Naming a dental practice

April 5, 2022 11:00 AM

My wife is formulating a business plan to open her own dental practice. Help us with the name!

She is queer, black, and a US Army veteran. She's often heard from patients that they find comfort in having a dentist who shares one of those identities with them, and she expects/desires her future practice to serve people who share some aspect of community with her.

Given that, is "identistry" a good name for the practice? We hesitate for two reasons: is it too clever/cute for the medical field, and does it suggest iPhone etc too strongly? If it's ok on those counts, how would you style it: all lower case, IDentistry, or Identistry?

Also open to other name suggestions reflective of intersectionality, identity, and community.

posted by donnagirl to Society & Culture (27 answers total)

Does your wife have any funds available to consider going to a local branding agency to think up names and branding? Her company name doesn't need to be cute if her actual branding (design, marketing materials, website, etc) projects what she wants it to project.

I would agree that the suggested 'Identistry' isn't great, but I'm also not her target market.
posted by greta simone at 11:19 AM on April 5, 2022

Dang, "identistry" should be the perfect name, but I don't think most people will get it, unfortunately. But props to whoever came up with it!
posted by mpark at 11:36 AM on April 5, 2022

At first, I didn't like it, because I was reading/pronouncing it like the various i-devices, so equal emphasis on the "I" and "Dent" syllables. But once I read it like "identity", I liked it.

But, most people are probably going to pronounce the way I first did, and I'm guessing that you want it pronounced the other way. If you do go with the name, spelling it as "Identistry" will probably be the safest, as "IDentistry" will emphasize the I (or the ID, which could be confusing).

But if she wants it to sound inclusive, what about we, instead of I?

She could also go with just her name, but then have a tag line that speaks to what she's trying to get at.
posted by jonathanhughes at 11:37 AM on April 5, 2022

Oooh yeah no Identistry/iDentistry sounds like iFixit or iOS or other iPhone-ish tech-y stuff and makes me think they're going to try to clean my teeth with an app or fill cavities with machine learning. That said, I do look at reviews/websites, so if she had an ominous name but solid website it wouldn't stop me scheduling with her.

One of the independent/private dental places whose name I really like is something like Jane's Dental where Jane is the main dentist's actual name.

For more queer-adjacent/intersectional/community-ish language that isn't tech-y in the same way: Rainbow, Spectrum, or Glow, maybe? I'm not a marketing expert or anything, and I don't know if those names are in use in your area.
posted by All Might Be Well at 11:38 AM on April 5, 2022

i am not queer or black or a veteran, but i do look for signals of women-owned, queer-owned, or BIPOC-owned businesses whenever possible. even for things like dentists i expect them to have a web page, even a very basic one, and a photo/bio of the practitioner should be on there somewhere. that's also a good place to indicate you're welcoming of X type populations.

i like cutesy in my pet groomer business names, not so much my dentists. i'd suggest WIFENAME, DDS, or XXX STREET DENTISTRY, something bland like that.

edit: typo
posted by misanthropicsarah at 11:40 AM on April 5, 2022

Also not in target market, but I like the dentist's office name to be the dentist's name. Going to Immaculate Dentistry or whatever makes me feel like it is a chain restaurant that will measure profits at the dentriment of my dentiment or you know what I mean. My doctor's office is not iDoctorU though my computer fixit place is UBreakIFix so in my mind I want my dentist's office to be more like a doctor's office than a computer fixit office.

Also naming is so trendy even if you don't want it to be. See Jennifers, Chelseas, and so on when it comes to everyone picking a unique baby name. Hair salons are the worst for puns, HairForce, Hair It Is, Headspace are in the top ten near me as are the most trendy single word names of the moment - Gloss, Pretty, Raw, Auria, Bliss.

On preview, what jonathanhughes said - her name plus a tag line.
posted by RoadScholar at 11:42 AM on April 5, 2022

I think just a cutesy name doesn't work well for the medical field, but would be OK if it's also attached to her name, so WIFENAME, DDS, xyz Dentistry.
posted by FencingGal at 11:43 AM on April 5, 2022

Yeah, I think Identestry sounds like it's internet related or iphone related somehow. Honestly, I think she should call it "Dr. Lastname's, DDS" or "StreeetName Dentistry" or "NeighbourhoodName Dentistry", put up some signs in the window (a rainbow a "veterans welcome" etc.), maybe have a logo that is a cartoon version of her that shows her identities (i.e. an army hat or whatever if that's legal, a rainbow pin) and then advertise in places where her chosen communities will see her ad and let word of mouth do the rest.

I honestly prefer a DrName/StreetName dental practice because I feel like it's just a dentist who set up a practice (good) not some giant dental corporation that hired a bunch of interchangeable dentists (bad...I don't even know if giant dental corporations exist...but you know what I mean...those way too slick dental practices that make me wonder how much they're upselling me so they can pay for their ritzy offices and marketing machines).
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:43 AM on April 5, 2022

Or, you know, what everyone else typed faster than me.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:45 AM on April 5, 2022

IDentistry does sound cool but I think it will be lost on most folks.

Personally, I would respond to something like "Community Dentistry" if I saw it.

