In this short on Healthcare Marketing by Spearleaf, Joshua Albanese, founder of Spearleaf, answers a solo dentist who is in network with six PPOs: five dental marketing moves, from recall calls and referrals to the Google listing, search ads and school talks, sorted by whether each fills hygiene chairs or big cases. Narrated with an AI voice clone of Joshua Albanese. Other characters are AI-generated. Every answer is written and checked by the Spearleaf team.
Read the full guide: Dental Marketing: What Fills a Solo Practice in 2026 →
Video Transcript
Business owner: What dental marketing actually works for a solo office? I'm in network with six PPOs, the write-downs keep growing, and my schedule still has holes.
Joshua: Here are five ways, sorted by what each fills: hygiene chairs, or big cases like implants and Invisalign, where write-downs bite less. One, your overdue hygiene patients. Your practice software can list everyone past due for a cleaning. Have the front desk call a few every day. That fills hygiene chairs this month. And those checkups are often where you find the next crown. The cost is staff time.
Business owner: We tried a recall push once. Then the office got busy and nobody made the calls.
Joshua: So make recall calls a daily task with one person's name on it, not a project. Two, patient referrals. Patients who already trust you send family and coworkers, and those patients can fill both hygiene and big cases. Ask plainly, and thank people who send someone. If you ever want to give a referral source anything of value, ask your lawyer first. Three, your Google listing. Real hours, real photos of your office, and a steady review ask, offering nothing in return. It mostly fills hygiene, and it takes months. Some families also ask ChatGPT or Google's AI. Type in what they would, like emergency dentist open Saturday in your town, and see who comes up.
Business owner: A big dental group just opened two offices near me. Their ads are everywhere.
Joshua: Four, Google search ads, where you'd bid against that group. Google's ad tool puts one click on dentist near me at about $14. That's a click, not a patient. If you test ads, aim them at the cases you want more of, and count which clicks became patients. Five, schools and community: a talk at the elementary school, a booth at the town fair. It's slow and hard to track, and it mostly builds your name.
Business owner: Honestly, should I just drop my worst-paying plan and go fee for service?
Joshua: That's a call for you and your accountant, with your own numbers. Some of that plan's patients may leave, so recall and referrals matter either way. What works is usually a mix. Recall calls this month, referrals as you go, the listing over months, ads only once you can track them. And track two numbers by source. New patients a month, and case acceptance: how many patients say yes to the treatment you present. Want the Position Zero Guide to Getting More Customers on ChatGPT, Google and Google Maps? Comment "DRIVE" and I'll send it. And follow for more straight answers like this.
Read the full guide on dental marketing for a solo practice →