8 scary-good Halloween dental marketing ideas for your practice

More than just the spookiest day of the year, Halloween is big business. Spending for the holiday is expected to reach $11.6 billion in 2024, including $3.8 billion on costumes and $3.5 billion on candy, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.

The same survey found a whopping 72% of people plan to celebrate, making it an opportune moment to engage your patient base. Getting in on the fun can put your dental practice on the map, so here are a few tips to engage your patients.

Use these 8 tips to boost your Halloween dental marketing and build awareness during this festive time.

Host a social media costume contest where you encourage patients to dress up in dental-related costumes. To enter, patients must post their pictures on social media, follow your office, and tag your office in the photo. Give prizes to your top choices.

Halloween and dental care don’t usually go hand-in-hand. To counter the effects of the season’s sugary treats, start a dental marketing campaign to rid your patients’ homes of candy by offering to “buy” it back. 

Ask patients to surrender their candy to your office staff in exchange for non-sugary alternatives like nuts, pretzels, or microwave popcorn. Alternatively, you could give out Halloween dental goodie bags containing stickers or other small toys — or splurge for a big prize like a kids’ electric toothbrush.

Rename candy corn “rotten witches’ teeth” and fill a jar with it. Place it on your front desk and challenge patients to guess how many teeth are in it. Post a photo of the jar on your dental social media pages so both patients who visit your office during this time and those who don’t can enter. Give the winner a non-sugary treat.

Make a “scary” Halloween dental promo video. For example, you might tell a tale of a patient who didn’t go to the dentist for a decade, with your actor wearing a pair of witch dentures. Post it on Instagram reels or TikTok to create buzz for your practice.

One of the classic Halloween dental marketing ideas: open your doors to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Invite parents to bring their costumed kids to your office in the hour before trick-or-treating begins to collect a few goodies. As a dentist, you wouldn’t dream of giving out candy, so hand out savory snacks, fun toys, or knick-knacks.

Not everyone will be able to make it into your office around Halloween, so send out a special trick-or-treat email with savings opportunities for your patients.

For example, you could offer a special discount on out-of-pocket services like teeth whitening. Or, you could encourage patients to enter a raffle for a larger prize.

Most people hand out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween, but many would be happy to give something a bit healthier. Write a blog post listing non-sugary ideas to dole out instead.

Maximize your reach by posting it on social media. Since Halloween appeals to a mass audience, this is one of the best dental marketing ideas, as it has the potential to be shared beyond your immediate patient followers.

Entertain kids who come to your dental practice during the month of October by inviting them to participate in a coloring contest. Parents will be grateful for this distraction, as it will keep them occupied in the waiting room.

Don’t see many children at your dental practice? Adult coloring books are a great way to pass the time, too, so you can include people of all ages in your contest. Reward both adult and child winners with a prize, and post photos of their creations on social media.

Dental marketing ideas centered on Halloween are a great way to promote your practice. This gives you the opportunity to have a little fun with your patients while encouraging them to be mindful of their dental health.