Why Talking About Safety Is Your Practice’s Best Marketing Move
Your team works hard to follow every guideline and best practice for infection control, but most of it happens quietly behind the scenes, right? You might think patients don’t notice or care.
Surprise—they do!
A recent study found that patients care a lot about cleanliness and safety in the dental office. Even better, many would actually welcome a conversation about the steps you take to protect them. That’s not just good for trust—it’s also a great marketing opportunity for your practice.
September is Dental Infection Control Awareness Month, so now is the perfect time to enhance your marketing and communications around dental infection control.
Here’s what the research showed that patients care most about:
- Nearly all patients (98%) said it’s important that their dental office properly clean tools before they are reused on the next patient. They also said it’s important that the treatment area is properly cleaned.
- More than half (57%) said they were concerned about germs at the dental office.
- Most patients said their office has never talked to them about how it keeps the treatment area clean and safe—but they would actually like to hear more about it.
Here’s the Marketing Opportunity for Your Practice
Turn your infection control practices into an education and marketing opportunity with these simple steps of showing and telling patients how your practice keeps them safe.
Show your patients the expertise of your team by displaying credentials. Hang your staff’s certifications or training completion (e.g., infection control certificates, OSHA compliance) in the reception area. Perform some infection control steps where patients can see them, like putting on clean gloves and masks in front of the patient. Use signage to indicate cleaning and sterilization processes (e.g., “This room has been disinfected for your safety”).
Tell your patients about what your team does by increasing communications. Train staff to briefly explain safety protocols during check-in or treatment (e.g., “All instruments are sterilized using hospital-grade autoclaves”). Educate and encourage all team members to confidently answer patient questions about infection control. Practice scripts or role-plays during team meetings so responses are consistent and reassuring. Add an infection control section to your website or welcome packet, outlining what you do to keep patients safe.
Resources for Your Team
To enhance your own infection control knowledge, earn the Dental Infection Prevention and Control Certificate. This is an online course for anyone in dentistry—plus, it meets requirements for AADOM Mastership, and it’s on sale in September!
If you have an infection control question, AskADS is a free, online chat that gives you instant answers verified by trusted experts.
The Association for Dental Safety has a variety of resources to help your practice celebrate Dental Infection Control Awareness Month, including toolkits and marketing materials.
Consider advancing your or your team’s credentials with the Certified in Dental Infection Prevention and Control, an advanced certification for dental clinicians, consultants, and educators.
There’s also the Dental Industry Specialist in Infection Prevention and Control certification, which is specifically for dental office managers. Plus, this certification meets AADOM Diplomate requirements.
With so many resources available, your practice has the tools to turn its infection control processes into a marketing and patient loyalty edge.
About Our Sponsor
Hanna Aronovich
Hanna Aronovich is the Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer of the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB) and the DALE Foundation.
