In November 2026 we looked at the homepages of 10,794 dental practices in Canada, the US, the UK and Australia. We wanted a plain answer to one question: when a new patient lands on a practice’s website, how easy is it to book?
The short version
| What we checked on the homepage | Share of 10,794 sites |
|---|---|
| No online booking link or booking software found | 39% |
| Booking software we could identify | 16% |
| Runs on a do-it-yourself platform (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, Weebly) | 7% |
| No review feed or star rating on the page | 75% |
| Any offer for new patients | 9% |
| Email address shown on the page | 37% |
Country split
| Country | Sites checked | No online booking found |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 8,508 | 38% |
| Canada | 2,255 | 45% |
The sample was small for Australia (16) and United Kingdom (15), so we don’t report a split for them.
Booking software we detected
Among sites where we could identify a booking system, these were the eight with the highest counts (number of sites where we detected each):
- Dentrix/Henry Schein: 985
- Modento: 368
- NexHealth: 250
- Doctible: 234
- Zocdoc: 213
- Yapi: 192
- Acuity: 183
- LocalMed: 164
Nearly four in ten had no way to book online
39% of dental homepages had no booking link and no booking software we could detect. The homepage often leads with a phone number. Canadian practices came in higher (45%) than US practices (38%).
One likely reason this matters: many people look for a dentist in the evening, or book for a child after work, when the front desk has closed. If the only option is to call tomorrow, some of them book with the practice that let them pick a time tonight.
Booking systems are in use, but not everywhere
We identified a booking system on 16% of dental homepages. The count list above shows a long tail: eight systems each detected on between 164 and 985 sites, with Dentrix/Henry Schein the highest. That spread is one likely reason a practice can have a patient-facing booking page and still not link to it from the homepage. The tool may be in place without the button being.
Reviews stay in the operatory
75% of homepages showed no review feed or star rating. Many of these practices may have good Google reviews. We did not check. They just don’t show them where a nervous new patient is deciding.
Little for a new patient to act on
Only 9% of homepages carried any offer for new patients, and 37% showed an email address. A contact form turned up on 25% and a chat widget on 7%. For a first-time visitor, the homepage often has one door: the phone number.
How we counted
- Clinics came from public business listings, filtered to dental practices. Only live sites that loaded are counted: 10,794 in all.
- We covered Canada, the US, the UK and Australia, in November 2026. We left out French-language cities in Quebec, because the scanner matches English booking words and would have counted those sites unfairly.
- We checked each homepage for links and code from known booking systems, booking words on buttons and links, the site platform, review widgets, new-patient offers and contact details.
- We only looked at the homepage. A clinic with a booking link on another page, or a booking system we don’t recognise, is counted as having none. We did not click through, so we can’t say whether a booking link accepts new patients. A website platform we couldn’t identify is simply not counted as DIY.
- Dental is our largest sample. The US and Canada are large enough to compare; the UK and Australia are not.
Treat the figures as what a patient sees first, not a full audit of every site, and not a judgement of the care any clinic gives.
What to do with this
Open your own homepage on your phone and try to book a new-patient exam and cleaning without calling. Count the taps. If you can’t do it, or it takes more than three or four, that is the first thing to fix, and it often does not need a new website.
Then check two more things: does the booking link accept new patients, and does your Google profile point to the same page? Our guides on what a new patient looks for on your homepage and showing your Google reviews on your website are a good next read. If the phone is still how new patients reach you, the front desk phone script covers the first thirty seconds.
If you’d like a second pair of eyes, send us your clinic’s details and we’ll run these checks on your site and Google profile, then send you what we find.