July Dental Marketing Campaign: Protect Smiles with Mouth Guards

July is a great month to run a dental marketing campaign around mouth guards, since summer sports and camps are in full swing. According to the American Dental Association (ADA), an athlete is 60 times more likely to sustain a dental injury without one. With families already thinking about sports safety, this is a natural window to remind patients that a quick fitting can prevent a much more painful and expensive trip to the dentist later.

Why Focus on Mouth Guards in July?

Campaign theme: Freshen Up for Summer

Mouth guards are an overlooked piece of protection wear even though they protect your teeth, jaw, tongue, and lips. Like helmets and other protective gear, it’s beneficial for kids to have it as part of their sports uniforms. According to the American Academy of Orthodontists, 67% of parents admitted that their kids don’t wear a mouth guard during organized sports.  

Even though mouth guards may not be required for many kids to wear during their practice or games, it’s still worth highlighting to your patients to encourage them to be proactive with their kids’ oral health.  

What Should a Dental Marketing Campaign About Mouth Guards Include?

A strong campaign combines this kind of education with a clear, low-pressure call to action across the channels your patients already use. At minimum, it should include:

• An email newsletter that shares injury-risk stats and mouth guard basics to build awareness before you ask for anything
• Social media posts that reach parents and athletes outside your existing patient list
• A targeted email to parents of pediatric and adolescent patients, since they're the ones deciding whether to book a fitting
• Team involvement, so front desk and clinical staff can reinforce the message in person during checkup

1. How to Use Email Newsletters to Drive Awareness for Mouth Guards

Your newsletter is the right place to double down on sharing educational and informative content around mouth guards and sports safety. Feel free to add a promo in there, but don’t make it the center of your newsletter. Education should be the focus. It equates to building trust with your patients and, in healthcare, trust is everything.

Newsletter goal(s):  Educate patients and encourage appointments for custom mouth guard fittings and/or back-to-school checkups.

Audience:  Parents of pediatric and adolescent patients who are active in sports.

Subject Line Ideas:

• Is Your Child’s Smile Game-Ready?
• Sports Season Is Coming. Protect Those Teeth!

Content to Include:

• Common dental sport injuries
• Why kids (and adults!) need mouth guards
• What to do if a tooth gets chipped
• How mouth guards protect smiles, plus myth-busting facts
• Tips for choosing the right guard and maintaining it

Tip: Some patient engagement platforms have a pre-built newsletter template you can use. In the Campaigns tab of the RevenueWell Marketing Platform, you’ll find a wide variety of email templates including newsletters and other promotional content to use as a template to plug and edit your content.  

2. How to Use Social Media to Reach a Broader Audience

Social media is the place to get creative with your dental content and show that you’re an expert in treating kids.  

Keep in mind that you don’t have to be active on every channel. Post content on the ones where your ideal patients are and where you get the most engagement. Even though it does vary by the social channel, a good rule of thumb is to post at least 2-3 times per week so you’re active on those channels and giving your audience useful (and memorable) content.  

What to Post in July

• July 4th Post: A holiday message with a reminder to protect your smile all summer long
• Quick Stats Post: Highlight eye-opening stats about sports-related dental injuries‍
• Tips Post: Weekly “Dental Tip of the Week” and include fun advice for kids on keeping mouth guards clean‍
• Video Content: Have your dentist or hygienist explain how a mouth guard works in under a minute ‍
• Photo Op: Share a picture of the local youth sports team you sponsor (bonus: tag the league!) ‍
• Review Promotion: Ask for online reviews from satisfied parents who’ve gotten mouth guards from your practice

Tip: When posting content about sports safety and mouth guards, keep it informative and positive. Some families may not have considered a mouth guard or might not see the value, and the goal is to help them reduce the chances of more costly mouth injuries in the future.

3. How to Use Emails to Target Parents of Pediatric Patients

Pair your newsletter with promotional emails so that your patients are getting a mix of content that educates and drives appointments. You can focus on safety, convenience, and/or the added benefits of custom mouth guards and address common barriers to buying them. While you don’t have to go in depth with your copy, adding 1-2 additional sentences to address some of these topics makes the email more informative. And that can nudge them to make an appointment.

Goal: Drive mouth guard-related appointments

Target audience: Parents of pediatric and adolescent patients who are active in sports.

Subject Line Ideas:

• Back-to-School Means Mouth Guard Season – Book Now
• Protect Their Teeth This Season with a Custom Fit  

What to Include:

• Why do custom mouth guards offer better fit, comfort, and safety than a standard one from a retail shop.  
• How the fitting process works and how quick it is
• Insurance coverage or discount information

‍Tip: For promotional emails, you can experiment with length to see what drives appointments. For example, you can test a concise email with only the promo vs a slightly longer email that talks about the benefits of mouth guards. You can also consider adding a link in your promo email that lets them find out more about a specific topic, like how the fitting process works. You can split your patient list for each email type and see which one gets you more clicks, a better open rate, and most importantly, appointments.  

4. How to Get Your Team Involved in Promoting Dental Campaigns

Your front desk and hygiene teams play a major role in reinforcing campaign messages. Make it easy for them to bring up mouth guards during checkouts, cleanings, or hygiene visits.

Here are some talking points they can use:

• With soccer season starting soon, do you want to schedule a fitting while you're here?
• We’re seeing a lot of chipped teeth this time of year, and custom guards really help prevent that.
• Would you like a quick handout about mouth guard care?

You can also create flyers or signage near check-in, checkout, or your pediatric area to spark conversations.

Tip: Incentivize your team with a contest. Whoever books the most mouth guard appointments wins a gift card or small prize.  

With just a little planning, your next campaign can help fill your schedule with meaningful, high-value appointments, all while helping families protect their kids’ smiles.  

Check out our dental content calendar for month-by-month inspiration to keep your schedule full year-round.