{"id":18025,"date":"2024-01-31T10:00:24","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T15:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/\/"},"modified":"2024-01-31T10:00:24","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T15:00:24","slug":"meet-the-dental-patient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Dental Patient"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each month, millions of patients visit Zocdoc to find and instantly book appointments with healthcare providers across every state and specialty. That means every day, with their clicks, patients are telling us what they want from their dental providers.<\/span><\/p>\n

To make a mark in today\u2019s competitive dental healthcare landscape, it’s essential to understand the demographics, preferences and reasons behind potential patients’ visits. We analyzed the data from hundreds of thousands of bookings in 2023 to give you an inside look at what dental patients want when looking for new providers. Leveraging these insights can help you acquire more new patients and stand out from the crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who is looking for new dentists?<\/h2>\n

3 out of 5 dental bookers were women. <\/span><\/p>\n

More than half of all bookers (55%) were millennials and Gen Z made up a quarter of bookings (25%). Gen X accounted for 12% of bookings, while Baby Boomers and up accounted for 6% of bookings. Those under 18 accounted for 2% of bookings.<\/span><\/p>\n

What characteristics matter most when choosing a dentist?<\/h2>\n

Speed to care is an important factor when choosing a dental provider. 41% of bookings were for appointments within 4 days, while 59% of bookings were for appointments within 8 days.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dental patients look for providers who take their insurance. Nearly 9 out 10 appointments were booked using a commercial insurance plan and in-network.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do they want to see the dentist?<\/h2>\n

Patients strongly prefer to see dental providers close to home, with 4 out of 5 appointments booked within 20 miles of their location.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why do they want to see the dentist?<\/h2>\n

The top 3 visit reasons included dental cleanings, consultations and new patient exams, respectively. Cavities and problems with wisdom teeth rounded out the top 10.<\/span><\/p>\n

When patients chose to book without insurance, the top 3 visit reasons were for veneers, cosmetic emergencies and braces\/retainer checkups.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dental implants, bridges and bad breath (halitosis) were the top 3 most booked out-of-network visit reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

When do they want to see the dentist?<\/h2>\n

Busiest booking day of 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tuesday, January 3<\/span><\/p>\n

Patients booked 55% more appointments on January 3 \u2014 the first non-holiday weekday of the New Year \u2014 than the average number of bookings made on Tuesdays in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n

Busiest booking and appointment months<\/strong><\/p>\n

January was the busiest month for both bookings and appointments, followed by March.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most popular appointment dates<\/strong><\/p>\n

Monday January 16th, February 20th, and June 19th received 79%, 64% and 63% more bookings vs. the average day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most popular appointment weeks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Patients started off 2023 with dental health on their minds, booking 14% more appointments scheduled for the week of January 16 vs. the average week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most popular appointment time slots<\/strong><\/p>\n

Overall, 10 a.m. was the most popular time of day for an appointment, followed closely by 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most popular appointment days<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tuesdays were the most popular days for dental appointments, followed by Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Popularity dropped off on Fridays and into the weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do patients book visits with dentists?<\/h2>\n

60% of dental patients booked via mobile, while 40% booked via desktop. Using a platform that meets both preferences helps providers easily acquire and retain patients.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nearly half of patients (48%) prefer to book dentist appointments from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. when the office is typically closed. Unlocking access to 24\/7 booking ensures patients can book when it\u2019s most convenient for them.<\/span><\/p>\n

How Dental Providers Can Stand Out<\/h2>\n

Show off your smile<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dental providers with 1 to 3 office photos received 2x bookings compared to providers with zero photos. Providers with 4+ photos received 3x bookings compared to providers with zero photos.<\/span><\/p>\n

More reviews, more bookings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Positive reviews are a great way for potential patients to feel confident about booking. More reviews directly translates to more bookings. Compared to dental providers with 1 to 9 reviews, those with 10 to 29 received nearly 3x the number of bookings; providers with 50 to 99 received 6x the number of bookings.<\/span><\/p>\n

More languages, more bookings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dental providers who speak 2 languages received 1.5x more bookings compared to providers who only speak 1. Providers who listed 3+ languages received 2x as many bookings compared to providers who only listed 1.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you brush up?<\/em><\/p>\n

Dental providers on Zocdoc received an average rating of 4.79 out of 5. Only patients who have seen providers can leave a review on Zocdoc\u2019s platform, which creates a trustworthy environment and encourages bookings.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re aiming to expand your reach and attract new patients, the data-driven insights above can help you refine your marketing strategies and align your services with patient expectations. Speed to care, convenient locations and a user-friendly booking experience via mobile and desktop are just a few of the factors that matter most to dental patients. In today\u2019s competitive dental landscape, platforms like Zocdoc<\/a> \u2013\u2013 that enable easy booking and help make your online presence pop \u2013\u2013 can easily connect you with new patients actively seeking dental care.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each month, millions of patients visit Zocdoc to find and instantly book appointments with healthcare providers across every state and specialty. That means every day, with their clicks, patients are telling us what they want from their dental providers. To make a mark in today\u2019s competitive dental healthcare landscape, it’s essential to understand the demographics, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":18030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[110],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-18025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-insights","tag-dentist"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the Dental Patient - Practice Resources<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover who\u2019s booking visits and what matters most to dental patients.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet the Dental Patient - Practice Resources\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover who\u2019s booking visits and what matters most to dental patients.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Practice Resources\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-31T15:00:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thescript.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Meet-the_Dental_The-Script-hero.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1692\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jonathan Katz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jonathan Katz\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/\",\"name\":\"Meet the Dental Patient - Practice Resources\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thescript.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Meet-the_Dental_The-Script-hero.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-31T15:00:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/person\/88244c97809327c863deb2b09d7f88ee\"},\"description\":\"Discover who\u2019s booking visits and what matters most to dental patients.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thescript.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Meet-the_Dental_The-Script-hero.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thescript.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Meet-the_Dental_The-Script-hero.png\",\"width\":1692,\"height\":920},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Meet the Dental Patient\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/\",\"name\":\"Practice Resources\",\"description\":\"Useful insights, advice and resources for running and growing your practice from Zocdoc.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/person\/88244c97809327c863deb2b09d7f88ee\",\"name\":\"Jonathan Katz\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/author\/jonathan-katz\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meet the Dental Patient - Practice Resources","description":"Discover who\u2019s booking visits and what matters most to dental patients.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meet the Dental Patient - Practice Resources","og_description":"Discover who\u2019s booking visits and what matters most to dental patients.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/","og_site_name":"Practice Resources","article_published_time":"2024-01-31T15:00:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1692,"height":920,"url":"https:\/\/thescript.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Meet-the_Dental_The-Script-hero.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jonathan Katz","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jonathan Katz","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/","name":"Meet the Dental Patient - Practice Resources","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thescript.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Meet-the_Dental_The-Script-hero.png","datePublished":"2024-01-31T15:00:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/person\/88244c97809327c863deb2b09d7f88ee"},"description":"Discover who\u2019s booking visits and what matters most to dental patients.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/thescript.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Meet-the_Dental_The-Script-hero.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thescript.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Meet-the_Dental_The-Script-hero.png","width":1692,"height":920},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/blog\/article\/meet-the-dental-patient\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Meet the Dental Patient"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/","name":"Practice Resources","description":"Useful insights, advice and resources for running and growing your practice from Zocdoc.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/#\/schema\/person\/88244c97809327c863deb2b09d7f88ee","name":"Jonathan Katz","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/author\/jonathan-katz\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}