How to get more dental patients in Canada: a practical guide for dental offices

Most dental offices do not have a marketing problem as much as a conversion and retention problem. New patient calls go to voicemail, website visitors cannot find whether the office takes their insurance, and existing patients drift away when their recall reminders stop. Fix those first and every dollar you spend on marketing goes further. This guide explains how Canadian dental offices attract more new patients and keep the ones they have: what patients look for, how to be found, how to turn enquiries into booked appointments, how the Canadian Dental Care Plan fits in and how to stay within your college’s advertising rules.

It is written for practice owners and office managers in general and family dentistry, with notes for offices that also provide orthodontic, cosmetic or emergency care.

What new dental patients look for

People rarely switch dentists on a whim. The common triggers are a move to a new area, a new job with different benefits, a dental emergency, dissatisfaction with their current office, a child needing a first visit or a cosmetic goal such as straighter or whiter teeth. When they search, they look for the same few things:

• Convenience: location, parking or transit, evening and weekend hours.
• Insurance and cost: direct billing, which plans you work with, whether you participate in the Canadian Dental Care Plan.
• Trust: real photos of the office and team, credentials, genuine reviews.
• Availability: how soon they can be seen, especially for urgent problems.
• Comfort: a calm, modern office and a team that is good with anxious patients and children.

Every part of your marketing should answer these questions quickly.

Know your college’s advertising rules

Dentistry is a regulated profession, and advertising standards apply to your website, profiles, social media and ads. In Ontario, the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario allows the word “specialist” only for dentists certified in a recognized specialty. Ontario treatment advertisements must clearly disclose whether the dentist is registered as a general practitioner or a specialist and, if a specialist, the specialty. General dentists can describe services they provide without implying specialist status. The RCDSO prohibits testimonials, superiority claims and advertising likely to create expectations of favourable results. Patient images also require appropriate consent and a review of the advertisement’s overall impression; consent alone does not make a before and after presentation acceptable. Check your college’s current standard; this guide is general information, not regulatory advice.

Fix the front desk first

The phone is still where most new patients book. Before you increase marketing spend, look at how calls are handled:

• Answer rate. Track how many calls are missed, and when. Lunch hours, early mornings and the end of the day are common gaps.
• Callback speed. A missed new patient call returned the next day has often already booked elsewhere. A quick text reply to missed calls helps.
• The conversation. Train the team to ask open questions, explain the first visit clearly, address insurance and cost honestly and offer specific appointment times.
• Online booking. Many patients prefer to book without calling, especially after hours. Offer it for new patient exams and hygiene appointments.

Measure the share of new patient calls that become booked appointments. Improving it is often the cheapest growth available.

Make your Google Business Profile work

For “dentist near me” and “dentist” plus a neighbourhood, the map results get most of the attention. Your Google Business Profile should have your real practice name, correct categories, accurate hours (including holiday hours), services with plain descriptions, a booking link, real photos of the office, team and equipment, and regular posts. Keep common questions answered on your website and use the question-and-answer options currently available in your Business Profile. Each location in a multi office group needs its own profile.

Reviews influence which office people call. Check your college’s position on reviews before you ask patients, never offer incentives, never write or filter reviews and reply to every review without confirming that the reviewer is a patient or sharing any health information.

Build a website that answers the real questions

Your website should help a visitor decide to book in under a minute. A strong dental website includes:

1. A clear home page with location, hours, insurance information, new patient welcome and a booking button.
2. Service pages for check ups and cleanings, fillings, crowns, root canals, implants, dentures, children’s dentistry, emergency care, whitening and any orthodontic services you provide, written in plain language.
3. A new patient page explaining what happens at the first visit, how long it takes and what to bring.
4. An insurance and payment page explaining direct billing, payment options and the Canadian Dental Care Plan if you participate.
5. Team pages with credentials and friendly photos.
6. Accessibility: fast loading on phones, readable text and a design that follows WCAG guidelines. Ontario businesses also have AODA obligations.

