How do I get more patients as a dentist?
From an empty dentist’s waiting room to a busy schedule with digital visibility, trust and service that inspires.
Your dental clinic may have a perfectly prepared treatment room: modern, comfortable, and equipped with the latest technology, ready for the next patient. But what good is all that if your appointment calendar stays empty? Today, patients search, compare, and evaluate their next dentist online. Your website decides whether your practice is noticed at all, and it can even build trust in your practice before the first visit.
From Google searches to social media to review portals, there’s a lot to think about if you want to attract new patients to your dental practice. Beyond having the medical credibility, you need to be visible online, approachable, and service-oriented.
In this article, we will show you how to increase your reach, build trust with potential patients, and make your practice their first choice with targeted measures that don’t require too much effort. Let’s get started!
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Online presence: your dentist website
Today’s patient journey no longer begins in the waiting room, but on Google. Anyone who has a toothache, needs a check-up, or is thinking about aesthetic dentistry first searches online for a suitable practice.
That’s why your online presence today is much more than a nice extra. A website is your digital business card and often the deciding factor in whether someone contacts your practice or scrolls away.
A professional website is thus an important building block for your online presence. Besides being visually appealing, your website needs to be clearly structured and informative. Patients want to see at first glance what services you offer, how they can make an appointment and where exactly they can find your practice.
Easy navigation, fast loading times, and mobile-optimised design are just as important as high-quality images of your team, the practice or the treatment rooms. Appealing visuals and a good user journey both create trust and give a strong first impression.
Tip: You can easily create your dentist website with one.com’s website builder. Choose the right template for your practice, fill it with text and images, or let the integrated AI help your practice shine in the best light online. You can test the website builder for 14 days free of charge and without obligation!
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SEO for dentists
A pretty website alone is not enough – it also needs to be found on search engines. This is where search engine optimisation (SEO) comes in.
SEO’s goal is to appear as early as possible in Google search results for local queries, for example if someone looks for “dentist in Liverpool”. You can achieve this with targeted keywords in your texts, clear headlines, and by regularly updating content such as blog articles or news from your practice.
There are also technical factors such as meta tags, loading speed, and organised page structure. By investing time on your SEO, you increase your visibility and attract more potential patients.
If you don’t want to take care of SEO yourself, you can also let the experts from our SEO service help you out:
Another key point is your Google Business Profile entry. This appears directly in the search results and offers all relevant information at a glance: address, telephone number, opening hours, photos and reviews. A well-maintained entry looks professional and trustworthy, so make sure to keep it up to date. For example, make sure you update opening hours or changes during holiday periods. It also helps to add new pictures regularly.
Whether new patients find and select you depends on your online presence. With a clear, trustworthy, and easy-to-find website, you’ve already taken the first step toward attracting more patients.
Reviews and trust: the modern ‘word of mouth’ for dentists
In healthcare, trust is key, and few things build trust and influence someone’s choice of dental practice as much as the opinion of other patients. Platforms such as Google, Trustpilot, and other social media have made online reviews the digital version of classic recommendations.
These platforms guide potential new patients and create confidence even before the first appointment is booked, which is why it’s worth actively asking for reviews. Many satisfied patients are quite willing to share their positive experiences, but they might need a little push. You can do this with a friendly note after the treatment, a QR code at the reception, or a short reminder message by e-mail.
It’s important that your request is authentic and appreciative. Practices that receive new reviews regularly show higher quality and relevance.
Equally crucial is the handling of the reviews. Every review, positive or critical, deserves a response. It shows you’re listening, caring, and taking feedback seriously. A thank you for praise or a factual, friendly reaction to criticism comes across as professional and empathetic. This creates a dialogue that creates trust and presents your clinic as approachable and human.
You can feature particularly valuable reviews as testimonials on your website. Quotes from real patients, ideally with their first names and maybe even a photo (with the patient’s consent), come across as more credible. You give your practice a face through the real experiences of the people you treat.
Reviews reflect your practice and are a powerful tool to build trust. If you actively promote the reviews you get, respond to them, and highlight them, you will turn satisfied patients into convincing ambassadors for your dental practice.
