TikTok Marketing for Dental Practices
As the third most frequently used social media platform globally—just behind Facebook and Instagram—and the top app among Gen Z, TikTok has evolved far beyond dance challenges and viral trends. Despite ongoing discussions about a potential U.S. ban, the platform remains active following a recent federal extension (beginning in April, 2025) that allows more time for a possible sale of its U.S. operations. In the meantime, TikTok continues to offer unique marketing opportunities for businesses, including dental practices. With TikTok’s one-of-a-kind business model — which uniquely presents your content to followers and non-followers alike — TikTok has the power to elevate social media marketing for dentists and improve SEO when leveraged correctly. The short-form media giant can be an ideal space for businesses to create viral marketing campaigns with more reach than emails, flyers, or even highway billboards.
Below, we highlight some of the most effective ways dentists and dental practices can use the app to achieve their marketing goals, and outline steps that can be taken in preparation for a possible TikTok ban in the future.
Why Invest in TikTok Marketing?
TikTok is the leading platform for creating and sharing short-form videos. As one of the most populated digital spaces for younger patients, its top users are usually between the ages of 17 to 35 and TikTok posts, which have an average video length of 10 to 60 seconds, are perfectly primed for videos to “go viral.” On top of the possible virality of a business’ TikTok videos, posting on the app creates a new avenue for dental practices to show the human side of their office. The goal is to set your office apart by conveying your dental services in a way that’s fun, engaging, and relatable. When executed correctly, this makes your practice more approachable to younger patients — who often struggle with dental anxiety and fear of the dentist — while presenting your office in a less intimidating and clinical light.
Ideas for Captivating Content
Generally speaking, the key to successfully promoting a dental business via TikTok is creating content that’s both entertaining and educational. Videos should target your geographic location, while still being relatable to a far-reaching audience. Striking this balance can be done in a few different ways:
- Treatment tutorials: Walking potential patients through some of your top procedures can help demystify the treatment process, giving TikTok users a cursory understanding of what they can expect while getting porcelain veneers, undergoing teeth whitening, etc. It can also make your team seem more approachable and showcase their friendly, compassionate patient care.
- “How to” videos: “How to” videos can be an easy way to respond to frequently asked patient questions — such as “How to deal with anxiety before seeing the dentist?” or “How do I floss with braces?” — in a manner that’s more personal and engaging than an email or a comment. These questions help address patients’ concerns while remaining applicable to a large subset of the population.
- TikTok challenges: TikTok challenges are viral video trends that are posted to capitalize on a hashtag, raise awareness for a certain charity, or simply expand the reach of one’s audience. TikTok challenges acquire organic views, and the likelihood of going viral is generally much higher for these types of TikTok videos.
- Testimonials: Highlighting the stunning before-and-after photos in your patient gallery can be captivating for a wide range of people, visually illustrating the amazing transformations possible with each treatment. For satisfied patients who are willing to be part of your posts, including their stories as part of your marketing strategy can help other TikTok users resonate emotionally with your content and broaden your audience.
Tips for Mastering TikTok
Unlike social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok users are typically very young and 90 percent of those who have a TikTok account use it daily. While carefully curating the right type of content for your practice is vital, the following pointers can help even TikTok newbies maximize the app to its full potential:
- Spend time on the app and engage: This may seem like a no brainer, but spending time on TikTok is essential to truly understanding what type of content is successful on the app. Plus, TikTok tends to reward accounts that spend time engaging on the app, and is more likely to show your videos to a larger audience.
- Don’t go overboard on hashtags: Use hashtags strategically and create content to capitalize on different trending topics, such as holidays, popular events, commonly discussed topics, and dental hygiene tips. Don’t go overboard with adding hashtags indiscriminately though, as this can hurt your video’s performance.
- Stay up-to-date with DMs: Prioritize answering the questions in your message inbox in a timely manner to show TikTok users you’re invested in their dental goals and to make potential patients more comfortable visiting your practice for a consultation.
- Use trending audio: Taking advantage of trending audio is essential to making the most out of TikTok’s marketing tools. These soundbites are usually widely shared across the entire platform, and adding your own content to trending audio clips is one of the most effective ways to further proliferate your content. This can be crucial to garnering widespread engagement.
Navigating TikTok’s Uncertain Future: What Dental Practices Need to Know
With recent developments surrounding a potential TikTok ban in the U.S., many dental professionals are wondering what this means for their marketing strategies. In April 2025, a second 75-day extension was granted, giving TikTok a temporary reprieve while negotiations around its ownership continue. While the platform remains active for now, its long-term availability is uncertain—making it essential for dental practices to plan ahead.
What does this mean for your dental marketing efforts?
If you’re currently leveraging TikTok to reach and engage patients, it is a good idea to take some steps toward diversification. One thing you may consider is repurposing your best-performing TikToks for Facebook, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, or even your Google Business Profile. Not only will this help expand your visibility across multiple platforms, but it can also ensure that your content efforts aren’t lost if TikTok’s future takes a sharp turn.
It’s also a great time to revisit your video strategy. Short-form content isn’t going anywhere, and whether it’s showcasing smile transformations, offering oral health tips, or showing the human side of your team, these videos can thrive on multiple platforms.
Staying flexible and proactive allows your practice to continue building brand awareness, regardless of where your content lives. And if TikTok does stick around? You’ll already be ahead of the game.
Ready to Dive In?
At Rosemont Media, our creative specialists understand that embracing a new social media platform can be a little intimidating. Consult with our team of knowledgeable social media marketers to learn the ins and outs of TikTok — one of the best social media platforms for dentists — and discover how you can leverage the app to grow your patient base. Contact us today!