11 Copywriting Formulas for Better Dental Ads

Writing ads that actually convert can be difficult.

It’s not only about grabbing someone’s attention. You need to hold it long enough to create interest, communicate why your offer matters, and ultimately convince them to take action.

That applies whether you’re advertising a dental practice, a specific treatment, or almost any other service or product.

Copywriting formulas offer a proven framework that makes all of this easier. You just need to pick the right one ;)

They’re used by some of the world’s biggest advertisers, and many of the same principles work just as well when you’re trying to turn prospective patients into booked appointments.

Why use copywriting formulas in ads? 

Here are a few reasons why you should start using copywriting formulas if you aren’t already:

1. Huge Time Saver: Creating an ad from scratch is tough. We’ve written thousands of ads over the years, and having a framework makes the process much faster. Instead of figuring out where to start, you can focus on the message itself.
2. Keeps Your Message Focused: Copywriting formulas help you focus on the things your audience actually cares about without burying the message in unnecessary details. For dental practices, that might mean focusing on the treatment outcome, convenience, financing, anxiety, or trust rather than simply listing services.
3. Improves Conversions: Good formulas naturally push you toward benefit-focused copy that addresses what the patient or customer wants, builds trust, and gives them a reason to take the next step.
4. Bonus: They’re great for leveraging AI. AI tools are particularly useful when you give them structure. Providing a copywriting formula along with the offer, audience, objections, and desired action can produce a much stronger starting point than simply asking for “an ad.”

11 copywriting formulas that will improve your ad results: 

1. AIDA – Attention-Interest-Desire-Action

AIDA is a proven copywriting formula that’s all about capturing attention and driving the viewer to take action.

Here’s how it works:

Example:

Attention: “Tired of hiding your smile?”

Interest: “Missing teeth can affect more than just how you look…”

Desire: “Dental implants can help restore a natural-looking, confident smile.”

Action: “Schedule a consultation.”

Attention: Grab attention with a bold statement, intriguing question, or message that immediately feels relevant. It’s the hook that gets someone to stop scrolling or keep reading.

Interest: Maintain their interest by highlighting a problem, need, or desired outcome. Show them why the message matters to them.

Desire: Once you have their attention, connect the solution to the outcome they actually want. In dentistry, patients usually care less about the technical details of a procedure than what it could mean for their smile, comfort, confidence, or quality of life.

Action: Finally, tell them exactly what to do next. Book an appointment? Call the practice? Schedule a consultation? Use a clear CTA.

AIDA example from Lysol:

This ad effectively follows the AIDA model to engage and persuade its audience.

It captures attention with an intriguing statement: “Detergents alone can leave bacteria behind.” 

Next, it sparks interest with, “plus up your stinky load.”

Then it builds desire by emphasizing the product’s effectiveness with “Kill 99.9% of odor-causing bacteria”.

Finally, it drives action with “Use Lysol laundry sanitizer today.”

This 2019 study confirmed the effectiveness of the AIDA model in social network advertising, showing high engagement across its stages, from 80% in Attention to 71% in Action. (Exploring the general awareness of young users according to AIDA model applied to social networking ads (Abdelkader, Rabie, 2019))

2. PAS – Problem-Agitate-Solution

PAS works particularly well when the audience already recognizes a problem and you want to demonstrate that you understand it before presenting the solution.

Here’s how it works:

Example: 

Problem: “Still avoiding photos because of your smile?”

Agitate: “Missing or damaged teeth can affect your confidence every single day.”

Solution: “Dental implants can provide a permanent, natural-looking replacement.”

Problem: Identify the problem. What is frustrating your audience? What are they trying to change? Addressing it directly makes the message immediately relevant.

Agitate: Explain why the problem matters. You don’t need to exaggerate or scare people. The goal is simply to make the consequence of leaving the problem unresolved clear.

Solution: Finally, introduce the treatment, service, or product that addresses the problem. Explain the benefits and, where possible, reinforce them with proof such as reviews, patient results, or case studies.

PAS example from Loop:

This Loop earplugs ad starts by establishing the problem: the noise and overstimulation during travel.

It then agitates the problem by highlighting how the girl struggled to the point of dreading travel, and emphasizes the need for a solution.

Finally, it introduces Loop earplugs as the solution that’s helped her reduce noise and relax even on loud, crowded flights.

3. BAB – Before-After-Bridge 

BAB is great for showing your audience the transformation from where they are now to where they want to be.

It’s a simple, three-step process:

Example:

Before: “Hiding your smile because of missing teeth?”

After: “Imagine eating, speaking, and smiling confidently again.”

Bridge: “Dental implants can help bridge that gap.”

Before: Identify where the person is now. What are they struggling with or unhappy about?

After: Show what their situation could look like after solving the problem. The goal is to help them imagine the outcome.

Bridge: Explain how they get from the “before” to the “after.” This is where your treatment, service, or offer enters the picture.