Wish your wife the best!
posted by jraz at 11:45 AM on April 5, 2022

Agree to iPhone / chain comments above.
Building on the Community theme which hits the note:

Wife Name Community Dentistry
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:47 AM on April 5, 2022

I really wanted to suggest “Tooth or Consequences,” but I have to agree with the majority: “Xxx Yyy, DDS” inspires more confidence, and I think that’s what you want. I think advertising is how you get out the message about the characteristics of the dentist and the practice.

Good luck with it.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 11:49 AM on April 5, 2022

A very slight twist on the traditional "Community Dentistry" would be "Communities Dentistry." But like others, I don't put much weight on the actual name, especially when the webpage is a click away. Start with a generic practice name, and on the home page/office/advertising, put a line saying something like what you said in your question.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 11:50 AM on April 5, 2022

i'd suggest WIFENAME, DDS, or XXX STREET DENTISTRY, something bland like that.

This is great. But I would suggest not using wifename, dds, because down the road she may want to include another dentist at some point in her practice.

Both my eye and dental practices use their street or neighborhood name, and I like that. Seems like they have an investment in the community (both my dentist and optician also live in the neighborhood).
posted by nanook at 11:56 AM on April 5, 2022

But I would suggest not using wifename, dds, because down the road she may want to include another dentist at some point in her practice.

You can always add another name. I've had one dentist do that and another that just uses her name despite two other dentists now working with her.

WIFENAME and PARTNER, xyz Dentistry
posted by FencingGal at 12:16 PM on April 5, 2022

This is all super helpful and kinda confirms that we were spinning our wheels trying to name the practice when really that was just a task on a marketing worksheet she got from the small business mentoring program she's in. As an aside, though, we are also in Maine where pun business names abound, even for otherwise serious stuff. My first eye doctor here was at Mainely Eyes, I shit you not.

Thanks for the help! We do have funds for hiring out some branding and identity work, so we will definitely be pursing that suggestion as well as likely sticking with her name on the door.
posted by donnagirl at 1:13 PM on April 5, 2022

Also I am now enamored with the idea of printing tshirts with "tooth or consequences" on them.
posted by donnagirl at 1:15 PM on April 5, 2022

Having the city as part of the name might help with SEO.
posted by Sophont at 1:49 PM on April 5, 2022

City or neighborhood is good as part of the name. One practitioner being the name of the practice contributed to patients getting the “I come here to see dr wifename and nobody else and you will fit me in because I’ve been coming here since day one.”

It is extremely uncommon (though happening more now) for professional schools to offer a solid education in the business aspects of running a practice. I strongly recommend she take a few classes in this area. Topics to looks for include how to introduce a new practitioner to your patients - whether that’s the hygienist, the treatment planner, or the oral surgeon that the practice refers our to. How to choose a name and a location for a new practice should also be covered. Along with the hard questions like “do I have enough in savings to start this practice now or should I be waiting another year?” and “do I really want to be a solo practitioner, and if so who will cover my emergency patients when I am away on vacation or take a sick day?” (You might have a partner practice with reciprocal coverage, but it can get tricky.) Another business topic - handling patients who are late or don’t show up at all.
posted by bilabial at 3:45 PM on April 5, 2022

Also I am now enamored with the idea of printing tshirts with "tooth or consequences" on them.

As an aside, regardless of where she goes with the name, dentistry strikes me as something where opportunities for merch whimsy abounds.

If my dentist handed me the free package of floss and toothbrush I get with every appointment, and it was custom printed with something punny like "tooth or consequences," I'd be endlessly amused.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:10 PM on April 5, 2022

The name is so powerful. I got a recommendation for a dentist in the late 0's that the whole friend group went to and I have no idea of her business name - she might have even shared an office I don't know - we all just called her Dr. Polly Rivas.

Cute branded swag she gives to patients would be a possible path.
posted by bendy at 8:43 PM on April 5, 2022

Also I am now enamored with the idea of printing tshirts with "tooth or consequences" on them.

Nothing But the Tooth
Tooth To Power
The Tooth Will Out
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 2:20 AM on April 6, 2022

You Can't Handle the Tooth!
(but I can)
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 2:20 AM on April 6, 2022

"Dentist Near Me", while somewhat bland, is the tried and true SEO/Google Maps hack, or so I've heard.
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 4:00 AM on April 6, 2022

i am going to pile on with using your wife's name. Last time i had to go through my in network dentists in a new town, i skipped right over most of the cutesy or dental depot type names. Got to narrow it down somehow and looking for a practice owned by the practioner was one of my priorities

Regarding the tshirts - it is a thing around here for dental type practices to give you a tshirt when you get big something done. My adult daughter got one when she got her wisdom teeth out. Granted she looks young so maybe thats why. people love a free tshirt.
posted by domino at 9:00 AM on April 6, 2022

Tooth to Power is a great one! I would go out of my way to find a Black dentist and seeing the word power in the name would catch my eye.
Or maybe Bite the Power?
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:47 AM on April 6, 2022

Best dentist billboard: You're going to wear those teeth with that suit?
posted by John Borrowman at 1:14 PM on April 6, 2022