TikTok 101 for Dentists: How to get your dental practice on TikTok

TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms with over 1 billion active users worldwide. But only 8% of dentists are currently using TikTok to promote their practices, missing a major opportunity to find patients and build your brand. With its unique format of short-form videos, TikTok offers dentists a fun and engaging way to showcase their expertise, connect with potential patients and improve their social media marketing strategy.

Learn the basics of TikTok for dentists, including how to get started and what videos will actually help grow your TikTok social media following and dental patient base.

How to set up a dental TikTok account

Creating a dental TikTok account is simple and straightforward. Start by downloading the app from the App Store or Google Play Store and launching it on your device. Then, select "Sign Up" and enter your phone number or email address, choose a password, and provide some basic information such as your name and birthdate.

Set up your profile

Add a profile picture–this can be as simple as uploading your logo or as complex as a 6-second video–and write a short bio.

To optimize your profile and convert your audience into patients, add your online booking link to the bio. This will give viewers direct access to book with your office, even when they’re scrolling the app after hours.

Follow some dental TikTok accounts

Following dentist TikTok accounts can provide inspiration and help you understand what type of content is popular, trending, and well-received by the community. Additionally, it helps in discovering new techniques, editing styles, and trends in video making.

Our favorite follows in dental are:

@dr.markelle for dancing and using online booking to convert viewers to patients
@dancingdentalbabes for comedy and relatable content
@dentistexplains for straightforward patient education
@doctortristanpeh for patient education using popular trends and engaging editing
@drzmackie for patient education using fun facts
@jasminerdh for patient education using dance and humor
@doctorgraves for a mix of patient and team content

‍Explore popular sounds

Using popular sounds on TikTok can increase the visibility and engagement of a user's content.

Popular sounds have a wider reach and attract more attention, as they are already being used by many users. Additionally, trending sounds tend to have an emotional connection with the audience and create a sense of community, leading to higher engagement such as likes, comments, and shares.‍

The average TikTok trend only lasts 5-7 days, so you will need to move quickly here. You can view trending sounds in the app by accessing the + button, then choosing “Add sound.” Or, if you prefer more context, check a roundup list of the sounds and the trending ways people are using them.

Film your first video

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Select the sound you would like to use and select the + button at the bottom of the screen.

Choose either the front or back camera and select a lens or filter if desired. Film vertically in a well-lit space.
Record your video by holding down the red record button. It’s very common to use multiple clips, so don’t be afraid to use multiple takes. You can record up to 3 minutes of video, but the best performing videos are 60 seconds or less.
After recording, you can edit the video by trimming the clip and adding text or special effects. Keep in mind that the format of TikTok covers the bottom ⅓ and a narrow bar to the right of the screen, so users will not be able to read any content in those areas.
Preview your video and make any necessary adjustments.
Remember to use engaging content, trending sounds and hashtags to reach a larger audience.

Post, then share across your social media channels

When you’re happy with the content, click post. The algorithm will begin sharing your video with users who have interacted with similar content in the past, as well as your followers. When getting started, you may also want to share your TikTok videos on your other social media channels like Facebook and Instagram to let your existing followers know you’re on TikTok as well. TikTok includes a “Share” option on the lower-right of every video that makes this very easy to do

8 types of TikTok videos for dentists and doctors

Now that you have setup account, you can begin sharing video content of your office and team on your TikTok channel so patients can learn more about your practice. Below are 8 types of videos that will help you create video content at your office.

1. Post videos of your staff and patients having fun in the office.

What makes each dental practice special? The team. Use TikTok to show the human side of your practice and create a more personal connection with potential patients.

Share behind-the-scenes footage of your office, staff, and daily operations to show patients the friendly, welcoming environment they can expect when they visit your practice. This will help your dental office seem more relatable and approachable.

Watch Dr. Graves’ TikTok channel (2.7 million followers) for a great mix of team and patient content and Dr. Milad Shadrooh (220k followers), AKA The Singing Dentist, use humor to make his dental channel entertaining for patients. For dancing, Dr. Markelle (21.8k followers) does a mix of classic and trending choreography.

Remember to make the first few seconds of each video super engaging. TikTok’s algorithm measures how long a viewer watches a video and uses those metrics to determine if its content people want to see more of.

2. Share educational videos answer patients frequently asked questions

Use TikTok to explain common dental procedures, share tips on oral hygiene, and remind patients of the importance of regular check-ups. Start by answering patients’ frequently asked questions like:

What type of toothbrush and toothpaste should I use?
Do I really need to floss?
Does a rinse or mouthwash help?
What are early signs of dental trouble?
Why do I need dental exams?
Are x rays safe?

