Dental advertising means paying to put your practice in front of people who might book: ads on Google search and Maps, Local Services Ads, social media ads, video, and printed mail. Every channel works differently, and every one sits under the same basic rule for dentists: an ad must not be false or misleading in any material respect.
Marketing for Dental is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work.
The channels, side by side
No practice needs every channel at once. The useful question is which channel reaches the patients you want, at the moment they are deciding. Here is how the main options compare.
| Channel | How it works | What a practice controls |
|---|---|---|
| Google search ads | Your ad shows for searches you choose; you pay when someone clicks | Keywords, area, daily budget, the ad’s words and its landing page |
| Local Services Ads | Ads in Google’s own lead format; you pay per lead, not per click | Category, area, hours, and answering calls and messages promptly |
| Social ads (Facebook, Instagram) | Ads in people’s feeds, chosen by area and audience settings | Creative, area, budget; health-related targeting has extra limits |
| Video | Short clips before or between videos, or in feeds | The story you tell and the area you show it in |
| Mail and local print | Postcards, local papers and community guides | Who receives it and what it says |
Search ads and Local Services Ads catch people who are already looking. Social, video and mail reach people who were not searching yet but live nearby, which suits a new office, a new dentist or a treatment people do not search for until they hear about it.
Search ads
Google decides whether your ad shows and where through Ad Rank, which weighs your bid, the quality of your ad and the context of the search at that moment. You set a daily budget and can change it at any time, and the cost of a click is often less than your top bid. The page on Google Ads for dentists covers search campaigns in detail.
Local Services Ads
Google lists Dentist as a Local Services Ads category under health care. These ads charge per lead rather than per click, and leads arrive as phone calls and messages. Before the Google Verified badge shows, Google runs its screening, which for dentists includes provider and practice checks and state license checks, with NPI verification for some advertisers. Google says booking leads are not available for health care categories, and that a business that regularly fails to answer calls or messages may see its ad ranking affected.
The ADA rules every dental ad follows
The ADA Code of Professional Conduct is binding on ADA members, and violations can lead to disciplinary action. Its advertising section is short and worth reading in full, but four points shape almost every campaign.
- Truthful ads. Any dentist may advertise, but no dentist shall advertise or solicit patients, including on social media, in a way that is false or misleading in any material respect.
- No unjustified expectations. Avoid statements likely to create an unjustified expectation about results, or claims of superior quality that cannot be reasonably backed up.
- Social media and influencers. Promotion that promises superior results, or calls a product or service effective without scientific evidence, counts as false or misleading, and influencers must disclose paid partnerships.
- No payment per patient. A dentist may pay for any advertising the Code permits, but generally may not pay another person or entity for the referral of a patient.
That last point matters when you compare dental advertising companies. A company that charges a fee for each new patient it sends you is offering something different from advertising, and it is the kind of arrangement the ADA Code generally rules out. Buy ad management as a service with a clear scope and fee, and keep the ad spend in an account the practice owns.
Specialty words in ads
The ADA Code lets a dentist announce a specialty only in the recognized specialties and only where the dentist meets the educational requirements. An ad for a general practice can name the treatments offered without using a specialty title. State dental boards set their own advertising rules as well, so the practice signs off on the wording.
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Google’s healthcare rules
Google says its ads must follow the laws and industry standards for healthcare and medicine. Some healthcare content cannot be advertised at all, and some only by advertisers Google has approved in certain places. The restricted list covers things like prescription drug services, online pharmacies, addiction services, speculative and experimental treatments and clinical trial recruitment. Ordinary dental practice ads are not named on that list.
Audience targeting is where most practices meet a limit. Google lists health among its sensitive interest categories, which carry restrictions in personalized advertising such as remarketing and audience lists. In plain terms, health-related ads face extra limits on audience targeting, so a campaign that relies on following past visitors around the web needs a closer look. Area, search terms and the time of day remain the main levers.
Social, video and influencer posts
Social ads reach people near the practice who have not searched yet. They suit a new office opening, a new dentist joining, an evening schedule, or a treatment people learn about by seeing it. The rules travel with the ad: no promise of superior results, no claim that a treatment is effective without evidence, and patient photos only with the patient’s written authorization under HIPAA. See Facebook ads for dentists and dental social media marketing for the details of each.
Paid posts by influencers or patients carry FTC rules too. The FTC says an unexpected connection that would affect how people weigh an endorsement should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, that a disclosure buried in the comments is easy to miss and so not enough, and that advertising agencies may be liable for their role in endorsements they know or should know are deceptive. The practice can be liable even when the endorser is not.
How to promote a dental clinic, in order
People often ask how to promote a dental clinic as though there is one answer. There is an order that works for most practices, because each step makes the next one pay off.
- Make the website clear and fast on a phone, with a page for each main treatment. See dental website design.
- Complete the Google Business Profile for the office and each public-facing dentist. See local SEO for dentists.
- Ask every patient for an honest review, offering nothing in return. See dental reputation management.
- Start search ads or Local Services Ads for the treatments and the area you most want to grow.
- Add social or video ads when you have something new to tell nearby people.
- Build dental SEO pages steadily so search brings bookings without a click fee.
What to ask a dental advertising company
- Will the ad accounts be in the practice’s name, with your agency added as a user?
- How is your fee set, and is it separate from the ad spend?
- Who checks the ad wording against the ADA Code and our state board’s rules?
- Which tracking tools will you add to the website, so our compliance advisor can review them?
- How will you report what the ads cost and what they brought in, and how often?
- Do you ever charge per new patient? (The answer should be no.)
Leave aside any pitch that promises a number of new patients a month. Results in advertising vary with the area, the competition, the budget and how the office answers its phone, and a careful company says so in writing.
Tell us about the practice and get a written dental advertising proposal.
Asking is free and you never have to hire anyone. The proposal comes from an independent marketing agency, and you decide what, if anything, to run.
Questions practices ask
How do I promote my dental clinic?
Start with a clear website and a complete Google Business Profile, ask every patient for an honest review, then add search ads, Local Services Ads or social ads for the treatments and area you most want to grow.
Are dental ads restricted by Google?
Ordinary dental practice ads are not on Google’s restricted healthcare list, but health is a sensitive interest category with extra limits on audience targeting such as remarketing.
Can dentists advertise on Local Services Ads?
Yes. Dentist is a health care category in Local Services Ads. Google screens the provider and practice, checks state licenses, and charges per lead rather than per click.
Can a dental ad mention results?
Avoid it. The ADA Code warns against statements likely to create an unjustified expectation about results, and against claims of superior quality that cannot be backed up.
Can I pay a company for each new patient it sends?
The ADA Code generally does not let a dentist pay another person or entity for the referral of a patient. Pay for advertising as a service instead.
Do influencer posts for my practice need a disclosure?
Yes. The FTC says a paid connection should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, and the ADA Code says influencers must disclose paid partnerships.
Can I use patient photos in ads?
Only with the patient’s written authorization. Using patient information for marketing generally needs that under HIPAA, so plan it with your compliance advisor.