BAB example from Proactiv:

This Proactiv ad is a very good example of the BAB formula.

Its “before” highlights acne – a universal issue many people experience.

Next, it presents the “after” – radiant, clear skin.

The bridge connecting the two? The Proactiv Original 3-Step Routine.

We loved this Smalls example so much we decided to add it, too. 👇

This Smalls ad effectively follows the BAB formula.

It starts by depicting a “Before Smalls” scenario with an overweight cat named Minnie suffering from various health issues, which grabs attention and sets the stage for the “after”.

Next, it shows Minnie the cat looking healthier and happier, as a result of switching to Smalls’ fresh food, and sitting right by the conveniently placed Smalls bag, which acts as the solution and our “bridge”.

The ad is further enhanced with a testimonial and a call-to-action to give additional credibility and drive action.

4. HSO – Hook-Story-Offer

A favorite among advertisers, HSO is a story-driven formula designed to capture attention and keep viewers engaged.

Here’s how it works: 

Example:

Hook: “My daughter used to panic before every dental visit.”

Story: “We’d spend days trying to prepare her, and appointments were stressful for everyone.”

Offer: “Then we found a pediatric dentist who made the whole experience feel completely different.”

Hook: Grab your viewers’ attention with a short, relatable statement or question designed to make them stop and keep watching (or reading). 

Story: Once you’ve gotten their attention, it’s time for a story. Follow up with a relatable, emotional, or problem-driven narrative. Great stories can trigger “narrative transportation” – a phenomenon that makes people so immersed that they can almost see or feel what the story is describing.

For dental advertising, patient stories can be particularly powerful because treatments often have a strong emotional component.

Offer: Once the story has created interest, guide the viewer toward the next step. Present a clear offer or call to action, such as booking a consultation or scheduling an appointment.

HSO example from Prose:

This Prose starts strong with visual proof (defined curls) and a regretful acknowledgment (“I should have started years ago!”) to hook viewers and engage curiosity.

It then transitions into a relatable story about the speaker’s frustration with frizzy, unmanageable hair and ineffective generic products.

And, finally, the ad promotes Prose’s free hair consultation as the offer, and positions Prose’s products as the ultimate personalized solution for hair care.

5. SSS – Star-Story-Solution

The SSS is perfect for creating impactful, story-driven content.

Here’s how it works:

Example:

Star: “Meet James, who hadn’t seen a dentist in six years.”

Story: “He kept putting it off because he was embarrassed about the condition of his teeth.”

Solution: “A judgment-free first visit helped him finally get back into regular care.”

Star: Introduce the main focus of your message, usually a person. In dental advertising, this will often be a patient or someone representative of the type of patient you’re trying to reach.

Story: Share the challenge they faced. The story should be recognizable enough that other people experiencing the same problem can relate to it.

Solution: Show how the treatment or service helped resolve the problem and what changed as a result.

SSS example from Living Proof:

This Living Proof ad follows the SSS formula by introducing multiple stars: real customers who share their personal struggles with hair thinning.

The story unfolds through their testimonials, highlighting how the serum improved their hair density.

The solution, Living Proof Density Serum, is shown both at the beginning and at the end to provide initial context and connect the story to the outcome.

6. FAB – Features-Advantages-Benefits

FAB is a straightforward way to communicate value by separating what something is from why the audience should care about it.

Here’s how it works: 

Example:

Features: “Same-day digital scanning.”

Advantages: “No traditional impression trays.”

Benefits: “A faster, more comfortable Invisalign consultation.”

Features: What does the treatment, service, or practice offer? This is the “what”: technology, process, credentials, convenience, materials, or functionality.

Advantages: Why is that feature useful? Explain what makes it better, easier, faster, more convenient, or more effective.

Benefits: Translate all of that into the outcome the patient or customer actually cares about.

This distinction matters in dental advertising. Patients generally aren’t choosing a practice because it has a particular scanner or piece of technology. They care about what that technology means for their treatment.

FAB example from Gillette:

This Gillette ad highlights the features (green bar and flex disc), explains their advantages (efficiency and precision in shaving), and ties them to the benefit of achieving the ultimate shave.

7. PSP – Problem-Solution-Proof

PSP is especially useful for healthcare and other high-trust services because it doesn’t stop at presenting a solution. It gives the audience a reason to believe it.

Here’s how it works:

Example:

Problem: “Not sure whether Invisalign is right for you?”

Solution: “A consultation can show you what treatment could involve.”

Proof: “See before-and-after results from patients treated at X Dentistry.”

Problem: Start by identifying the issue.

Solution: Explain how your treatment or service addresses that issue and why someone might consider it.

Proof: Reinforce the message with evidence. Reviews, patient testimonials, before-and-after cases, experience, credentials, or case studies can all help reduce skepticism.

