Every month is a time to increase visibility for various causes and health risks, and October is National Dental Hygiene Month. The American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) wants to encourage good oral health by educating patients about dental diseases and the importance of regularly seeing a doctor.
Hygienists should promote this cause and inform clients about illnesses and steps to avoid them. Creating awareness and encouraging patients to schedule appointments is difficult without the proper marketing tools. Handing out promotional products helps dentists and hygienists increase visibility for their practices and inform clients about oral health risks.
Advertising
Promotional giveaways are a cost-effective, long-term alternative to print advertisements that run once or twice and can be forgotten as soon as they are read. As long as functional gifts fill patients’ needs, they’ll be used and simultaneously advertise doctors’ offices.
Some clients are forgetful or claim they are too busy for dental checkups, while others don’t realize they need appointments until emergencies like a chipped tooth occur. If every patient received a promotional product, there’d be an increased likelihood of remembering to schedule visits for the near future.
Dental health professionals who give away promotional items to their clients will market themselves each day the products are used. Whether a hygienist hands out logo ink pens or an an orthodontist gives out tooth-shaped promotional magnets, clients will be exposed to marketing materials every time they pick the item up.
Education
Encouraging regular checkups is only part of National Dental Hygiene Month’s goal. October is also a time to educate clients on potential oral health issues and what can be done to avoid them. It’s not possible for dentists to speak with their patients every day about diseases, but by including information on medical risks on promotional products, doctors can promote proper dental health to the public.
Wall calendars can include the symptoms of common oral illnesses. For example, October’s page can highlight the importance of regular flossing and the dangers of eating too much sugar. Customized notepads can be printed with small diagrams of teeth and which spots are most prone to diseases.
Dental professionals can increase their own visibility alongside that of oral health issues through promotional giveaways. October represents an opportunity for doctors to increase business while helping patients become more proactive when it comes to fighting diseases.