Email marketing for dentists: rules, ideas and a sample email

Is email marketing worth it for a dental practice?

Yes, for most practices. You already have something most businesses pay to get: a list of real patients with email addresses. A short email costs almost nothing to send, reaches people who already know you, and can fill openings in the schedule. The catch is that dental email has more rules than a coffee shop's newsletter, so start with the basics below.

Think of dental email marketing as three separate streams:

• Operational messages: appointment confirmations and recall reminders. Many practice management systems already send these, so check what yours does before adding anything.
• Promotional emails: whitening offers, new services, insurance reminders, referral thank-yous.
• Review requests: a short email after each visit asking how it went.

CAN-SPAM basics for dental emails

The CAN-SPAM Act covers any email whose main purpose is to advertise or promote a product or service, and the FTC notes that, despite its name, it doesn't apply just to bulk email. If you send a whitening promotion to one patient or a thousand, the same rules apply.

According to the FTC's compliance guide, a commercial email must:

• Use accurate "From," "To" and reply-to information.
• Use a subject line that accurately reflects the content of the message.
• Clearly disclose that the message is an advertisement.
• Include your valid physical postal address. That can be your street address, a PO box registered with the US Postal Service, or a registered private mailbox.
• Explain how to opt out of future marketing emails, and honor opt-out requests within 10 business days.

The opt-out cannot cost anything or require more than an email address and one simple step, and it must keep working for at least 30 days after you send. The FTC also says you cannot contract away your responsibility: if a vendor sends emails for you, your practice can still be held responsible. Each violating email can bring penalties of up to $53,088, per the same FTC guide.

Beyond the law, only email patients who gave you their address and would expect to hear from you. It keeps complaints down and your emails out of spam folders.

HIPAA: keep health information out of marketing emails

A dental practice that bills insurance electronically is a HIPAA covered entity. HHS explains that any health care provider who electronically transmits health information in connection with certain transactions, such as claims or eligibility checks, is covered, regardless of size.

HHS defines marketing as a communication about a product or service that encourages people to buy or use it. The Privacy Rule generally requires a patient's authorization before protected health information is used for marketing, with limited exceptions, such as face-to-face communications and promotional gifts of nominal value. Some communications, such as those for a patient's treatment, are carved out of the definition. Where a specific email falls is a question for your compliance advisor, not a blog post.

Practical habits that keep you on the safe side:

• Send promotions to your whole list or broad groups, not lists built from treatment records (for example, "everyone with an open crown treatment plan").
• Never mention a patient's procedure, diagnosis or treatment in a marketing email or subject line.
• Keep the content general: "Book your cleaning," not "Time to finish your root canal."
• Do not put patient details in a marketing tool you have not reviewed with your compliance advisor.

The same caution applies to replying to reviews. HHS settled with a California practice, New Vision Dental, over disclosing patient information in responses to online reviews; the practice paid $23,000 and agreed to a corrective action plan. Never confirm that a reviewer is a patient. Our guide to dental reputation management has safe reply wording.

Dental email ideas for the whole year

You do not need a weekly newsletter. Six to ten well-timed emails a year is plenty for most practices. Here are ideas that do not rely on anyone's treatment history:

The insurance reminder is often the most useful email of the year. Delta Dental explains that a plan's annual maximum resets at the end of each benefit period, typically 12 months. Plan years vary, so word it as "if your plan year ends December 31" rather than promising anything about a patient's coverage.

Recall reminders deserve a note: your practice software may already handle them. Do not double up. Use marketing email for the things your software does not send.

Sample promotional email for a dental practice

Short, friendly and clearly an ad. Here is a template you can adapt:

Subject: Whiter smile before the holidays? Our December offer

Hi Jordan,

Holiday photos are coming. From now through December 20, in-office whitening at Maple Street Dental is $X off for current patients and anyone you refer.

Book online or call us at (555) 555-0123. Spots fill up in December, so earlier is easier.

See you soon,
Dr. Lee and the Maple Street team

This is a promotional email from Maple Street Dental, 123 Maple St, Springfield, ST 00000. Unsubscribe from promotional emails.

Notice what it does: an honest subject line, a single offer, a clear call to action, a line identifying it as promotional, your postal address and a working unsubscribe link. Notice what it does not do: mention anyone's treatment.

A few subject lines that work for dental offices:

• "New patient special at Maple Street Dental this month"
• "Plan year ending Dec 31? Check your dental benefits"
• "We now offer Saturday appointments"
• "Meet Dr. Patel, our newest dentist"

How to request reviews after dental visits

Send one short email to every patient after their visit, the same day or the next morning. Ask everyone, not only the patients who seemed happy. Google's content policy prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews and offering incentives, so no "free whitening for a 5 star review."

Subject: How was your visit today?
Hi Sam, thanks for coming in to Maple Street Dental. Would you take a moment to tell us how it went? Tap a rating below. Dr. Lee

Keep review requests free of clinical details, just like promotions. "Your visit" is fine; "your extraction" is not. For more wording, see our review request email templates.

Tools for dental email marketing

You can do all of this with any email tool that handles unsubscribes and a physical address footer. Check whether your practice software already sends reminders, and review any new tool with whoever handles your HIPAA compliance before uploading patient lists.

If you want review requests and promotions in one place, ReviewUsToday's email marketing for local businesses sends promotional emails with flyers, scheduling and click tracking on the Pro and Premium plans, with one-click unsubscribe built in. The same account sends each patient a one-tap review request from your practice's name. It is email only and does not send recall reminders, so keep using your practice software for those.

Frequently asked questions