For dental advertising, this third step is often particularly important. Choosing a dentist involves considerably more trust than buying an everyday consumer product.

PSP example from Dove:

This simple example from Dove highlights a common problem – dry hands caused by washing.

Next, it offers Dove Hand Wash as the solution while listing the benefits.

Finally, it reinforces the message with proof through the actress’s endorsement.

8. FFF – Feel-Felt-Found

The FFF formula is designed to effectively handle problems or objections in a relatable way.

Here’s how it works:

Example:

Feel: “We understand that dental visits can make people nervous.”

Felt: “Many of our patients felt exactly the same before coming in.”

Found: “They found that clear explanations and a slower, more comfortable approach made a huge difference.”

Feel: Acknowledge the concern or objection.

Felt: Show that other people have had the same concern. This helps normalize what the viewer is feeling.

Found: Explain what changed or what helped resolve the concern.

FFF example from Thriva:

This Thriva ad starts by acknowledging common struggles like low energy and mood swings, then shares the model’s own experience with these issues, and wraps up with the solution she’s found: Thriva’s Women Hormones Test. Simple and effective.

Feel, Felt, Found formula works due to the power of emotional appeal, which has been found to foster stronger brand loyalty, higher recall, and more positive attitudes than rational appeals (Does Emotional Appeal Work in Advertising? The Rationality Behind Using Emotional Appeal to Create Favorable Brand Attitude (Panda, Panda, and Mishra, 2013))

9. TMNTU – Time-Money-Need-Trust-Urgency

TMNTU is designed around five common objections during a buying decision: time, money, need, trust, and urgency.

The same objections appear frequently when patients consider dental treatment or even when deciding whether to book with a new practice.

Here’s how it works:

Example: 

Time: “Think you’re too busy for orthodontic treatment?”

Money: “Flexible monthly payment options can make Invisalign easier to fit into your budget.”

Need: “If crowding or gaps are making you unhappy with your smile, you don’t have to keep putting treatment off.”

Trust: “See results from real Invisalign patients treated at our practice.”

Urgency: “Book your consultation this month to see whether Invisalign is right for you.”

Time: Address the objection that taking action will be inconvenient, complicated, or too time-consuming. Show how the process can fit into the person’s life.

Money: Address concerns about cost by explaining value, financing, payment options, or another factor that makes the offer more accessible.

Need: Connect the offer to a problem, frustration, or desired outcome that already matters to the audience. The goal isn’t to manufacture a need, but to make the relevance of your solution clear.

Trust: Give people a reason to believe you. Reviews, testimonials, case studies, credentials, before-and-after results, or demonstrated experience can all reduce uncertainty.

Urgency: Give the audience a reason to act now rather than indefinitely postponing the decision. Urgency should be genuine, not manufactured.

TMNTU example from Grammarly:

This Grammarly ad works because it seamlessly addresses every key objection using the TMNTU formula.

It shows how Grammarly saves time by simplifying writing tasks, addresses affordability with a 50% discount, solves hidden productivity challenges many don’t realize they have, builds trust by demonstrating personal experience and real results, and compels to act now with the limited-time offer.

10. PSS – Problem-Simplicity-Solution

PSS works by taking a problem that feels annoying, complicated, or intimidating and showing that the path to solving it may be simpler than the audience expects.

Here’s how it works:

Example:

Problem: “Chipped a front tooth?”

Simplicity: “In many cases, cosmetic bonding can be completed in a single appointment.”

Solution: “Restore the shape and appearance of your tooth with a simple, minimally invasive treatment.”

Problem: Start with a specific issue the audience immediately recognizes. The clearer the problem, the easier it is for the right person to identify with the ad.

Simplicity: Reduce the perceived friction around solving it. This might mean fewer appointments, a straightforward process, less downtime, or another reason the solution feels manageable.

Solution: Introduce the treatment, service, or product and connect it directly to the outcome the person wants.

PSS example from Simply Teen:

This Simply Teen ad starts by connecting with a problem (tedious routines). It then positions the product as a simple alternative, and explains how it solves the problem with effective skincare products.

11. EFS – Enemy-Flaw-Solution

EFS positions your offer as an alternative to an existing approach, frustration, or status quo.

Here’s how it works:

Example:

Enemy: “Calling around multiple offices trying to find an emergency appointment.”

Flaw: “When you’re in pain, the last thing you want is more waiting.”

Solution: “Same-day emergency dental appointments at X Dental”

Enemy: Identify the challenge, frustration, outdated approach, or alternative the audience is already familiar with.

Flaw: Explain where that approach falls short.

Solution: Introduce your treatment or service as an alternative and explain what changes for the patient.

EFS example from Supply:

This Supply ad is a good example of the EFS formula because it identifies the enemy (multi-blade razors), outlines their flaws (skin irritation, ingrown hairs, high costs), and presents a well-defined solution (a durable, effective single-edge razor).