may be sponsoring or attending.
• Run a contest for a holiday-giveaway.

3. Tis the season to brush each Holi-“Day” and Holi-“Night”

With hectic schedules and holiday stress, remind patients to keep an oral hygiene routine of brushing twice a day.

• Suggest that patients keep a travel toothbrush and travel toothpaste in their backpack, purse, or workbag.
• Give patients holiday toothbrush kits as an easy on-the-go solution to help with oral hygiene compliance wherever they travel.
• Handout personalized holiday toothbrushes as a treat for patients to take with them on the road. Add a fun reminder to brush or just include a festive holiday message.

4. Dear Santa, just in case of a dental emergency

Hopefully patients will avoid the naughty list and not have any dental emergencies over the holidays. However, make sure to inform patients of what to do if there is an emergency.

• Post a message on social media a few days before your dental practice closes. Include what days you’ll be closed and who to contact if there is an emergency.
• Update your website home page to include visible messaging on emergency procedures.
• Change your office phone message to include holiday emergency instructions.
• Print and hang reminders around the office for patients to see when they come in for their appointments.

Having a Holly Jolly holiday season doesn’t have be hard, so pick and choose what works best for your dental practice and patients. Make sure to have fun with it and enjoy the holiday cheer!