Thrive during National Pet Dental Health Month with PetDesk!

As we head toward the end of the year, now is the perfect time for veterinary hospitals to gear up for National Pet Dental Health Month in February. With a proactive plan starting in January, your team can educate pet parents, drive more appointment bookings, and avoid overwhelming staff during one of the busiest periods of the year. Plus—our newest solution, PetDesk Scribe, can further help to sharpen your practice’s operations and enhance the client experience like never before.

Why dental health matters for pets

Studies show that 73% of dogs and 64% of cats seen by veterinary practices had a dental-related diagnosis.¹ This data highlights how vital a strong dental-care promotion is: by using February’s National Pet Dental Health Month as a launching pad, you can help pet parents understand how oral care links to overall health, boost preventive visits, and strengthen your clinic’s role as a trusted resource.

How PetDesk supports your veterinary clinic during Pet Dental Health Month

1. Client education and awareness

• Use your custom veterinary website, blog, social-media channels, and email newsletters to share dental-health content (e.g., why dental care matters, what to expect during a dental exam, tips for home care).
• Include a direct booking link with your educational content so that pet parents can easily book an appointment right there and then.
• Beginning to offer promotions in January can build momentum in early February and throughout the month, driving bookings for services like dental exams and cleanings.

2. Appointment reminders and online booking

• Count on PetDesk Direct Booking to allow pet parents to self‐schedule dental visits without a phone call.
• Send automated appointment reminders and confirmations to reduce no-shows and increase efficiency.
• During February, adjust your scheduling rules to accommodate an influx of dental visits. Consider allocating slots or blocks for dental exams/cleanings, and be sure to clearly communicate this in your messages.

3. Mass messaging and campaigns

• Use tools like Two-Way Texting and Mass Messaging to send targeted messages (e.g., “February is National Pet Dental Health Month—book your pet’s dental exam today!”).
• These messages can go out in January, early February, and even mid February as a “last call” to encourage bookings.
• Segment your clients: for example, pet parents who haven’t had a dental exam in 12 + months, or cats/dogs age 3+ (since risk climbs earlier).
• Use the messaging channel to educate: include links to home-care tips, videos, or blog posts about dental health.

4. Using February wisely while avoiding veterinary staff burnout

Pet Dental Health Month can bring high volume. You can help prevent staff overload and occupational burnout by:

• Starting prep in January: plan how many dental slots you’ll offer, staffing needs, hygiene time, and so on.
• Sending messages with your direct booking link ahead of time so visits are spread throughout the month rather than all at once.
• Using auto-reminders, confirmations, and pre-visit instructions to simplify intake and reduce front-desk workload.
• Monitoring KPIs in the middle of February (e.g., no-show rate, average booking lead time, staff overtime) and adjusting as needed. Consider adding more blocks or adjusting promotions if capacity is reached.

How veterinary hospitals can get ahead in January

Treat January as your campaign-planning month.

1. Update your website & landing pages

• • Create or update a dedicated “National Pet Dental Health Month” landing page, with information about why dental health matters, what services you offer, and a call-to-action for booking.
  • Consider adding blog posts, FAQs, videos about pet dental care for owners.
  • Increase visibility with strong SEO keywords, such as “National Pet Dental Health Month” plus local modifiers (e.g., “Pet dental exams in (your city)”).
  • Link your landing page to online booking and to your mass-message sign-up.

2. Build a social media content calendar

• • Draft posts for late January and all of February. You can introduce the promotion you’re running, key statistics, client testimonials, behind-the-scenes dental photos, home-care tips, and more.
  • Use hashtags to help your reach: #NationalPetDentalHealthMonth or #PetDentalCare.
  • Promote special offers or packages (e.g., discounted dental exam + cleaning combo).
  • Schedule website and social media posts in advance, or use PetDesk Marketing to do this for you.

3. Pre-appointment outreach

• • Send custom mass messages in January to give clients a heads-up: “Get ready! February is National Pet Dental Health Month. Book now for your pet’s dental exam.”
  • Segment your list (by age, last dental date, high-risk pets) and craft a message specific to each segment.
  • Include incentives (reminder of home care, free dental charting, etc) to encourage bookings early.

4. Plan your internal workflow

• • Estimate how many extra dental visits you expect, and plan staff coverage, exam room time, hygienist availability, and anesthesia time if needed.
  • Pre-print dental consent forms, home-care instructions, and offer packages.
  • Use PetDek’s veterinary reminder system to automate pre-visit reminders and instructions—this way your front-desk and clinical team don’t need to manually call every client.
  • Send user-friendly digital forms to clients before they come in for their appointments to easily collect info and simplify the visit.

