Franchise marketing for dental practices helps dental chains attract new patients, handle emergency enquiries and make clear for each practice which treatments are available. Our team handles this for all locations at once, with one contract and one monthly report for the franchise brand.
What makes marketing for dental chains different?
Many people only look for a dentist when they move house, when their dentist retires or when they are in pain. At that moment one question counts: is this practice accepting new patients? A practice that does not make that clear online loses the patient to the practice that does.
For head office this means keeping the brand strong nationally and helping every practice win locally at that moment of decision.
How do patients search for dental practices?
The search query reveals what the customer needs. We build the profile, location page and advert around it.
| Search query | What the location needs to be chosen |
|---|---|
| dentist accepting new patients [town] | Up-to-date 'accepting new patients' status on the profile and practice page |
| emergency dentist weekend | Clear information on emergency care and referral outside opening hours |
| dental implants dentist near me | Treatments listed as services, with explanations and transparent pricing |
| children's dentist | Mention of child-friendly care and practitioners |
How the same question sounds in an AI assistant
In ChatGPT, Gemini or Google AI Overviews, patients ask longer questions, for example: "Which dentist nearby is still accepting new patients and also does implants?" An AI can only recommend a practice if those details literally appear in its profile, reviews and location page. That is why we combine local visibility with outsourcing local SEO for franchises.
What goes wrong at dental chains?
These are the four bottlenecks we encounter most often at dental chains. Each one costs customers, and none of them resolves itself.
Unclear patient intake freeze
Profiles say nothing about whether new patients are being accepted, so the phone either rings off the hook or stays silent.
Treatments that cannot be found
Implantology, orthodontics or dental hygiene are offered at the practice but are not listed online as services.
Emergency enquiries without an answer
Someone in pain in the evening finds no information about the emergency service and chooses a different practice.
Negative reviews about costs
Reviews about unexpected bills go unanswered and put off new patients.
Our approach for dental practices
Our approach is set up channel by channel around the customer journey of dental practices. Your team approves, we carry out the work for each location.
| Channel | Use for dental practices |
|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Treatments as services, attributes, emergency information and new patient status |
| Practice pages | Team, treatments, fees in line with NZa rules and a registration button |
| Review management | Calm responses to complaints about costs, without medical details |
| Google Ads | Focused on registrations at practices with capacity, and on specific treatments |
| Check-up invitations and reminders per practice |
No time or expertise in-house? Leave your franchise marketing to us.
Rules and points of attention for dental practices
Dentists must publish their fees in accordance with the tariff decision of the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa), and advertising for healthcare must not be misleading. In review responses, professional confidentiality applies: no confirmation of a treatment relationship and no medical details.
We include rules like these in the marketing manual for franchisees. Legal questions are reviewed by the franchise brand's lawyer.
What does better visibility deliver for dental chains?
The NFV healthcare sector, under which we classify dental practices, counted 38 franchise brands with 2,201 locations and €2.8 billion in turnover in 2025. That is an average of around €1.27 million in turnover per location per year. The worked example below shows the turnover effect at which the Growth package pays for itself.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Average turnover per location per year | €1,272,149 |
| Per month | €106,012 |
| 1% extra turnover per year | €12,721 |
| Cost of Growth package per year | €3,000 |
| Break-even point: required turnover growth | 0.24% |
Which KPIs count for dental chains?
In addition to the standard KPIs in our monthly report (visibility, customer actions, reviews and position in Maps), in this sector we also look at:
| KPI | Why |
|---|---|
| New patient registrations per practice | Growth of the patient base |
| Call clicks and direction requests | Direct demand from Maps |
| Average review score per practice | Trust when choosing a dentist |
When should you plan marketing for dental practices?
Moving season in the summer and the start of the academic year bring in many new registrations; around the turn of the year, patients ask about insurance reimbursements. We therefore plan campaigns, posts and review requests on an annual calendar that fits each location.
How do we start franchise marketing for dental practices?
Every partnership starts with the same four steps, tailored to your sector. Head office approves, franchisees occasionally provide input, and we carry out the work. After three months you have a comparison between locations on the table.
| Period | What we do |
|---|---|
| Weeks 1-2 | Baseline measurement at three locations for search queries such as dentist accepting new patients [town] and emergency dentist weekend, plus an AI test with fixed questions |
| Weeks 3-4 | Google Business Profile: treatments as services, attributes, emergency information and new patient status |
| Month 2 | Practice pages and review management: calm responses to complaints about costs, without medical details |
| Month 3 | Google Ads live and first monthly report with new patient registrations per practice, call clicks and direction requests |
Checklist: is your dental franchise brand in good shape online?
- Up-to-date 'accepting new patients' status on the profile and practice page
- Clear information on emergency care and referral outside opening hours
- Treatments listed as services, with explanations and transparent pricing
- Mention of child-friendly care and practitioners
- Email: check-up invitations and reminders per practice
Can you not tick off every point for every location? Then the free scan shows exactly where the gains are.
Who works on franchise marketing for dental practices?
You will not get a rotating cast of account managers. Gijs Bodenstaff is your fixed point of contact; Angela (Local SEO analyst), Elisabeth (local advertising) and Peter (Local SEO and link building) carry out the work, together with ten regular freelancers we have trained ourselves. Co-author Stanley Leijnse provides research and benchmarks. Find out more about the people behind this agency.
Related sectors and services for dental practices
This page is part of marketing for healthcare chains. Comparable sectors are marketing for psychology practice chains and franchise marketing for physiotherapy practices. For dental practices we mainly focus on local landing pages per location and search advertising for franchises. Read what it costs under outsourcing franchise marketing; you can get started with how the partnership works.
Frequently asked questions about franchise marketing for dental practices
Can you show which practice is still accepting patients?
Are dentists allowed to advertise treatments?
What does franchise marketing for dental practices cost?
From how many locations is this worthwhile for dental chains?
Do you also work for dental chains that are not franchises?
What do franchisees of dental chains notice from this?
How does a dental chain make clear online that a practice helps emergency patients?
How does a dental practice reply to a review without breaching professional confidentiality?
Which treatments should a dental chain list as services on its Google Business Profile?
When is the best time for a dental chain to plan its marketing?
Sources
Gijs Bodenstaff
Franchise marketer, local SEO and GEO specialist, author
Curious how the locations of your dental franchise brand are doing? Request the free scan of three locations.