Fred Joyal

1-800-DENTIST

Joyal was working as a junior copywriter at an advertising agency when he was asked to co-found Futuredontics by his eventual partner, Gary Saint Denis. The company began as a very small organization that served a handful of dentists within Los Angeles. Gradually, it grew to serve all of Southern California, and eventually all of the United States. Joyal has stated that his mission in building 1-800-DENTIST was to provide a consistent flow of screened patients to member dentists while encouraging millions of consumers to visit the dentist on a regular basis. “Up to that point, finding a dentist had mostly been a word-of-mouth process,” he said. “Our goal was to set up a trusted resource for consumers who want a real introduction to a qualified dentist with services that match their needs, rather than just an ‘I know this guy’ recommendation.”

In addition to heading the company, Joyal has also served as its spokesman since 2004. He has written, produced and appeared in over 200 television, print and radio commercials for 1-800-DENTIST, the most recent of which were a series of ads that took place within an elevator and revolved around Joyal humorously trying to convince a resistant female patient to visit the dentist.

Dental Marketing Expert

Joyal is widely regarded as one of the leading experts in dental consumer marketing. He writes regular articles for industry trade magazines on the subjects of marketing and advertising, and he has authored two detailed whitepapers and a book on dental marketing. Joyal is also highly sought after as a lecturer and has given marketing talks at many dental trade shows and seminars. In addition, Joyal operates GoAskFred.com, a complimentary website where he answers dental marketing questions submitted by dentists and provides free marketing tips to dental professionals. It includes a weekly blog and a series of short marketing videos.

Everything is Marketing

In 2009, Joyal wrote and published Everything is Marketing: The Ultimate Strategy for Dental Practice Growth, a book that draws from his two decades of marketing experience to explain the importance of dental practice marketing. It has since gone in for a second printing and has received much acclaim from industry professionals including Dr. Howard Farran, the publisher of Dentaltown, who wrote, “If you are looking for a way to maximize your advertising results and get your whole team working together with the right marketing mindset, you need to read Fred’s book. I personally can’t imagine any practice not gaining significant insight from it.”

Television and Film

Joyal has appeared on television numerous times to promote the importance of good oral health, notably in a series of appearances on San Diego’s XETV. He was also interviewed by CNN as part of a piece profiling 1-800-DENTIST’s Los Angeles-based call center.

Outside the realm of oral health, Joyal served as executive producer on the 2000 film Gentleman B. and appeared as himself on an episode of The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency (Series 1, 2006). In November 2009, Joyal appeared as a celebrity contestant on the FOX show Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader — during which he answered every question correctly, except for the last one.

Education and Honors

In 2005, Joyal was awarded the Conrad Hilton Distinguished Entrepreneur Award by Loyola Marymount University.

Joyal attended the University of Rhode Island, and in 2006 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the university.

Joyal’s passion for dental care has also earned him a seat on the board of directors for the Children’s Dental Center, a non-profit comprehensive oral health care and education center in Inglewood, California.