Expose your dental practice to more people by educating them at health fairs.
Health fairs provide opportunities to teach participants about good oral hygiene habits. Guests usually attend health fairs to learn about ways they can lose weight or find out about beneficial health tests like blood pressure tests and cholesterol screenings. Vendors like hospitals and dieting programs offer giveaways like pedometers, pens and magnets from booths or tables so that guests can remember them after the fair is over. If you are a dentist, a health fair is a great way to remind people about the benefits of regular dental care and an opportunity to provide information they can use to start or continue practicing basic oral hygiene.
Brushing Demonstrations
Have different types of toothbrushes at your booth. Include standard, toddler and vibrating toothbrushes. Have samples of fluoride-free, sensitive, whitening and regular toothpaste at your booth. Talk with guests about the benefits of different types of toothbrushes and when it's time to change an old toothbrush out for a new one. Talk about who should use fluoride free toothpaste, such as toddlers so that they don't ingest too much fluoride. Hand out brochures from vibrating or Sonic-based toothbrushes at your booth as well as samples of toothpaste. Educate guests about how often they should brush their teeth and receive professional teeth cleanings from a dentist's office. Create a handout for parents that talks about make teeth brushing fun for kids. Recommend songs that parents can make up and sing with their children to incorporate brushing into their everyday routine.
Flossing Demonstration
Bring a dental hygienist with you to your booth at your local health fair to offer flossing free to guests. Provide a comfortable reclining chair where guests can lay down and have their teeth flossed. Or, have an area where the hygienist will demonstrate flossing her own teeth and then provide floss to the guest and allow him to try flossing himself. Have plenty of small containers of dental floss on hand to give away to guests who stop by your booth. Create a handout with a series of images showing floss your teeth properly.
Mouth Models
Bring in a few three-dimensional models of the jaw and teeth so that you can use them to educate health fair participants about the anatomy of the mouth, including the teeth and gums. Put molds of peoples' teeth on your table or on display at your booth to explain how dentures, retainers and other devices like braces are made for individuals who need them. Bring cross-sections of gums and teeth to show participants the different parts of their mouth in greater detail and to educate them about how brushing and flossing as well as regular dental visits can help keep their mouths healthy.
Pictures
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and that is certainly true when it comes to dentistry. Help people learn about the dangers of bad oral hygiene practices by setting up a photo slide show at your booth or table with images of healthy teeth and gums and pictures of bleeding gums, plaque-covered teeth, gingivitis and infected or diseased teeth. Include labels on the photos that clearly communicate what each image is. Encourage people to watch the slide show by creating a handout with five dental terms like those mentioned above and their definitions. Ask guests to correctly match the terms with their definitions and make sure that the terms are included in your slide show. Let guests enter their responses into a box for a drawing for a prize. Make the prize something desirable and dental-related such as a vibrating toothbrush.
Tags: your booth, oral hygiene, slide show, about benefits, Create handout, different types, different types toothbrushes