5. Promote follow-up/home care

• • After the February visit, send home-care instructions and recall messages for the next dental exam. You could also link to any blog/social posts you may have about brushing or dental chews.
  • This helps reinforce preventive dentistry as an ongoing service, not just a one-time event.

PetDesk Scribe for efficiency during and after Dental Month

Take your operations to the next level with PetDesk Scribe—providing you with AI-generated, high-quality SOAP notes and patient summaries in half the time of manual note-taking.

Here’s how Scribe plays into your dental-care campaign and beyond:

• Faster, high-quality SOAP notes: The admin burden can spike during busy periods like February, when your team may be seeing increased volume of dental exams/cleanings. PetDesk Scribe records the appointment (via mobile/web), transcribes the visit into structured SOAP notes and client summaries, and reduces after-hours charting.
• More time for pet-parent education: With less time spent on manual note-taking, staff can focus more on educating pet parents about home dental care or discussing the treatment plan.
• Improved team efficiency & morale: Using Scribe helps reduce fatigue and burnout risk, keeping your team productive and balanced.
• Better client experience: The client summary generated by Scribe can be easily shared with pet parents, increasing clarity about the dental exam/cleaning performed and reinforcing your value as a dental-care partner.
• Integration with your existing PetDesk ecosystem: Because Scribe is part of the PetDesk product suite, it fits with other PetDesk solutions and grows with your practice—allowing you to use one unified platform instead of multiple disconnected tools.

Campaign timeline and task checklist

Late December to early January

• Audit your website: add or update the landing page for National Pet Dental Health Month.
• Build out your February content calendar for blog posts, social media, and emails.
• Segment client lists for targeted outreach (those due for dental exam, high-risk, etc).
• Pre-notify staff of upcoming dental campaign focus: review protocols, time blocks, resources.
• Set up mass-message templates and online booking dental slots.
• Train staff on any PetDesk solutions (Communications, Phones, Direct Booking, Marketing, Scribe) you use ahead of time so that the team is ready before February.

January

• Launch a teaser on social and via email: “Coming in February: National Pet Dental Health Month! Book early!”
• Open booking for dental-care slots; include an incentive or package if you offer one.
• Send invitation/reminder messages to select clients.
• Prepare dental-care home-education content: create blog posts, downloadable guides, social graphics.
• Ensure your clinical team has all materials ready: dental form, home-care instruction sheets, and pricing packages.

February (National Pet Dental Health Month)

• Execute the whole campaign: heavy educational outreach, social posts, email blasts, and reminders.
• Use online booking and reminders to improve scheduling and reduce no-shows.
• Send pre-visit instructions to simplify check-in and reduce admin work.
• After each dental visit, send a follow-up summary/home-care message and schedule recall visits.
• Monitor clinic capacity and metrics: if booking is maxed out, consider closing further promos or extending into March.
• Use AI-generated note-taking tools for accurate, high-quality documentation during busy times like February.

March through April

• Send thank-you or “How’d we do?” messages to clients who booked during the campaign.
• Collect feedback or testimonials about the dental visits to use in next year’s campaign.
• Review campaign performance: no-show rates, average lead time to booking, revenue from dental services, and staff overtime.
• Start planning next year’s (or next quarter’s) preventive-care campaign with the insights gained.

Why this campaign matters: ROI + clinic growth

• Dental-care visits often lead to other services: when you schedule a dental exam/cleaning, you may identify other preventive opportunities, wellness visits, or even treatments—increasing per-client value.
• By positioning your clinic as a dental-health expert during National Pet Dental Health Month, you strengthen client trust, increase loyalty, and help your practice stand out from others.
• Using reliable solutions (like PetDesk) means you can scale volume without sacrificing quality or overwhelming staff.
• Educational content leads to better compliance: pet parents who understand the “why” behind dental care are more likely to follow through with home-care routines and future visits, which supports long-term revenue stability.

National Pet Dental Health Month isn’t just a February calendar item—it’s an opportunity for your practice to thrive. With the right preparation, targeted educational messaging, automated booking and reminders, and efficient documentation, you can turn the first months of the year into a high-impact client-engagement period that benefits your patients, clients, and staff. 

¹ Banfield Pet Hospital