Get More Smiles in Your Chairs: 4 Simple Strategies for Orthodontic Practices to Attract New Patients

Adults searching for orthodontic care is surging. Don't let your competitors snag most of those new patients.

Are you an orthodontic practice struggling to keep up with the growing demand for adult braces? You're not alone. As more and more people prioritize the appearance of their smile, the demand for orthodontic services is skyrocketing.

In fact, over 5 million adults are currently searching for dental treatments to perfect their pearly whites. That’s a significant increase, 29% to be exact, from just five years ago.

But with so many practices competing for their business, how can you stand out and attract new patients to your local practice? That’s where strategic dental marketing comes into play, and it’s not as difficult as you may assume.

Check out these easy and cost-effective strategies for growing your orthodontic practice and reaping the rewards of the booming adult braces market.

Set New Patient Goals

Ask yourself this... When was the last time you set patient goals with your team? If the answer is 'never' or 'a long time ago', then you might want to consider it. Remember, getting new patients through your doors shouldn't be your sole responsibility. That's a lot of weight to carry on your already heavy shoulders. Instead, spread the load by making it a team effort.

By setting realistic and achievable goals with your team, you can pull together to achieve greater results. After all, several heads are better than one right!

Why not run a competition to see who comes up with the best ideas and pulls in the most new patients. You can also reward the people who deliver the best results. As well as creating a good team spirit, it also communicates an important message to your staff that you need a steady stream of customers to thrive.

Get Proactive & Offer Special Treatment Deals

As competition gets tougher, orthodontists may need to think outside the box to prevent patients from going elsewhere. This includes offering special treatment deals. Everyone likes to think that they're getting a bargain, and nothing shouts bargain more than a good old-fashioned deal.

How about offering free laser teeth whitening when a patient undergoes Invisalign treatment, or a 15% reduction in cost when a patient opts for lingual braces?

You can be as creative as you like, in fact the more creative you are, the more likely you are to draw new patients in.

Hint – If you're a bit stuck for ideas, it's worthwhile checking out other websites and seeing what your direct competition or other out-of-area orthodontists are offering, and then trying to better it.   

Have A Great Website Built For Patients

Nowadays it isn't enough that you have a website. Instead, it needs to be filled with targeted, informative, patient-friendly content.

You likely know that most people will look up your dental practice’s reviews online before giving your office a call to set up an appointment. But, did you know that nearly 65% of all people who look up your dental practice, will go to your website as a means of establishing an opinion.

• Is your website new and modern looking?
• Does it scream out that you’re an authority who can be trusted?
• Does it have valuable information in an easy-to-understand format?
• Are there any videos of your office, yourself, and your office staff to create a personalized feeling for the potential patient?
• Is your About page up to date and full of helpful information?
• Do you have a billing page that makes submitting payments easy and hassle-free?
• Do you accept payments or work with insurance?

As such, it isn't just your virtual storefront, so-to-speak, it's a powerful marketing tool!

Visitors to your site will go there to find out not only what orthodontic treatments you offer but, in addition, they'll also want to find out information about a particular treatment as well.

For this reason, an informative website should not only contain the usual welcome messages and photos of the team and your practice, but also detailed treatment pages telling patients everything they need to know about a specific treatment. Whether that's Invisalign, lingual braces, fast orthodontic treatments, or the Inman Aligner, the information needs to be content rich and helpful.

You might also want to include before and after pictures to help patients visualize what their teeth will look like post treatment. The other factor is that as well as being helpful to anyone looking for orthodontic treatment, a detailed orthodontic website helps to position you as the 'go to' dentist in your area. As such, great website content can make the difference between one or two extra patients a month or twenty. 

Hold An Event or Open House

Have you ever thought about holding an event or open day at your dental practice? If not, then it's a good way of getting new patients through your doors.

Potential patients can come and meet the team, take a look at the orthodontic facilities at your practice, and get a better understanding of the treatments involved.

You can even hold a quick question and answer session, giving patients the relevant information, they need to make an informed dental decision. It doesn't have to cost much aside from some quick refreshments and a slice of your time. 

Of course, you'll market your practice's open house on your Facebook page and website, and you may want to include a charity tie-in for more exposure (Akzis VIP can walk you through that). If only a handful of people show up, that's great! Make sure you have photos to post online across your socials and on your website of you answering questions, giving a tour of the office, letting a few young children play orthodontist or dentist for a few minutes. Those photos are engaging, and each of those people are highly likely to share them on their own social media accounts if you upload and tag them correctly.



You may be surprised how a small showing at a short local office event can produce actionable content that you can use to market and grow your practice.

Ultimately, the most successful practices are the ones who tend not to stand still when it comes to marketing their services.

So, with this in mind, what are you going to do differently from now on to maintain your new customer growth?