Dental marketing: how to get more patients for your practice

For most practices, the order that pays back is recall first, then the basics new patients check, then reviews, then paid ads, with every call answered:

1. 1Keep existing patients on recall, so the schedule doesn't depend on new ones.
2. 2Make your Google Business Profile and website answer what new patients ask first: which insurance plans you're in-network with, what it costs without insurance and how soon they can be seen.
3. 3Build reviews steadily, within Google's rules and the FTC's rule on consumer reviews.
4. 4Market the treatments you want more of, such as implants, aligners or hygiene, with claims you can back up.
5. 5Answer every new patient call quickly, including the calls that come in while the front desk is busy with patients.

Truthful, not misleading, and whatever your state dental board requires. Section 5.F of the ADA Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct says: "Although any dentist may advertise, no dentist shall advertise or solicit patients in any form of communication in a manner that is false or misleading in any material respect." For ADA members, that covers your website, social media, ads and patient emails.

• Check your state dental board's advertising rules before you launch a campaign. Each state sets its own, so read yours rather than copying what a practice in another state does.
• Back every claim with facts. "Painless" or "the best dentist in town" is hard to support.
• Make clear that results depend on an exam and that a treatment may not suit every patient.
• Reviews and testimonials you repost count too. The FTC's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials bans fake testimonials and buying reviews.
• Before-and-after photos need the patient's written permission for that use, and mustn't be edited in a way that misleads about results. Patient privacy rules apply to practices, so check the details with your compliance adviser.

Your recall list is your most reliable source of appointments. The interval is whatever your dentist sets for each patient, so the recall date belongs to the patient, not to a blanket six months for everyone.

• Book the next visit before the patient leaves, where they're happy to.
• Send reminders by the patient's preferred channel, and follow up anyone who doesn't book.
• Check the recall list each month for patients who've lapsed, and contact them.
• Make rebooking a cleaning easy by phone, online or at the desk.

Keep reminders about the patient's care. Promotional messages, such as a whitening offer, follow the email, text and call rules covered below.

Answer the insurance question before the patient has to call. Many new patients start with "are you in-network with my plan?", so list the PPO networks you're in on your website and Google profile, keep the list current, and say clearly if you're out-of-network and how you handle claims.

Patients 65 and over often assume Medicare will pay. Medicare.gov says that in most cases Medicare doesn't cover dental services like routine cleanings, fillings, tooth extractions, dentures or implants. Some Medicare Advantage plans include dental benefits, so tell callers to check their plan, and give them a clear page on your fee-for-service prices or in-house membership plan.

For fee-for-service and uninsured patients, publish prices or "from" prices for your main treatments, explain what's included and set out payment options or a membership plan clearly. These patients compare offices, and a clear price page answers questions that would otherwise be calls.

Ask every patient after their visit with a review link or QR code. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking, and reviews matter to people choosing a new dentist.

Never offer anything in return, and don't ask only the patients you think are happy: Google's content policy bans incentives and selectively asking for positive reviews, and the FTC rule bans rewards for reviews that express a particular sentiment.

Replying needs more care than in most businesses. Never confirm in a public reply that someone is a patient or mention their treatment. Patient privacy rules apply to practices, so check with your compliance adviser. In practice:

• Thank positive reviewers without confirming they're a patient or mentioning treatment.
• For a negative review, don't discuss the case. Say you take feedback seriously and invite the person to contact the office manager directly.
• Even if the reviewer describes their own treatment, don't add details in your reply.

Our guide to Google reviews for dentists sets out Google's rules, the FTC rule and how to reply.

The answers a new patient wants before calling: insurance, prices, hours, emergencies and how to book.

• Whether you're taking new patients, and which insurance networks you're in, near the top of the page.
• Treatments and prices, with "from" prices where the cost depends on an exam.
• Your dentists and hygienists, with names and qualifications.
• Office hours, and what patients should do in a dental emergency when you're closed. The ADA's MouthHealthy site tells the public to visit their dentist or an emergency room as soon as possible in a dental emergency. Anyone with a life-threatening problem, such as swelling that affects breathing, should call 911.
• New patient forms they can fill in before the visit.
• A way to book that works on a phone: online booking if you have it, and a number that's answered.

Commercial email needs a working opt-out, and marketing calls have time-of-day and do-not-call limits.

• CAN-SPAM: every commercial email needs a way to opt out. Under 16 CFR 316.5, you can't charge a fee or ask for anything more than the email address and opt-out preferences to process an opt-out.
• Telephone solicitation: the FCC's rules at 47 CFR 64.1200 bar telephone solicitation to a residential subscriber before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time at the called party's location, and to numbers on the national do-not-call registry.
• Marketing texts and automated marketing calls: check the TCPA consent rules with an attorney before you send them.
• Keep appointment reminders separate from promotions, so patients who opt out of offers still get their reminders.

Paid marketing works best once the basics above are in place, because every click lands on a profile and website that answer the patient's questions.

Whatever you pay for, ask where each new patient heard about you on the first call, so you can see what each channel costs per patient booked.

Marketing makes the phone ring, and the front desk is often checking a patient in, verifying insurance or already on a call when a new patient phones. Someone looking for a new dentist, or in pain, will usually try the next office.

• Make sure calls are answered quickly, during office hours and when the desk is busy.
• Capture the basics on the first call: name, number, new or existing, insurance carrier and plan, what they need and when they can come in.
• Give a clear answer about which networks you're in and what treatment costs without insurance.
• Have a clear after-hours message that gives your emergency arrangements and tells anyone with a life-threatening problem to call 911.

Our guides to dental answering service options and what a dental front desk costs go through the choices, and our guide to handling new patient calls covers what those callers ask.

To put a number on missed calls, use our missed call calculator: missed new patient calls a week × the share who would book × what a new patient is worth to you in a year × 52. As an example only, with made-up figures: 4 missed new patient calls a week, half of whom would have booked, at $400 each in their first year, is $800 a week, or $41,600 a year. Our guide to what missed calls cost a dental practice works through it.

Ringzel is an AI receptionist for dental practices. You keep your number and forward the calls the front desk can't take: when the lines are busy, at lunch or after hours. It answers every forwarded call, 24/7.

It answers in your practice's name, tells the caller it's automated and asks your questions, such as whether they're a new or existing patient, which dental insurance they have and what they'd like to come in for. It never gives dental advice, follows your urgent-call instructions word for word and isn't an emergency service: if a caller describes an immediate danger to life, it tells them to call 911. After each call you get a recording, a transcript, a summary and a check report.

Plans cost $99, $179 or $299 a month, or $990, $1,790 or $2,990 a year, as shown on our pricing page. Professional and Premium add bookings into the slots you choose and call transfers. Every plan has a 14-day free trial with no card to start.