Understand the Canadian Dental Care Plan

The federal Canadian Dental Care Plan helps eligible residents without access to dental insurance pay for care. Many patients now search for offices that accept it. If your office participates, say so clearly on your website, your Google profile and your phone script, and explain how billing works at your office. If you do not participate, say that too, so callers are not surprised. Only state that you participate when you do, and keep the information current as the program evolves.

Be found for the treatments you want

Beyond general searches, people search for specific treatments and problems: “emergency dentist”, “dental implants”, “wisdom tooth pain”, “kids dentist”, “sedation dentistry”, “clear aligners”. Pages that explain each treatment honestly (who it suits, what is involved, what affects cost, how long it takes) build search visibility over time and attract patients for higher value work. Helpful articles answering common questions support those pages. Our dental marketing service covers this organic work in depth.

Use Google Ads for specific goals

Paid search is useful when you need new patients quickly, have open hygiene time or want more of a specific treatment. Effective dental campaigns:

• Focus on high intent searches near your office.
• Separate campaigns for general care, emergency care and specific treatments.
• Exclude job seekers, dental school and DIY searches.
• Schedule ads for hours when calls can be answered.
• Send each ad to a page that matches it.
• Measure enquiries and bookings in approved systems. Keep patient identifiers, treatment details and sensitive booking events out of ad-platform uploads where the platform prohibits them.

Google applies additional rules to sensitive health promotion, including restrictions on advertiser-curated audiences such as patient lists and website remarketing. Check the treatment, ad content and targeting method separately, and keep claims factual. See dental Google Ads for more detail.

Grow orthodontic and clear aligner patients

Orthodontic treatment is a considered, often family decision, and many offices want more of it. Patients and parents want to understand options (braces, clear aligners, early treatment), timelines, costs and payment plans before they book a consultation. General dentists who provide orthodontic treatment should identify themselves as general practitioners when advertising those services in Ontario, without implying they are orthodontists. Registered specialists should identify their specialty accurately. A dedicated page, a simple consultation request and warm follow up after each consultation make the difference. Our orthodontic marketing page explains how orthodontic practices build consultations and starts.

Keep the patients you have

A steady recall and hygiene schedule is the foundation of a healthy practice. Many offices lose patients quietly when reminders lapse or treatment plans stall. Strengthen retention with:

• Booking the next visit before patients leave.
• Automated recall reminders by text and email, with consent.
• Follow up on unscheduled treatment, gently and with clear information about cost and coverage.
• Reactivation messages for patients who have not been in for over a year.
• A good experience every visit: on time appointments, clear explanations and honest estimates.

Promotional emails and texts must follow CASL: consent, identification and an unsubscribe. Appointment reminders are transactional and should stay separate from promotional messages.

Build referrals and community presence

Satisfied patients remain a strong source of new patients; a simple way to share your office details helps them refer family and friends. Within your college’s rules on referral incentives, focus on great experiences rather than rewards. Community involvement (school visits, sponsoring local teams, health fairs) builds familiarity. Relationships with specialists, physicians, pharmacists and pediatric clinics bring referrals in both directions.

Serve families and anxious patients well

Two groups are worth special attention. Families want one office for everyone, kid friendly visits and coordinated appointments. Market to parents, not children; in Quebec, commercial advertising directed at children under 13 is restricted. Anxious patients look for reassurance: explain your approach to comfort, what sedation options you provide and how the team handles nerves. Pages and messages for both groups often convert well.

Protect patient privacy in marketing

Health information is protected under provincial privacy law, such as PHIPA in Ontario. Keep clinical and booking details in appropriately secured practice systems, with role-based access and a defined purpose. Do not send sensitive health information to ad pixels or other advertising tools that prohibit it, including through event names, URLs or uploads. Patient image consent must cover the intended use, and the image or story must also meet dental advertising rules. Do not build remarketing audiences around dental conditions.

Measure what brings patients

Ask every new patient how they found you and record it in your practice management software. Combine that with call tracking and online booking data. Review monthly: new patients by source, booking rate on new patient calls, recall rate and unscheduled treatment. These few numbers show where to invest next.

Emergency dentistry as a growth channel

People with a toothache, a broken tooth or a lost filling search urgently and often book the first office that can see them. Offices that keep a few same day emergency slots, say so clearly on their website and Google profile and answer the phone promptly can win many of these patients. A well handled emergency visit often turns into a long relationship with the whole family. Make sure your emergency page explains what counts as a dental emergency, what to do before arriving, how soon you can usually see patients and when to go to a hospital instead.

