# Dental social media posts: friendly, clear and trustworthy [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/dentist-social-media-posts) Plenty of people are a little nervous about the dentist. Your feed is a chance to meet them before the chair: friendly faces, useful tips and the practical details they were about to phone for. ## The short version - The dental social media posts that work best are simple oral health tips, team introductions, opening hours and practical updates, new patient information and gentle reminders. - A friendly look helps nervous patients: warm colours alongside the clinical ones, real photos of your team and short, plain sentences. - Google Business posts at 1200×900 pixels are often the first thing a local patient sees, so keep hours and updates current there. - Before and after photos and offers are regulated differently in each country, so check your dental regulator's advertising guidance before posting them. - A fixed set of layouts for each post type makes a weekly rhythm achievable for a busy practice. The best **dental social media posts** are friendly, useful and practical: a short oral health tip, a team member saying hello, this week's opening hours, a clear note on taking new patients, a reminder about check ups. Post them in one warm, consistent look, with plain words and real faces, and patients start to feel they know the practice before they arrive. That matters, because a calm, familiar first impression does more for a nervous patient than any clever campaign. ## Five kinds of dental posts that work | Post | Why it works | Example line | How often | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Tip | Useful, easy to share | "Wait an hour after acidic drinks to brush" | Weekly | | Team intro | Faces build trust | "Meet Priya, our hygienist" | Fortnightly | | Hours and updates | Saves a phone call | "Open Saturday mornings from May" | When things change | | New patients | Answers the first question | "Now welcoming NHS and private patients" | Monthly | | Reminder | Prompts action | "Half term check ups book fast" | Seasonal | A practice that rotates these five has enough to post every week without repeating itself. Keep a running list of tips and seasonal reminders in a simple [social media content calendar](https://gradiently.design/guide/social-media-content-calendar), so posting never depends on someone having an idea on a busy Monday. ## Dental tip posts Tips are the backbone of a dental feed. Keep each one to a single, widely accepted piece of advice, phrased as you would say it in the surgery. Avoid medical claims you would not put in a patient leaflet, and never imply a diagnosis. A dental tip post reading Spit, don't rinse, with a note that leaving toothpaste on helps fluoride work One tip, in the words you would use in the chair. A list post titled Kinder snacks for teeth suggesting cheese, plain yoghurt, crunchy vegetables and water A seasonal list for parents, timed for school holidays. Turn your most useful tips into a short carousel now and then: "Five things to do before your child's first visit" works better as five pages than as one crowded square. [Tips carousel](https://gradiently.design/guide/tips-carousel) covers the format. ## Team introduction posts Patients choose people as much as practices. A fortnightly introduction, with a real photo, a name, a role and one human detail, makes the reception desk feel familiar. Ask each person's permission and let them choose the photo. A team introduction post reading Meet Priya, our hygienist, with a note about her experience and hobbies Name, role and one human detail. The photo sits in the space above or beside the words. Team photos taken on different days in different rooms rarely match. Tinting each one in your Mark's colours, as a duotone or a soft wash, makes a mixed set of photos look like a series. [Photo duotone in Mark colours](https://gradiently.design/guide/photo-duotone-in-mark-colours) shows how this works in Gradiently. > **Answer comments with a route, not advice** When someone describes a symptom in the comments, thank them and invite them to call the practice or, out of hours, to use your emergency route. A kind, standard reply keeps clinical advice where it belongs, in an appointment, and shows everyone reading that you respond. ## Opening hours and practical updates Holiday closures, new evening sessions, parking changes and emergency contact details are the posts patients act on. Make them impossible to misread: the change in large type, the dates beneath, and the phone number at the bottom. Post on every channel your patients use, including your Google Business Profile. - Instagram and Facebook 1080×1350: 1080 × 1350 - Google Business 1200×900: 1200 × 900 - Story 1080×1920: 1080 × 1920 - Facebook post 1200×1200: 1200 × 1200 One hours update, four shapes. The Google Business version is the one local searchers see. A Google Business post reading Closed 25 to 27 December, with emergency advice to call 111 A holiday notice for Google Business: dates first, emergency route underneath. [Google Business post size](https://gradiently.design/guide/google-business-post-size) explains how those posts are cropped. On the story version, keep the dates inside the central [safe zone](https://gradiently.design/guide/social-media-safe-zones) so app buttons never cover them. With Gradiently Pro you can design the notice once and resize it to every format above in one step. ## New patient posts and reminders "Are you taking new patients?" is one of the most common questions any practice gets. Answer it clearly and often. Reminders work best tied to real moments: school holidays, the end of the year for patients with plans or insurance, the run up to weddings and big events. ### Avoid - Close up photos of mouths and procedures - Fear based messages about what happens if you wait - Offers without clear terms - Before and after photos without checking your regulator's rules ### Do - Friendly faces and the practice itself - Positive, specific reasons to book now - Plain terms on any offer, as your regulator requires - Consent recorded for every patient image Dental advertising is regulated, and the rules on offers, titles and before and after images differ between countries. Check your regulator's current guidance; [before and after posts](https://gradiently.design/guide/before-and-after-post) covers the design side once you know what is allowed. ## A friendly practice palette Clinical blue and white are the default for dental practices, which makes them hard to tell apart. Keep a clean, light ground for reassurance, then add one warm colour that is yours. It softens the feed and makes your posts recognisable in a crowded local search. - Clean white: #f8fafc - Mint mist: #d7eef0 - Deep teal: #0e7490 - Warm apricot: #f4a582 - Slate text: #1e293b Fresh and clinical where it should be, with apricot to make the practice feel human. - White to deep teal: `linear-gradient(150deg, #f8fafc 0%, #d7eef0 55%, #0e7490 100%)` - White to apricot: `linear-gradient(150deg, #f8fafc 0%, #fde2d4 55%, #f4a582 100%)` Two backgrounds from the palette: teal for practical posts, apricot for team and community. [Healthcare marketing design](https://gradiently.design/guide/healthcare-marketing-design) and [local business marketing graphics](https://gradiently.design/guide/local-business-marketing-graphics) cover posters, leaflets and window signs in the same spirit. If you would like a background no other practice in town can use, claiming a Mark gives you exactly that, because only its owner can export with it. ## FAQ ### What should a dentist post on social media? Simple oral health tips, team introductions, opening hours and updates, new patient information and seasonal reminders about check ups. ### How often should a dental practice post? Once or twice a week is enough for most practices, as long as it is regular and urgent updates such as closures go out promptly. ### Can dentists post before and after photos? It depends on your country's dental regulator and advertising rules. Always get written patient consent and check current guidance first. ### What size should a dental Google Business post be? 1200×900 pixels. Keep the key words in the centre, as Google may crop the image in some views. ### How do I make dental posts feel less clinical? Use real photos of your team, short friendly sentences and one warm colour alongside the usual clean whites and blues.