The mysteries of TikTok may be abundant, but Dr. Julie Davis knows how to crack the code.

As @juliedavisdds, she has more than 1.3 million likes and more than 80,000 followers on TikTok. And she has done it all in a matter of months.

She dances, she duets. She costars with Kate, her 13-month-old daughter, and the TikTok world melts into a puddle of love.

Dr. Davis is a TikTok maestro, and the toothbrush is her baton.

A self-described “mommy dentist,” she dispenses advice on babies’ oral health and teething. In other videos, she shares tips such as how to sanitize your toothbrush during COVID-19 and three ways to get rid of bad breath. Above all, Dr. Davis is having fun.

And her efforts are yielding success in the cybersphere and in the dental office, where new patients mention that they saw her marketing outreach. As the daughter of two dentists, she is the second “Dr. Davis” to be a partner at Davis & Engert Dentistry in Park Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Her dental partner and mentor, Dr. Arlene M. Engert, also is her mom.

Here, Dr. Davis talks about her experience with creating dental videos on TikTok. She also provides advice for dental colleagues who want to improve their own social media.

Kiali Wong Orlowski: One TikTok video at a time, you’re showing just how cool dentists are. How did you get into creating dental videos on TikTok?

Dr. Julie Davis: I am in charge of marketing for our dental practice, and TikTok had been on my list as something to try out. Then, we had to close in March due to the COVID-19 shutdown. So I started making TikTok videos at home in April. The most popular one has been my daughter’s sign language video, which we made when she was 10 months old. Seeing how that one took off spurred me to create TikTok videos about what to expect with babies and their teeth. I have shared my favorite teething hack and tips on how to start brushing your baby’s teeth. And during the process of trying to get rid of her pacifier, I talked about that.

KO: How else do you come up with ideas for your dental account on TikTok?

JD: I pay attention to what patients are asking me, such as, “Why am I getting cavities?” And I post about things that are going on in my life. I try to be relatable and practical, and let people see who I am as a person outside of being a dentist. For some people, going to the dentist can be scary. I understand, because I don’t like going as a patient either. My focus is on making people comfortable and letting them know I’m a normal person, too. You can ask me any question, and I’ll do my best to answer.

KO: What are some tips you can give to fellow dentists who want to be more engaging through their social media?

JD: It’s about practicing, recognizing what works and sticking to it. Before the pandemic, I didn’t do as many videos. I had never broadcast on Facebook Live. During the shutdown, I set a goal that I would make a TikTok video every week. I just stuck to it, and it did keep getting easier and easier. In March, I ran my first Facebook Live, and I am still using it. I think social media is really about allowing yourself to get out of your comfort zone and recognizing that your efforts will help people find you. Ultimately, we want to be able to take care of people and their teeth.

KO: What must-haves are in your social media tool kit?

JD: I use a tripod and my cell phone. For some earlier videos, I used a nicer camera and edited on my computer, but that took a lot of time. The process is much faster on my cell phone. If I need to start over, it’s OK.

KO: Your mom, Dr. Arlene M. Engert, is your partner at Davis & Engert Dentistry. What does she think of prioritizing social media?

JD: She has let me run with it from the get-go. She put me in charge of marketing for our practice about six years ago, when I was graduating from dental school. Back then, she could see that social media was the direction we needed to go to stay current. Today, she recognizes that our efforts are going really well. We get a lot of new patients every month, and people mention our social media and marketing.

During COVID-19, sites like TikTok and Facebook have been important ways to stay connected with our community. Patients have told me that they appreciated how our social media videos let them know what to expect when we reopened. And they knew they could still reach us, too. My office manager worked full-time during the shutdown, making sure that patients could get ahold of us.

KO: What changes did you establish for reopening?

JD: Well, I want to make sure that I give a shout-out to my team. It was a huge team effort for us to officially reopen on June 1, and everyone came together to train for two full days and complete a two-day soft opening.

Dr. Engert and I took continuing education courses and used the hierarchy of controls model from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to create our plan. We added screening protocols for staff and patients, and made physical changes to the office. We added an ionizer to our HVAC system, HEPA filtration and UV sterilization in each operatory, and plastic barriers between the operatories. We also implemented full PPE: face shields, glasses, scrub caps, surgical masks, N95 or KN95 respirators and gowns. We wear masks 100% of the time at our office.

KO: Since reopening for regular services, what has your schedule been like?

JD: It has been full speed, even as we do certain things differently. We have extended our hours so we can make sure we’re taking care of everyone, and that we’re available for our patients and for new patients. There have been a lot of changes, but my team isn’t complaining. We all want to continue giving our patients the high-quality care that they trust us to provide.