Dental website design: what a dental practice website needs

A dental website serves two very different visitors. One has a toothache and wants to know, within seconds, whether you can see them today. The other is choosing a dentist for the family and will read about your team, your insurance and your approach before calling. Most dental sites look good and still fail one of them.

This guide covers what a dental practice website needs, page by page, and the rules that apply to the content: insurance and fee claims, membership plans, specialty wording, patient photos, reviews, forms, tracking and accessibility. It ends with what to look for when you review dental website examples.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules and guidance cited were checked on October 27, 2026. Your state dental board’s advertising rules also apply and differ from state to state; have them checked before launch.

The two paths: emergency and new patient

Put both paths on the first screen of the home page on a phone, where most visits start.

Emergency path: a tap-to-call button, whether you see same-day emergencies, your hours, what to do after hours, and a plain line saying when to go to an emergency room or call 911 instead, in words your dentists approve.
New patient path: book online or call, whether you are taking new patients, which insurance you accept, and what the first visit involves.

Each path then leads to a full page: an emergency dentistry page and a new patient page. These two pages usually do more for bookings than any other part of the site.

The pages patients look for

Services, one page each. Cleanings and exams, fillings, crowns, implants, clear aligners, whitening, children’s dentistry, sedation, and whatever you want more of. Each page says what it is, who it suits, what a visit involves, and how to book.
Insurance and payment. The plans you are in network with, how you handle out-of-network patients, payment options and any membership plan.
Your dentists and team. Real photos, names, degrees, training and what each dentist does.
Location and hours. Address, parking, accessibility of the building, hours and a map, matching your Google Business Profile exactly.
Forms. New patient forms or a secure portal link, with a note on what to bring.
Policies. Privacy policy, Notice of Privacy Practices, accessibility statement and cancellation policy.

Our practice website checklist covers the first screen, trust and speed in more detail.

Insurance and fee pages: accurate or nothing

Insurance is the question dental offices get most, so the insurance page is worth getting right. List only plans you are actually in network with, update the list when contracts change, and explain in plain words what out of network means at your office. The FTC Act prohibits deceptive advertising, and a page that says you take a plan you have left is exactly the kind of claim that misleads patients.

If you publish fees or “starting at” prices, say what is included and keep them current. If you see uninsured or self-pay patients, ask counsel whether the federal good faith estimate rules in 45 CFR 149.610 apply to your services; a price page does not replace an estimate where one is required.

Membership plans sold online

Many practices offer an in-house membership plan for patients without insurance. If patients can join and pay online with automatic renewal, the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (15 U.S.C. 8403) applies. It requires clear disclosure of the material terms before billing, the patient’s express informed consent before the charge, and a simple way to stop recurring charges. State automatic renewal laws can add more, so check your state’s statute.

Put the terms next to the join button, use an unticked consent box, send a confirmation that repeats the terms, and let patients cancel online if they joined online.

Dentist and specialty wording

Words such as “specialist” and “orthodontist” carry legal weight in dentistry. The National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards recognizes the dental specialties and their certifying boards, and state law and dental boards decide who may advertise as a specialist. A general dentist who places implants or provides aligners can say so; whether they may describe themselves as a specialist in that area depends on your state’s rules.

Keep each dentist’s bio factual: degree, school, licenses, postgraduate training and memberships you can document. Avoid “best dentist” claims you cannot support.

A periodontal practice has its own specialist wording, gum disease claims and referral rules; see our periodontist marketing guide.

Smile galleries and patient photos

Before and after photos sell cosmetic and restorative dentistry, and they are patient information. A full face photo is one of HIPAA’s identifiers, and using a patient’s information to promote your own services generally requires the patient’s written authorization under 45 CFR 164.508. Get a signed authorization for every image you use in marketing, including close-ups of teeth, which can still be identified by the patient or people who know them.

Show typical work, not only your best case, and do not edit photos beyond basic lighting and cropping. Our social media policy guide covers the same rules for posts.

Reviews and testimonials on the site

Showing reviews on your site is fine if they are real and representative. The FTC’s rule on consumer reviews and testimonials (16 CFR Part 465) prohibits fake reviews, buying reviews conditioned on their sentiment, and suppressing negative reviews, and its Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255) require disclosure of any connection, such as a discount given in exchange for a testimonial. Do not pick only five-star reviews and present them as typical. Our guide to replying to patient reviews covers what to say publicly.

Forms, booking and tracking

Online booking and forms are where a dental website most often collects patient information, and where tracking tools can send it to third parties. Use a booking tool or form provider that will sign a business associate agreement if the form collects health information, collect only what you need, and be careful what analytics and advertising tags run on booking and form pages. Our guides to website forms under HIPAA and tracking pixels on practice websites go through the details, including the current status of HHS’s online tracking guidance.

Accessibility

The Department of Justice’s guidance on web accessibility explains that businesses open to the public, including dental offices, must make their services accessible under the ADA, and points to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines as a helpful standard. WCAG 2.2 is the current W3C version. In practice: real text instead of text in images, enough color contrast, alt text, forms with labels, and everything usable with a keyboard. Our accessibility guide includes a five-minute test.

What to look for in dental website examples

Looking at other dental websites is a good way to decide what you want, as long as you judge them on what patients need rather than on looks. Open each one on your phone and check:

Can you call or book within one tap of the first screen?
Can you tell within ten seconds whether they see emergencies today?
Is there a clear insurance list, or do you have to call to find out?
Are the dentists real people with real photos and credentials?
Are before and after photos labeled, consistent and believable?
Does it load quickly on mobile data?
Can you use the booking form with a keyboard, and does it say how your information is protected?

A site that passes these with a plain design will usually book more patients than a beautiful site that fails them.

How we approach it

We build practice websites around these paths and rules, with the content checked against your state’s advertising rules by you or your counsel before launch. See our practice website design service and our dental marketing page, and for search, our guide to dental SEO.

Frequently asked questions

What pages should a dental website have?

A home page with emergency and new patient paths, a page for each service, insurance and payment, your dentists and team, location and hours, forms, and policies including privacy, Notice of Privacy Practices and accessibility.

Can a general dentist call themselves an implant specialist?

It depends on state law and your dental board. The National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards recognizes the dental specialties, and states decide who may advertise as a specialist. A general dentist can describe the implant work they do.

Do we need patient permission for before and after photos?

Using a patient’s photos to promote your services generally requires a written HIPAA authorization under 45 CFR 164.508. Get one for every image used in marketing.

Can we sell a dental membership plan on our website?

Yes, but if it renews automatically, ROSCA (15 U.S.C. 8403) requires clear terms before billing, express informed consent and a simple way to cancel. Check your state’s automatic renewal law too.

Does a dental website have to be accessible?

The Department of Justice says businesses open to the public must make their services accessible under the ADA, including online, and points to WCAG as a helpful standard. WCAG 2.2 is the current version.

Can we show Google reviews on our website?

Yes, if they are real and you do not present a hand-picked set as typical. The FTC’s rule at 16 CFR Part 465 prohibits fake reviews and suppressing negative ones.

Sources

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