Dr. Justin Moody begins a series on social media and its impact on dental practices
Figure 1: Dentists, Implants, and Worms podcast
Sitting at my desk today going through my mail, I noticed what appeared to be a bill. Upon further evaluation, I noticed that it was a request to advertise in the Yellow Pages disguised as a bill. Why would a company resort to such a junk mail ploy to get me to advertise? I further questioned, Do they really need to trick me into using them? I went back to work. Next on my agenda was making arrangements to go to my 20-year dental school reunion — 20 years — where does the time go?
Thinking back 20 years made me realize how much things have really changed, especially in how dentistry communicates and advertises. My reunion is a prime example. No one called me to set things up, nor did they send me a formal invitation in the mail. I first read about it on Facebook with a request to “like” the class page. Second was an email about when, where, and how to register, none of which involved a phone number or an address. All I had to do was just a click on the links to the hotel and the registration page, and now I was ready to see all my peers in Napa Valley!
Social media has changed the way dentists communicate forever! State meetings and study club attendance is down, but dental podcasts and Facebook groups are growing by hundreds per week. I too am the host of a dental podcast called “Dentists, Implants and Worms.” Drawing from the energy of people like Alan Mean and Jason Lipscomb, who started the Dental Hacks Podcast, it has been an amazing adventure and one of the most enjoyable things I do each week. Facebook is alive with dental groups sharing ideas and information; some of my favorites are “Implants in Black and White,” “Zero Bone Loss Concepts,” and the “Dental Hacks Nation.”
Figure 2: Implants in Black and White Facebook group
Figure 3: Dental Hacks Nation Facebook group
Figure 4: Zero Bone Loss Concepts Facebook group
Now I remember why I quit advertising in the Yellow Pages back in 2010. I remember looking over the thousands of dollars my Yellow Page ad was costing me and the total lack of people who actually said that’s where they found out about me. I went home that night and asked my teenage kids how they would find a dentist (if I wasn’t one), and they both told me that they would either ask a friend or Google “dentist” — and there you have it.
Justin Moody, DDS, DICOI, DABOI, is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology and of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, Fellow and Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical College. He is an international speaker and is in private practice at The Dental Implant Center in Rapid City, South Dakota. He can be reached at justin@justinmoodydds.com or at www.justinmoodydds.com
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