THE EVOLUTION OF DENTAL MARKETING OVER TIME
Long ago, dentists were very much a part of the local community. Each sector of a city would have its own dentist and maybe there would only be a few dentists in the entire city. Oral health has been a part of medicine which has been constantly growing over the years and gaining importance. When dentist were fewer in numbers, anyone in the general area of their local dental office would use that specific dentist. In many cases, people who lived in rural areas would receive dentist in their homes but as dental services grew in demand, the house call would become increasingly less usual. During this time, there was very little need for dental marketing. People who needed dental work knew where their local dentist was and went there when they had a problem.
The country started to place more importance on oral health during the early 20’s. The wealthier class of people received the best dental care and it started to become a sign of being an aristocrat if you could afford frequent dental care. Dentists began to publish ads in magazines offering different services and promising the best of prices. As the age of radio swept across the country, the dental industry began to move into radio advertising as a new format to draw in clients. The age of dental care for the upper crust of society was coming to an end and more focus was being placed on dental care which was affordable and available to all people in the country.
Once again in the 40’s and 50’s dental advertisements took a new turn as TV commercials started to appear with dentist recommending certain brands of toothpaste or mouthwash and many of the dentists who could afford TV spots became well known and were highly sought after in the dental field. The 60’s saw a huge surge in the number of dental students that were just getting started with their own practices. The level of competition went up and so did the amount of money which dentists started to pour into various forms of advertising. Dentists would rent out billboards along the city limits and proclaim themselves to be the best dentist in town. Dentists in all areas of the country were starting to make up the upper class of society as their wages increased and the number clients they could attend also went up.
Finally, in modern dentistry the move to the internet has taken over almost all forms of dental advertising. Companies dedicated to making the best online sites for dentists were born. Sites like
