“They really work!” exclaimed a Georgia dentist.

TMD was cited by 76%, while 59% offer athletic mouthguards and 40% for sleep apnea. “I've had almost 2,000 hours of continuing dental education on TMJ, Bruxism and Sleep,” said an Illinois dentist. “Too many doctors try to treat these problems with inadequate knowledge.”

Dentists can prescribe a wide range of dental guards to treat various problems. Patients who grind their teeth (a condition known as bruxism) can protect their teeth at night with a nightguard. Dental splints are also a top treatment for TMJ pain. In addition, a dental guard can protect teeth in between restorative dentistry appointments.

Athletic mouthguards are important for kids and adults who play sports. Though sports supply stores sell inexpensive ones, dentists can provide mouthguards that are of higher quality, more comfortable, and more customized. In fact, evidence suggests that one brand – the Pure Power Mouthguard, or PPM – can actually improve athletic performance by making it easier for the athlete to breathe.

Not all athletes or parents are eager to spend the money to get a top-of-the-line sports mouthguard. “We make very few athletic mouthguards,” said a Maine dentist. “Parents in our area elect the over-the-counter 'Boil & Bite' guards over custom, laboratory-fabricated mouthguards.”

A dental splint can affect the shape of a patient's airway. This can make it a useful treatment for sleep apnea and snoring, which are characterized by difficulty breathing while sleeping.

Sometimes even dentists get confused about the various forms of dental guards available. “Is there is a difference in terminology between mouth guard and occlusal guard?” asked a California dentist. “Occlusal guards or occlusal splints are specifically for protecting the teeth from bruxing and in TMJ cases. Mouthguards, on the other hand, could be used to protect the gums, lips and cheeks during sport activities.”

“There are more types of dental guards and splints available than I can count,” said dental website guru Jim Du Molin. “No single dentist can offer every single one, but the dental profession as a whole can treat a range of problems people don't always associate with dentistry, from playing sports to treating jaw pain.

First of all, if you want to use Twitter for dental purposes, use it with your peers. Stay up-to-date with your study group. Ask other dentists if they've used a piece of equipment, encountered a pathology, ordered from a particular dental lab, etc.

This touches on an important issue: online identity management. The first people to really become aware of this issue were college students on Facebook whose professors started using the social networking site to stay in touch with their students. Kids quickly realized that though they might want to share the photos of last night's kegger with their friends, they didn't want their profs to see them.

As a dentist, you're in a similar position. Before you sign up for an account with Facebook, Twitter or any of their ilk, you should consider who your audience will be. Your patients? Your dental peers? Your personal friends and family? You have three different identities, and you won't do yourself any favors by muddling them.

I thought this dentist's comment was right on the money:

"Have you ever considered that our patients may actually rather not think of us on a daily basis? They have other concerns in their lives, and let’s not kid ourselves. We’re only their dentists.

"I agree with Jim. I don’t think Twitter has a future in promoting one’s practice in the traditional blast-marketing sense."

He goes on to explain that he uses Twitter for demanding answers from stingy administrators, blasting self-interested CEOs, and the like. He's using it to try to get his voice heard, not to appeal to potential new patients.

"Here’s what’s neat. My patients have no idea about my nasty alter ego. And should they find out, who cares? They’d probably join others in cheering me on as I do my part to clean up the community by sending PR types and dental consultants on down the road."

On the other hand, another commenter felt that Twitter was a natural choice for dental marketing:

"I think all of you are missing the point regarding social networking and dentistry. It is not about getting new patients per se; it about keeping a presence on the web without paying an arm and a leg.

"For example, Madow Bros. have a public profile on Facebook. Align Tech (Invisalign) has a pubic profile on Facebook. These companies and dentists would not be doing this if it did not work…

"In marketing a practice, this is the most cost-effective way to direct patients to your website. The internet is the New Yellow Pages."

Well… the Internet may be the new phone book, but a local dental practice isn't the same as Invisalign. The same marketing techniques that work for the big guys won't necessarily work for your practice. Lots of major companies have set up headquarters in the online universe of Second Life, but that doesn't mean your dental practice should too!

