A survey of dentists reveals that over half are using social networking Web sites for marketing purposes. According to the survey conducted by TheWealthyDentist.com, a dental marketing Web site, 57% of dentists are using sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for professional reasons.

About half the dentists surveyed—49%—use Facebook, while 31% use Twitter. One in three dentists report using LinkedIn and 17% use YouTube for professional reasons.

While the Web sites are not central to most dental Web-site marketing strategies, many doctors feel it is an effective way to share information about their practice.

"I believe they will have had a great impact on dental marketing. It remains to be seen exactly how this will impact patients actually using these sites to select their dentists," said a Florida dentist taking part in the survey.