Not all orthodontic patients are the same, so your strategy to reach each audience shouldn’t be the same either.

Every treatment journey involves different decision-makers, influencers, and priorities, and the latest AAO data shows just how important it is to speak to each group differently.

Orthodontic treatment is at an all-time high, and now’s the time to evaluate your orthodontic marketing strategy. The more your campaigns and messaging reflect the motivations of today’s patients, the more effective they’ll be.

Here’s what every orthodontist needs to know:

Key Points (TL;DR)

• Orthodontic treatment is reaching historic highs; more patients are in treatment than ever before.
• Parents, teens, and young adults each bring unique motivations to the table.
• Cost and convenience are baseline expectations, but how you frame them must shift for each group.
• Targeted messaging helps your practice connect more deeply with the patients you want most.
• Schedule a complimentary discovery session with enox, and let’s pin down the right strategy for your practice.

Orthodontic Patients by the Numbers

Here’s what AAO’s 2025 Economics and Patient Census Study tells us:

• Treatment is at an all-time high: In 2024, the average AAO member had 696 patients in active treatment, which is the highest ever recorded and 10% higher than the previous peak in 2001.
• Kids & teens are driving growth: On average, AAO members treated 413 patients ages 8–17 in 2024 (nearly 3.8 million children and teens nationwide.) That’s almost 1 in 10 U.S. kids in this age group, up from just 7% two years ago.
• Adult treatment is strong: Nearly 2 million adults were treated by AAO members in 2024, with 2.3 million nationwide when including all orthodontists.
• Young adults are a growth opportunity: Ages 18–34 were the only group showing a slight dip, but millions remain in treatment, and targeted marketing can help you stand out with this audience.

Orthodontic patients span every age group, and your marketing has to meet them where they are.

Why It Matters: Three Audiences, Three Motivations

Not all orthodontic patients think the same way. Parents, teens, and young adults each come to treatment with their own priorities, and your marketing has to reflect that.

• Parents want trust, clarity on cost, convenience, and long-term results.
• Young adults value flexibility, lifestyle fit, independence, and transparent costs.
• Teens care about style, confidence, and fitting in, while their parents are the ones eyeing the budget.

The key is tailoring your messaging so each audience feels seen, understood, and confident in choosing your practice.

The Starting Point for Every Audience: Cost & Convenience

While individual motivations differ between parents, teens, and young adults, some values are universal today: affordability and convenience.

These are the starting points patients expect. The differentiator isn’t whether you talk about them, it’s how you frame them for each audience.

Cost as a Key Consideration

• For parents, value is often the priority. Discounts for multiple family members, retainer programs that protect long-term results, and all-inclusive pricing (so they’re not nickel-and-dimed later) speak directly to what moms and dads want most: security and predictability.
• For young adults, it often comes down to flexibility. They’re making treatment decisions on their own and want to see low monthly payments, straightforward financing, and options that fit into their lifestyle without weighing them down.
• For teens, the cost message is usually secondary. They’re generally focused on the confidence of having a beautiful smile like their friends, siblings, or favorite influencers. But they also act as influencers at home, bringing financing details to mom and dad to show that treatment is doable. So, cost messaging still matters with teens, but indirectly. You’re equipping them with talking points for mom/dad.

Strategies for Marketing Affordability

In many of our recent orthodontic website designs, we’ve seen success with patients of all age ranges by leaning into cost transparency.

The right approach depends on your brand, but these are some tactics we’ve seen resonate with today’s cost-conscious patients:

• Easy online payment calculators → Like the one we built on our partner Canales Orthodontics’ site
• Marketing flat-rate pricing and all-inclusive costs → See how we promote all-inclusive pricing on our partner Molen Orthodontics’ website
• Retainer replacement programs showing savings value
• Free insurance benefit checks
• Highlighting “Braces and aligners are the same price”
• Offering discounts for families or multiple siblings
• Side-by-side comparisons of treatment complexities with costs
• Limited or esthetics-focused retreatment options → Our partner Wall Orthodontics’ Simply Aligned service is a great example

These tactics may be universal, but the way you market them should look different depending on your audience.

• For example, a family-discount message resonates with parents, while a “low monthly payment” message is more compelling for a young adult balancing their own budget.

Convenience as a Necessity

Nowadays, convenience is a universal priority too. The key is knowing each age group’s “why” behind convenience, so you can create targeted campaigns and website messaging that speak directly to their needs.

• Parents are managing the family schedule, work, and personal lives. Highlighting shorter treatment times, on-time appointments, short waits, fewer visits, and virtual consultations can be the deciding factor. Parents are busy, and the easier you make it for them, the more appealing you become.
• Young adults want online scheduling, and don’t want to wait weeks for an appointment. They’re drawn to virtual consultations and virtual monitoring approaches that allow them to fit treatment around college, work, and social life without constant office visits.
• Teens want treatment to be fun, low-maintenance, and interactive. They don’t want braces or aligners to slow them down; they want faster results, easy-to-follow care instructions, and app-based treatment tracking that keeps them engaged.