One dentist dental marketer who's an expert in dental SEO shared his experience with Twitter:

"From my own experience, after nearly a thousand posts (updates) and 1600+ followers, Twitter has resulted in only one client. The total time invested to achieve the above was several hundred hours, which means it was an absolute failure, a ROI disaster and a BIG waste of my time. Compared to search engine traffic, visitors referred by Twitter are not pre-qualified, highly targeted prospects interested in my offer, but only mindless curiosity seekers. At least 50% of the clicks originate from other countries too."

Like I said last week — it's all about the ROI. If you want to waste some time and have some fun, then Tweet away. But if you want to spend your energy where it will be most profitable to your practice, then you might look elsewhere.

“Do Americans want to have teeth like the English?” asked one dentist.

“We already have nationalized dental care. It is called dental insurance fee schedules,” deadpanned a Michigan dentist.

Here are some other comments from dentists:

• “National Dental Care would destroy what now is the best care in the world.” (Maryland dentist)
• “We need something. Leaning toward a two-tiered system, a la Great Britain, but am open to any and all ideas.” (Michigan dentist)
• "We have already had a government-run dental system for years — it's called Medicaid — and it doesn't work." (California dentist)
• “Centralized bureaucratic control of anything is always dehumanizing at best. Everyone becomes more or less a 1984 robot.” (New York dentist)
• “All children under 18 should have coverage (including ortho), and Medicare should cover periodontal treatment.” (Illinois dentist)
• “Is there a point when the ADA will quit championing nationalized dental care?" (Tennessee dentist)
• “Too many government handouts. People feel they have a right to get everything instead of working for it.” (California dentist)
• “When the government gets involved, everything gets worse!" (General dentist)
• “Where is the government going to get the money to fund Universal Healthcare? Mmm…How about being able to properly fund Social Security first?” (Ohio prosthodontist)
• “Communism, Marxism, and Stalinism are not American.” (Vermont prosthodontist)
• “Even Canada, with its government-ruled medical system, isn't foolish enough to try that with dental care.” (California dentist)
• "It would probably bump modern dentistry back into the 1950s.” (Pennsylvania dentist)

Read more: Dentists Not Excited by a National Dental Plan

The British Dental Association just re-released a series of dental posters from the 1930's to the 1960's, also available as postcards.

The 12 iconic images came from the BDA's museum archives. Some feature illustrations, while others highlight black-and-white photos.

Many are focused on passing on the importance of good oral health to children, while others aim to help adults associate dental health with looking and feeling good.

The downside, of course, is that these British posters are sold in Britain by the British Dental Association. But they're available online, so if your American heart desperately wants one, you can make it happen.

Check out the posters online

We'll tell you a few basic things about Twitter: what it is, what it's good for, and why it's NOT the next big thing in dental marketing.

1. What is Twitter?

Twitter is a social networking website where you can post short messages. The beauty and simplicity of Twitter is that it doesn't try to do much more than that.

First, you create a profile with some basic information about yourself. (See The Wealthy Dentist's profile) Then you start following other people's feeds, and they start following yours. Updates are limited to 140 characters, and you can even use your mobile phone to "tweet," as they call it.

2. What is it good for?

If you're into that sort of thing, Twitter can be a fun way to interact with friends and family. But if you hate Facebook and MySpace, then you probably won't care for Twitter either.

Twitter also lets fans follow celebrities; Ashton Kutcher is famously Twitter's most-followed member. As more and more politicians sign up, politicos are tuning into Twitter too. Newt Gingrich's tweet about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was much-repeated on cable news channels.

But the protests surrounding the controversial Iranian election really brought Twitter into the news spotlight. As the hard-line government tried to shut off phone and Internet access, Twitter (and to a lesser extent Facebook) became one of the only lines of communication, proving invaluable to both protesters and journalists. The US government even asked Twitter to postpone planned maintenance in order to keep the site online during this struggle in Iran.