These videos will help to establish yourself as an authority in the dental field and help you build trust with potential patients.

Take a look at some of the educational videos on pediatrics that helped Dr. Julie Davis get to 185k+ followers on TikTok.

3. Feature Patient Success Stories

Showing patient success stories is a great way to connect and instill trust on TikTok.

For example, you could do an interview with a patient where they explain the problem, how you fixed it and what their experience in your office was like. Make sure to include before-and-after photos of the treatment and capture memorable testimonials so that potential patients can see the difference for themselves.

If a potential patient is considering your service, these types of posts can provide reassurance and demonstrate your expertise.

Check out Dr. Brandon Meck’s before and after video for inspiration

4. Share footage of new procedures and products.

Sharing footage of new technology will show that your practice is up-to-date with the latest advancements in dental care, and demonstrates your commitment to providing the best possible care to patients.

Be delicate here and remember that many casual viewers are put-off by images inside the mouth. The best content for TikTok showcases the technology and tools, but does not alarm or scare patients.

See how @thebentist almost sold out his water flosser called @thesomethingnico in one day.

5. Run a contest / giveaway

TikTok is the perfect platform for dentists to run a contest to engage with your followers, reach potential patients, upsell services, or get more reviews. Some fun contest ideas to run on TikTok are:

Best caption contest: post a photo or video and ask your followers to caption it
Follower milestone giveaway: set a follower goal for your channel and giveaway a prize to whoever is the person who helps you reach it.
“2 truths and a lie”: have a front office team member post two truths and a lie to increase engagement while helping patients get to know your team
Smile Contest: have followers post a video of them smiling and tag your office

Remember to have you use hashtags to reach more people when you post and be sure to announce the winner on TikTok once the contest is complete.

6. Utilize Hashtags, Trends, and Challenges

Because TikTok distributes content based on popularity and groups similar videos together, you can reach a much wider audience than just those who follow you.

Hashtags: Using hashtags can help you increase the visibility of their content, pushing it out to people who like the other videos in that hashtag. This can help attract new followers and drive engagement from existing ones. It’s important that your hashtags are relevant, though. Large groups of irrelevant hashtags may indicate a spam video and cause the algorithm to suppress distribution.

Trends and Challenges: The TikTok algorithm prioritizes content that aligns with trends, since it knows users like similar content. The most common trends on TikTok are popular sounds and recurring jokes, making it very easy to produce content that fits in. The best way to find current trends is by consuming content similar to yours and monitoring the most popular sounds on the app.

Similarly, challenges are popular with viewers, increasing your engagement and providing opportunities to go viral. Participate in existing challenges that align with your brand, or even create your own unique challenge to promote engagement.

Watch how the team at Collins Orthodontics embraces trends and challenges on their TikTok account, @thebracesguy, gaining over 4.7 million followers.

7. Use TikTok Ads

Promoting your dental practice with TikTok Ads lets you reach millions of users quickly. With TikTok Ads, you can:

Target precisely: Precise targeting options allow you to connect with potential customers based on variables such as gender, location, age, interests, and more.
Get creative with easy to use templates: You can take advantage of TikTok's creative ad formats and tools, with a variety of templates and user-friendly tools that make it easy to transform your content into engaging ads, even if you're not a professional editor.
Track Your Success: With TikTok, you can easily track your ad's performance with detailed data and customizable reports. TikTok enables tracking for conversion, in-app actions, impression, and click attribution data, so you know exactly where your marketing budget is going.

TikTok Ads make it easy to maximize your budget for reach and conversion. To get started, follow TikTok’s step-by-step guide to create an Ads Manager account

8. Let patients schedule an appointment from TikTok

Now that you have an audience on TikTok, convert them into patients. Add online appointment scheduling to your bio to allow patients to book appointments, without having to call the office or wait for a response to an email.

This helps increase patient satisfaction and reduce the time and effort required to schedule and acquire new patients.

Learn More Tips with NexHealth!

These strategies can help you use TikTok to promote your services, connect with potential patients, and build a loyal patient base. With its large and growing audience, TikTok is a valuable tool for reaching an untapped generation of patients and increasing visibility for your practice.

The key to success on TikTok is to produce engaging, creative content that will capture the attention of your target audience. So get creative and have fun connecting with patients.

To stay up to speed on TikTok and NexHealth trends, NexHealth is officially on TikTok sharing

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