How to Market Cosmetic Injectable Treatments in Dentistry

It is no surprise that more of our peers are rolling out neuromodulators and soft tissue fillers to their patients.¹ Maybe you have long considered adding these treatments to your vast menu of evolving services. You just have not made the plunge yet. Or, perhaps you are embarking on this new opportunity to attract patients and build further loyalty among existing patients. Whatever the case, there is no denying the growth in these services.

In its latest global survey, the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) reported that demand for nonsurgical procedures has grown by nearly 20% between 2021 and 2022. Botulinum toxin injections led the way as not only the most popular nonsurgical treatment but also the most popular aesthetic procedure as a whole – outpacing the volume of “nose jobs” in prior years. Furthermore, the ISAPS isolated a marked upswing in hyaluronic acid injectables of more than 30%.² Many know these products by popular brand names like Juvéderm and their family of dermal fillers.

Marketing complementary services

If you proficiently market teeth bleaching, veneers, and other aesthetic elective services at your office, you are already well-positioned to market those aesthetic services that transcend the smile’s appearance. In fact, fillers, Botox®, and other injectable cosmetic treatments are also a great complement to smile enhancement services. By softening wrinkles and lines around the mouth, for instance, you help to bring the center focus back on the smile. There is nothing that is distracting from beautiful, stain-free, uniformly shaped, and evenly-spaced teeth and a balanced gum line.

Building upon this foundation with marketing rooted in both aesthetic dental services and restorative services with an aesthetic benefit, you can then promote or communicate the distinctive and unique merits of facial aesthetic injectables at the dental practice. Here are a few pointers for those at various stages in their “roll-out” of these new service additions:

• Start by addressing your knowledge, experience, and certifications specific to the category of injectables and the brands and products you are trained and qualified to provide. After all, the fact that dentists offer these types of treatments may be new to some healthcare consumers visiting your website. It could be a source of confusion if not addressed right off the bat.

• In addition to establishing proficiency and skill in injecting these products, address the safety issue.³ Highlight how partnering with a talented and licensed medical professional such as yourself helps to minimize adverse events and supports the most aesthetic, natural-looking results.

• There is also considerable opportunity to market the unique, substantive expertise that dentists have in oral and maxillofacial anatomy and function. By reinforcing this facet of your experience and knowledge, you further educate site visitors who may not be familiar with Botox® and fillers at the dentist’s office.

• Spotlight the expertise in both intraoral and extraoral treatment and diagnostics as “transferable” skills that make you and your practice particularly well-equipped to provide low-risk, predictable, comfortable, and sustained results from injections. Other skills that lend themselves well to these aesthetic procedures might include your experience with assessing skeletal discrepancies, lip competencies, and facial symmetries and balance. An example of this working knowledge in action might be your ability to evaluate for severe dental wear as a primary source of facial height loss, which could then indicate the use of fillers to reshape and “fill in” the lower third of the face.

• Similarly, it demonstrates how such focused, significant knowledge can then be applied to adequately address, monitor, and manage the root cause of those problems that also lead to the deterioration of the tissues that support the face and aesthetic concerns. Due to such an advanced understanding of head and neck anatomy, nerves, and vasculature to the facial structures, you as a dental professional are also in an advantageous position to optimally protect against and promptly and effectively manage complications.

• With such core competencies and fundamentals addressed within content, it is important to pivot toward consistently thinking about page and social creation through the lens of “How will [insert treatment or product here] help my patients?” Think like the consumer. Do not over-explain or speak too technically (this is true of many procedures). For instance, don’t say “neuromodulators.” Stick to a “muscle-relaxing solution.” Always stick to the heart of meaningful patient communication – being helpful and empowering them with information that leads to decisions in the best interests of their health and themselves.

• Be sure to get maximum mileage out of your content; for example, cross-promote blog posts and longer-format content in short posts on social media or mailers, email blasts, and newsletters.

• For aesthetic treatments, visual content is essential and complementary. Showcase actual results from these treatments.⁴ Use before and after photos of actual patients and results you have supported whenever possible. Potentially showcase results after certain treatment timeframes, such as results immediately following treatment and then again after six months.

• Do not fall back on “tricks” of light or manipulative editing. Due to your level of skill, there is no reason to do that! Your actual results speak for themselves. Also, be sure that those featured photos reflect your patient base. After all, if you have a neighbourhood and community with a beautifully diverse array of colours and ethnicities, let that shine! Or, if you are trying to target younger patients who may be experiencing the first signs of aging, inventory your photos to ensure some of these patients are featured – and that it’s not heavily loaded up with seniors and young children.

• Do not be afraid to incorporate video, one of the best and most high-impact ways to convey the safety and predictability of injectable treatments – as well as other more “conventional” procedures in your office!

Much like staying on top of the latest trends in imaging or materials for restorations, it is essential to be on the lookout for other applications for injectable treatments and next-generation products. Be sure to market those applications and promote anything new on this front across your digital presence. Examples could include featuring applications for Botox® to minimize the effects of bruxism and TMJD symptoms (in addition to the aesthetic benefits) as an email blast or a prominently displayed banner on your website’s home page. Likewise, if you become trained in alternatives to leading brands like Botox® or Juvéderm, create launch content highlighting what makes these options attractive and/or an improvement from earlier-generation solutions.

Innovations in dentistry and related disciplines never stand still – nor should your practice! Always be advancing and evolving, and let others know about your innovative strides at all steps in your office’s journey.

References

About the Author:

Naren Arulrajah, President and CEO of Ekwa Marketing, has been a leader in medical marketing for over a decade. Ekwa provides comprehensive marketing solutions for busy dentists, with a team of more than 180 full time professionals, providing web design, hosting, content creation, social media, reputation management, SEO, and more. If you’re looking for ways to boost your marketing results, call 855-598-3320 for a free strategy session with Naren. You may also schedule a session at your convenience with the Senior Director of Marketing – Lila, by clicking https://www.ekwa.com/msm/ or simply send a text to 313-777-8494.