3. So what about dental marketing?

There's a school of thought that says you should market yourself to patients through every available line of communication. And there are tech-minded "marketing gurus" who push the latest, most cutting edge technologies.

But I've always been an ROI-minded kind of guy. The return on your investment is the most important thing to consider. How much time and money will you spend, and what can you reasonably expect to get in return?

Twitter can give you access to potential new patients, but they're not there to find a dentist. Most people would do that on Google, not Twitter. Any hard-sell message on Twitter makes you look like a spammer, not a real person. Attracting followers requires quality content, which takes time, and converting followers to patients takes both time and finesse.

If you or someone in your office is enthusiastic about Twitter and wants to post daily tweets, then it might prove an effective marketing avenue. But unless you're on Twitter anyway, there are better places to spend your marketing energy.

Those who offer sleep apnea treatment say the average sleep apnea patient is worth about $2,400 in the first 9 months.

Specialists in this survey were far more likely than general dentists to treat snoring and sleep apnea.

Dentists were split right down the middle when it comes to screening dental patients for sleep problems. Half said they do, and half said they don’t.

"I wish everyone screened for this, and every course I teach emphasizes this," said one doc.

Here are some other comments:

• "I see a couple of hundred sleep patients yearly. Patient value averages $3000-3500 on sleep, but they also lead to many TMJ cases as well as full-mouth reconstructions." (Illinois dentist)
• "I include specific screening questions in my health history." (North Carolina dentist)
• "If you are treating sleep apnea you need to be well-versed and have networks with local physicians established." (Illinois dentist)
• "Sleep studies need to be done on moderate and severe cases." (Tennessee dentist)
• "Very hard to get insurance coverage. Very successful treatment." (California orthodontist)

Read more: Sleep Apnea Treatment from Dentists

The program lets participating dentists qualify for up to $100,000 in loan repayment if they move to one of the 55 counties with a shortage of dentists. (A similar program by Delta Dental offers up to $50,000 in loan repayment, covering fully 89 of the state's counties.)

Dentists accepted into this program commit to at least 3-5 years of service, and must dedicate one-third of their practice to underserved patients.

Visit the Iowa FIND website

Some dentists were grateful to be rid of most or all wisdom teeth cases, while other dentists prefer to refer only the most complicated cases.

Read more: How Dentists Refer Wisdom Tooth Extractions

Here is another excerpt from her book:

Doctor, if you are proud of your skills, committed to the practice of quality dentistry, and participating in a practice you believe to be significantly beneficial to the community, doesn't it make sense to back this fine product with an investment in its success?

Many dentists are put off by the idea of practice marketing because they feel the quality of their work should speak for itself. It certainly should, but most of the time all that is heard is little more than a whisper. Most patients can’t evaluate the quality of their dental work the way they can tangible consumer items like cars, glassware or home furnishings. Frankly, superb dentistry isn't exactly Topic of Interest #1 in most casual cocktail conversations.

An investment in yourself can take many forms – anything from newspaper and radio ads to refrigerator magnets, from direct-mail letters to a quarterly newsletter to sponsorship of local events. Later we'll discuss which might be right for you. Many dentists balk at spending any money at all in this manner because they can't see how it lifts the practice. The fact is, you can determine, in many cases, the Return on Investment (ROI) for your expenditures, if you know where to look.

As Yogi Berra once said, "You can observe a lot – just by looking."

Just click here to order Dental Marketing: When a Shingle Isn’t Enough. Plus, say The Wealthy Dentist sent you and you'll get free shipping!

Melinda Spitek is CEO of Hycomb Marketing Inc. Hycomb is an authority in marketing for dentists. Melinda has had plenty of hands-on experience as well, having worked 23 years in dental offices. For help with marketing, just call Hycomb at (800) 523-6961 or visit www.hycomb.com.

Eighty-three percent of dentists in this poll felt that many tools do not live up to advertised promises. The remaining 17% said that every piece of equipment has a learning curve, and equipment purchases had met expectations.

Read more: What Dentists Think of High-Tech Dental Equipment