Using social media to promote your dental practice

1. Choose the right platforms

You do not need to be everywhere. It is better to do one or two platforms well than five badly.

• Instagram and Facebook: useful for local audiences, team stories, short videos and treatment education.
• Google Business Profile: not a social network in the usual sense, but posts and photos appear where local patients search.
• TikTok or YouTube: worth considering if your team is comfortable on camera and can explain treatments simply.
• LinkedIn: more useful for referrals, recruitment and professional networking than for attracting patients.

Choose based on where your ideal patients spend time and what your team can keep up with.

2. Plan content people actually want

Most people follow a practice to feel reassured and to learn something, not to see constant offers. Mix your content across these themes:

• Meet the team: introductions, qualifications, why people enjoy working at the practice.
• Behind the scenes: a tour of the practice, new equipment, how you keep things clean and calm.
• Patient education: how a treatment works, what happens at a consultation, aftercare tips.
• Frequently asked questions: answer the questions reception hears every week, such as cost ranges, finance options or how long treatment takes.
• Nervous patients: explain how you help anxious patients feel comfortable.
• Practice news: opening hours, new team members, community involvement.

End posts with a simple next step, such as booking a consultation, where it fits naturally.

3. Get consent before using any patient image or story

The GDC guidance on using social media is clear that you must not publish information that could identify a patient without their explicit consent.

• Use a written consent form that explains exactly where the image or story will appear.
• Store consent records and respect any request to remove content.
• Remember that smiles, tattoos, voices or backgrounds can make someone identifiable.
• Never discuss a patient’s care in comments or messages on a public platform.

4. Stay within GDC and advertising rules

Social media posts that promote your practice count as advertising. The GDC guidance on advertising and the CAP Code both apply.

• Prescription-only medicines: do not promote Botox or other prescription-only medicines to the public, including indirect references or hashtags. You can promote a consultation instead. See the CAP guidance on advertising Botox.
• Before and after images: only use genuine, unaltered images with consent, and do not use them to exaggerate typical results. Read the ASA guidance on marketing cosmetic procedures.
• Testimonials and reviews: only share genuine testimonials with the patient’s permission, and never edit them to change their meaning. See the ASA advice on testimonials.
• No promised results: avoid words like “painless” or “perfect smile”, or anything that promises an outcome. Suitability and outcomes depend on a clinical assessment.
• Titles and qualifications: describe the team accurately, including GDC registration where relevant, and do not imply specialist status unless someone is on a GDC specialist list.
• Under-18s: do not target cosmetic treatment content at under-18s.

5. Be consistent, not constant

• Agree a realistic posting rhythm, such as two or three posts a week, and stick to it.
• Plan a month of content in one sitting, then schedule it.
• Batch photos and short videos on a quiet afternoon.
• Give one person responsibility for checking every post against your consent and advertising rules before it goes live.
• Reply to comments and messages promptly and politely, moving anything clinical or personal to a private channel.

6. Measure what matters

Likes are pleasant, but bookings pay the bills. Each month, look at:

• Enquiries and messages that came from social media.
• Clicks to your website or booking page.
• Consultations booked where the patient mentions social media.
• Which topics and formats lead to the most enquiries.

Do more of what brings enquiries, and drop what does not.

Social media checklist

• One or two platforms chosen on purpose.
• A monthly content plan mixing team, education and FAQs.
• Written consent for every patient image or story.
• No prescription-only medicines named or implied.
• Genuine, unaltered before and after images only, with consent.
• No promised results or misleading claims.
• A named person checking posts before publishing.
• Monthly review of enquiries and bookings from social media.