DMD Check-Up: What the 'Singing Dentist's' Viral Video Teaches Us

One dentist’s viral video illustrates the power of the medium, and of social media to engage with dental patients. If you found yourself — with much of the rest of the world – wondering how to tap into that marketing ability, read on.

A U.K. based dentist struck social media gold this week with a viral YouTube parody of Ed Sheeran’s hit, “Shape of You.” As of posting this, Milad Shadrooh, better known as the “Signing Dentist,” had racked up nearly 90,000 views on YouTube with his video. Other than being supremely entertaining, the video underscores some important social media lessons for dentists — ones that have been highlighted in Dentist’s Money Digest’s Practice Management coverage.

Social media is where your patients are, and to be successful on social media, you need to show your human side.

I can no longer hear the song Shape of You without picturing that damn dentist singing in. If you haven't seen it, google it.

— Morgan (@morgansaidthat) February 23, 2017

My dentist better sing to me since I am coming in for an 8 AM appointment! #Dentist #SingingDentist

— Zhenya Lazarchuk (@ZLazarchuk) February 23, 2017

Now, I know what you’re thinking: I’m not the best singer. But that’s OK! You don’t have to be. The most important takeaway for you as a dentist from the success of this video is that in order to succeed with your social media and video efforts, you can’t just sell patients dentistry. You need to let people in — let them know who you are, and who your team is. And if you are going to sell them dentistry, like Shadrooh did, you have to be funny!

You can make social media work for you and your practice. Here are some tips we’ve gleaned from experts to make that happen, including Mark Zuckerberg’s father, Ed Zuckerberg, D.D.S.

A celebrity dentist whose claim to fame was appearing on the now defunct Fox reality TV show, “The Swan,” has relinquished her license to practice.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Sheri Worth, D.D.S., has surrendered her license, as of Feb. 22. Worth faced a disciplinary hearing after six patients accused her of negligence, incompetence, overdiagnosis, fraud and excessive treatment, the Times reports.

As of Thursday, a former patient is suing Worth for alleged “dental work (that) was ill-fitting, and that Worth ground (the patient’s) teeth with a dry drill, resulting in her needing root canals on otherwise healthy teeth,” the Times reports.

Newport Beach celebrity dentist surrenders her license after complaints of negligence and fraud: A Newport Beach… https://t.co/1VSzxiLHHB

— Los Angeles Best Of (@LosAngelesBests) February 23, 2017

Another patient, according to the Times, successfully sued Worth for $46,000 in 2010 after surgery to fix a “gummy smile” went wrong.

“According to the complaint, Worth improperly shaved off portions of the woman’s gums with a laser, enabling food and bacteria to lodge around her teeth,” the Times reports.

With his new, mobile office, a Plano, Texas dentist is looking to improve access to care.

The Plano Star Courier reports that Michael Fooshée, D.D.S., has created an office on wheels, capable of providing patients with cleanings, X-rays, extractions and cavity treatment.

Plano dentist goes on the road: Mobile office offers convenient care https://t.co/QlZ0nOAlWY

— Plano Star Courier (@planonewspaper) February 23, 2017

Texans, Fooshée says, often face commutes of an hour or more, and are sometimes faced with the dilemma of taking a day off of work, or forgoing dental care altogether. This mobile office allows him to deliver care to patients where and when they need it, the Star Courier reports.

The news outlet says that local businesses coordinate with Fooshée, allowing him to park in their lots in order to treat patients. His mobile office can handle up to three patients at a time, the news office says.

A Kentucky dentist is accused of conspiring with another man to fraudulently obtain prescription drugs by stealing another person’s identity.

WPSD Local, an NBC affiliate, reports that Wesley Mills, D.M.D., 55, and David Clymer, 56, have been indicted after turning themselves in.

Mills has been charged with “two counts to obtain a controlled substance by fraud and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.”

Clymer, his alleged accomplice, faces “two counts of conspiracy to obtain a controlled substance by fraud, six counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and two counts of theft of identity without consent.”

The news of these indictments follows another story reported by Dentist’s Money Digest last week that one in 48 people who are newly prescribed opioids become long-term users.