Strategies for Marketing Convenience

Here are some ways you can solve that convenience pain point for patients:

• Real-time online scheduling that lets patients lock in a date and time right away
• Virtual consultations and remote monitoring
• Highlighting fewer visits and shorter overall treatment times
• Patient portals for billing, scheduling, and messaging
• After-school and evening appointment availability
• Interactive tools for teens (like apps that track progress or reward compliance)

Just like cost, convenience is a baseline expectation. But whether you’re highlighting “fast, on-time appointments” for parents or “aligners that fit your lifestyle” for young adults, the way you market it makes the difference.

Marketing to Parents: Building Trust and Value

This is where your marketing can get more targeted and personal. For parents, the details that matter most are trust, reassurance, and long-term value.

Parents (and more specifically, moms) are the primary decision-makers in orthodontics. Mothers make nearly 80% of health care decisions for their children (U.S. Department of Labor).

With the number of kids and teens in treatment reaching new highs this year, parents are actively looking for practices that give them confidence in their choice. They want reassurance that they’re choosing the right orthodontist for their child’s smile, and that their investment will pay off with lasting results.

Key Strategies When Marketing to Moms and Parents

Highlight Expertise & Credentials
Parents want to know their child is in the best hands, so call out your board certification, years of experience, and advanced technology that ensure treatment is precise and effective. This reassurance builds trust from the very first impression.

Prove Your Reputation
Reputation carries weight with parents. Feature Google reviews, parent testimonials, and your community involvement. If your practice sponsors local schools or events, highlight it; it creates a positive association.

Match the Tone They Need
Keep your messaging professional, reassuring, and family-centered. And if you’re a family-owned practice, make that clear; parents love knowing their orthodontist understands family needs firsthand.

Financial Transparency
Parents want to know their investment will hold up over time. Family discounts, retainer programs, and all-inclusive pricing all signal predictability and security.

Emphasize Convenience
Messaging around online scheduling, shorter treatment times, fewer office visits, and virtual consultation or monitoring options can be the key for parents juggling work, school drop-offs, extracurriculars, and more.

At the end of the day, parents want clarity and confidence. The more your marketing reflects that, the more likely they are to choose your practice over another.

Marketing to Young Adults: Flexibility, Lifestyle, and Ownership

Young adults (ages 18–34) are a growing patient group making treatment decisions on their own. They’re balancing busy lives, new careers, and budgets, and they want orthodontic care that fits seamlessly into their independence.

Key Strategies When Marketing Orthodontics to Young Adults

Highlight Flexibility
Messaging around low monthly payments, flexible financing, and treatment options that adapt to their lifestyle is essential. Cost transparency matters here just as much as convenience.

Showcase Lifestyle Fit
Young adults want to know treatment won’t hold them back. Emphasize discreet options like clear aligners, virtual monitoring that minimizes visits, and shorter treatment times that align with their schedules.

Focus on Control and Ownership
This audience is making their own healthcare choices, often for the first time. Highlight online scheduling, real-time appointment booking, and self-service tools that give them control.

Prove Value Beyond Aesthetics
While appearance is important, tie in the professional and health benefits of orthodontics too: straighter teeth for job interviews, presentations, and long-term oral health.

Use Modern, Direct Messaging
Young adults respond to marketing that’s clear, polished, and modern. Avoid overly “family” language, and instead focus on autonomy, lifestyle, and confidence.

Marketing to Teens: Style, Confidence, and Influence

Teens may not be the ones paying for treatment, but they play a powerful role in influencing their parents’ decision. They care about confidence, appearance, and fitting in socially, and your marketing should reflect that.

Key Strategies When Marketing Orthodontics to Teens

Highlight Confidence and Results
Teens want to picture themselves with a confident smile, so use before-and-after photos, video testimonials, and social-friendly visuals that showcase transformation.

Make It Relatable
Messaging that references school, sports, social life, or even influencers resonates more with this audience than technical jargon ever will.

Keep It Fun and Interactive
App-based progress tracking, rewards programs, or treatment perks can help keep teens engaged. When treatment feels low-maintenance and interactive, they’re more likely to stay motivated.

Acknowledge Their Influence at Home
Even if cost isn’t top of mind for teens, providing clear, simple financing details gives them the tools to bring options back to mom and dad and advocate for themselves.

Bringing It All Together

Pinning down your audience isn’t always simple. Between parents, teens, and young adults, knowing who to target, what to say, and how to say it takes a strategic approach. And it’s not just about messaging; the right imagery, platforms, and campaigns all play a role in connecting with the patients you want most.

At enox, we’re orthodontic marketing experts with more than two decades of experience helping practices thrive in every market climate. From website design and branding to targeted campaigns and digital strategy, we’ll help you connect with the right patients in the right way.

Let’s start with a discovery session to talk about where your practice stands, and where you want it to go. Let us help!