Social media and content marketing for dentists
Dentistry is built on trust, which comes from personality and approach as much as it comes from professional skill. Social media gives you the chance to present your practice as a welcoming, modern, and accessible place.
Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook or YouTube are not only relevant for influencers. Dental practices can also score points with patients by sharing authentic content from their everyday practice.
Most popular are before-and-after pictures (with the consent of the patients, of course), short videos from everyday life at the clinic, and tips on dental care. This content shows your expertise as well as your attitude: friendly, transparent and committed.
Another effective channel is your own blog. Here you can answer common questions such as “What to do if you have a toothache?” or “How does a professional tooth cleaning work?” This provides helpful information for patients while also increasing your visibility on Google.
Every well-written article opens an additional door for potential patients looking for solutions online.
You can also integrate a blog into your website entirely with the website builder. You can find more information about the website builder here:
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It is important to note that content marketing thrives on regularity and relevance. It is better to have a short, useful article once a week than a long text once a year that no one reads.
Feel free to show the human side of your practice, whether it’s the team at the summer party, new equipment, or small success stories from everyday life. These insights make your practice tangible and approachable.
Social media and content marketing are strategic tools to increase your reach and build an emotional connection with your target audience. By communicating with your heart and mind, you will not only stay visible, but also memorable.
Positioning and specialisation for your dental practice
Not every dental practice is the right one for every patient, and that’s a good thing. Clinics who position themselves clearly and show their main selling points will be found more easily and recommended in a more targeted manner.
The question is not “what do we offer?”, but rather, “what does our dental practice really stand for?”
A clear profile helps to stand out from other practices. Perhaps you are particularly experienced in dealing with anxious patients, focus on paediatric dentistry, or specialise in aesthetic dentistry. Unique selling points like these should be actively communicated on your website, in advertisements and in conversations with patients. Patients who feel that their needs are understood are more likely to book and recommend you to others.
Targeting specific target groups can also significantly increase your visibility and attractiveness. Landing pages (i.e., special subpages of your website) can be aimed at parents, professionals or seniors, for example, and address their specific needs.
Similarly, you can place ads on Google and reach exactly the audience that fits your practice. This saves budget while bringing in high-quality contacts.
If you need support with your Google Ads strategy, our experts will be happy to help you develop a successful ad strategy!
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Positioning your clinic doesn’t mean limiting what you offer but rather sharpening your focus. By clearly showing what makes you and your practice unique, you’ll be seen as both competent and relevant. Relevance is often a deciding factor for patients selecting between different clinics.
Patient communication and service in dental practices
Professional competence is fundamental, but what really inspires patients are the little things that make a visit to the practice pleasant and personal. Friendliness, reliability and a real sense of welcome are often the reason why people come back and recommend your practice to others.
The first impression does not begin at the dentist’s chair, but at the reception. A friendly smile, clear communication and, of course, short waiting times create trust and show appreciation.
Scheduling appointments should also be as uncomplicated as possible, whether by phone, email, or via an online booking service. Digital solutions such as online appointment booking and automatic reminder emails make staying on top of appointments easier and show that your practice is staying with the times.
You can easily integrate an online appointment booking on your website if you opt for the one.com Website Builder. You can manage all appointments at a glance and your patients receive automatic reminder emails, so fewer appointments are missed.
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Empathetic communication during treatment is essential. Explaining procedures clearly, taking fears seriously, and responding to individual needs creates an environment where patients feel safe and understood, especially when it comes to sensitive topics such as fear of the dentist or aesthetic procedures, empathetic interaction is crucial.
Service does not end when you leave the practice. A quick follow-up call after a major treatment, a thank you for a review or a personal birthday greeting by email are all small gestures that make a big impact. They show that your patients are more than just appointments on the calendar.
Communication and service are not an afterthought – they are the key to true loyalty. Turn your patients into loyal ambassadors of your practice.
You can try out or implement all our tips right away by trying out our website builder now, free of charge and with no obligations. You’ll be amazed at how easy it can be to create a professional website for your dental practice yourself: