How to Get More Patients as a Dentist
Forget the marketing hype. For most dental practice owners, more patients comes from doing one thing well: showing up at the top of Google when someone searches for "dentist near me". Here's how.
14-day free trial · No setup fees · Cancel anytime
Where Dentist Patients Actually Come From
Most dental practice owners overestimate social media and underestimate Google. The honest breakdown for a typical dentist: roughly 60% of new patients come from local Google search, 20% from word of mouth, 10% from directories like industry sites, and the remaining 10% is everything else combined.
Local Google search
Someone types "dentist near me" and clicks one of the top 3 results in the map pack. Owned, ranking-driven, compounds.
Word of mouth
A friend, neighbour, or family member recommends you. Often they'll still Google-check you before calling.
Directories
Platforms like industry directories send paid leads. Useful for top-up — terrible as a primary channel.
Everything else
Social media, leaflets, vehicle wraps, Google Ads, and your existing customer database all combined.
Why Google Reviews Bring You Patients
60% of your patients come from Google search. Dental anxiety is real and widespread. Patients choosing a new dentist read reviews obsessively. Reviews about gentle treatment, clear explanations, and a calm environment are what nervous patients need to see before booking. Reviews are the bridge between someone typing your search term and someone calling your number — the higher you rank and the more reviews you have, the wider that bridge gets.
"dentist near me"
Google shows the top three results for this search based heavily on review count, rating, and recency. Most clicks go to those three.
Trust signal
For a dental practice, reviews are the first social proof potential patients see — long before they ever talk to you.
Permanent asset
Reviews are an owned, permanent asset — unlike paid leads that stop the moment you stop paying.
Why You're Not Getting Enough Calls
It's almost never because you're bad at the work. It's one of these four reasons — and they're all fixable.
Patients are anxious about dentistry — choosing a new dentist is stressful
NHS practices have long waiting lists — private practices need to attract patients
Patients visit twice a year but rarely leave reviews
Corporate dental chains are expanding and competing with independent practices
Top-ranking dental practices typically have 50-200 Google reviews.
The Acquisition Engine Behind the Calls
Customer acquisition for a dental practice is mostly a review collection problem in disguise. Fix the collection and the calls follow. Grow Our Reviews handles the collection automatically, so the acquisition takes care of itself.
Finish a appointment
Wrap up the work the same way you always have. Nothing changes in how you operate.
Add the patient
Drop their name and mobile into the app — fifteen seconds, from your phone.
Reviews land
Happy patients post directly to Google. Unhappy ones give you private feedback first.
Examples — From Search to Patient
Three real journeys. A homeowner searching for a check-up and clean, someone urgently needing a filling, a referral checking your profile before they call. Each one is a patient won or lost on what they see.
check-up and clean
A patient who's just had a check-up and clean from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
filling
A patient who's just had a filling from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
crown
A patient who's just had a crown from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
teeth whitening
A patient who's just had a teeth whitening from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
Pricing to Get You More Patients
14-day free trial on the plan you choose. Card required. Cancel from the dashboard anytime.
Lite
Enough credits for around 30 appointments a month.
- Up to 30 message credits per month
- SMS review requests
- Automatic follow-up nudges (can enable/disable)
- Sentiment gate (review filtering)
- Analytics dashboard
- Email support
Starter
Enough credits for around 150 appointments a month.
- Up to 150 message credits per month
- SMS review requests
- Automatic follow-up nudges (can enable/disable)
- Sentiment gate (review filtering)
- Analytics dashboard
- Email support
Growth
Enough credits for around 300 appointments a month.
- Up to 300 message credits per month
- Everything in Starter
- Priority support
Common Questions
What's the fastest way to get more patients as a dentist?+
Improve your Google ranking. Reviews are the fastest lever — typical lift in 4-8 weeks of consistent collection. Paid ads are faster but don't compound, so the moment you stop paying, the patients stop.
Should I advertise on Google or build organic ranking?+
Both, in that order. Organic ranking via reviews is the long-term asset. Paid ads make sense once your profile converts — they don't make sense to a profile with 12 reviews.
Do directories like Checkatrade still work?+
For dentists they can — but the ROI rarely beats Google. A pound spent on review collection compounds for years. A pound spent on a directory stops working the moment you stop paying.
How many extra patients can I expect from better reviews?+
A typical dental practice moving into the top three local results sees enquiry volume roughly double. From there it compounds — more patients mean more potential reviewers, which means even better ranking.
Your next patient is already searching.
They typed "dentist near me" five minutes ago. The question is whether your dental practice shows up in the top three or the third page. Reviews decide which.
Get More Customers14-day free trial · No setup fees · Cancel anytime
Other Health & Wellness we work with
The same approach works for adjacent health & wellness — same automation, different defaults.
More for dentists
Same topic, different angles — useful if you're researching how reviews fit into your wider dental business.
Further reading
Articles from the blog that go deeper into the topics on this page.