Make costs and estimates easy to understand

Cost uncertainty stops many patients from booking or accepting treatment. A few practices help:

• Direct billing to insurers wherever possible, explained on your website.
• Written estimates for any treatment beyond a routine visit, showing what insurance is expected to cover and what the patient may pay.
• Predeterminations for larger treatment, so patients know their coverage before starting.
• Payment options explained plainly, with any fees disclosed.
• Fee guide references where your provincial dental association publishes one, so patients understand how fees are set.

Clear cost conversations improve both new patient bookings and treatment acceptance.

A 90 day plan to grow new patients

• Month 1: measure call answer and booking rates, add online booking, fix your Google Business Profile and update insurance and Canadian Dental Care Plan information.
• Month 2: train the front desk on new patient calls, set up missed call text replies, review recall reminders and launch a small search campaign for new patient exams or emergency care.
• Month 3: publish or improve the service pages for the treatments you want more of, start reactivation messages to lapsed patients who consented and review new patients by source.

After 90 days, review the data to decide what to continue, change or test for longer. A low enquiry volume or overlapping changes may leave the result inconclusive.

Convenience is a marketing advantage

Many patients choose a dental office for practical reasons before anything else. Offices that offer early morning, evening or Saturday appointments, online booking, text reminders, clear parking or transit directions and an accessible entrance remove the small barriers that stop people from booking. Show these details prominently on your website and Google profile. If your office is accessible to people using mobility devices, or offers services in languages other than English and French, say so; those details matter to the patients who need them and are often hard to find.

Marketing more than one location

Dental groups with several offices need each location to stand on its own online: a separate Google Business Profile, a dedicated location page with real local details (team, hours, parking, nearby landmarks, services offered at that office) and reviews for that office. Shared brand pages can explain the group’s approach, but copying the same location text with the neighbourhood name changed does not work. Track new patients by location so you can see which offices need more attention.

Getting help

Many offices handle the front desk, recall and community work in house and get help with the website, search, ads and tracking. Our dental marketing service covers those pieces, with your practice reviewing and approving clinical claims, practitioner details and advertising before publication.

Frequently asked questions

How do dental offices get more new patients?

Fix call handling and online booking first, keep your Google Business Profile complete, build clear service and insurance pages, run focused Google Ads for specific goals and keep existing patients on a steady recall schedule. See our dental marketing service.

What is the fastest way to get more dental patients?

Answer more calls and return missed ones quickly, add online booking and run a focused search campaign near your office. Many offices find booking rate improvements are the cheapest growth.

Should we mention the Canadian Dental Care Plan on our website?

Yes. Say clearly whether your office participates and explain how billing works. Only state that you participate when you do.

Can dentists ask patients for Google reviews?

Check your college's current position first. Never offer incentives, never write or filter reviews and never confirm in a reply that the reviewer is a patient.

Can a general dentist advertise orthodontic treatment?

A general dentist can describe the orthodontic services they provide without implying they are an orthodontist. In Ontario, advertisements referring to treatment must also disclose general-practitioner or specialist status and, for a specialist, the specialty. See orthodontic marketing.

Are Google Ads worth it for dentists?

For specific goals such as new patient exams, emergency care or implants, often yes, with tight targeting, matching landing pages and call and booking tracking. See dental Google Ads.

How do we keep patients from leaving?

Book the next visit before patients leave, send automated recall reminders with consent, follow up on unscheduled treatment and deliver a good experience at every visit.

Can we use before and after photos?

Check the exact presentation with your college’s current rules before using it. In Ontario, consent does not override restrictions on misleading or favourable-result advertising. Obtain advance consent and reconfirm it in writing after the patient sees and approves the images; this also applies to non-identifying images.

How should dental offices market to families?

Show that you see all ages, explain children's first visits and coordinate family appointments. Market to parents, not children.

How do we know which marketing works?

Track new patients by source, booking rate on new patient calls, recall rate and unscheduled treatment every month.