Marketing preparation for expanding private dentistry

Disclosure. This site is published by the company behind Dental Mastery, which sells marketing and enquiry follow-up services to dental practices. Everything here applies whether or not you use any supplier.

Owners who want to grow private dentistry usually start with the marketing: a new treatment page, some paid search, a social campaign. In my view the marketing is often not what holds growth back. What holds it back is the practice not being ready for the enquiries the marketing produces. This guide covers what has to be true first, and the order I would put it in place. It applies to a fully private plan and to a mixed practice that simply wants more private work.

Why preparation comes first

A private enquiry is a patient deciding whether to trust you with their money as well as their care. If the phone is answered by someone who cannot say what a consultation costs, or the first available appointment is weeks away, the advert has paid for an enquiry the practice was not ready to receive. Every gap below is cheaper to close before you spend on marketing than after.

Capacity

Start with the diary, not the market. How many chair hours a week are genuinely free for private appointments, and with which clinicians? If the honest answer is very few, the first job is freeing time, not finding patients. The capacity and demand planning page shows how to work this out from your own appointment book and enquiry records.

A clear private price list

The GDC Standards already require a simple price list displayed in reception, with a "from" and "to" range allowed for items that vary ^[2]. They also require clear prices in practice literature and on practice websites, so that patients should not have to ask ^[2]. For private growth that list is also your best marketing asset: patients comparing practices can see what a consultation or a hygiene appointment costs before they call.

Before marketing anything, check that:

• the treatments you plan to promote are on the list, with a price or a clearly explained range;
• the website list and the reception list match;
• reception can explain what is and is not included in each price.

A team that can explain the options

Valid consent depends on explaining the relevant options and their possible costs, and on checking that the patient has understood ^[3]. In a mixed practice that means every clinician and receptionist should describe NHS and private options in the same plain words, without steering. When a treatment plan mixes the two, the GDC requires the plan to show which elements are provided under which arrangement ^[2]. The guide to communicating private options sets out wording that stays honest and avoids pressure.

The BDA's overview of moving to private practice makes the same point about people: the team should understand the reasons for the change and its practical effect on day-to-day work ^[4].

Existing NHS patients

Your existing patients will notice new private marketing before anyone else does. Decide in advance what you will tell them, in writing and at the desk: what is changing, what is not, and who can answer questions. A patient who reads about a new private service on social media and then cannot get a straight answer at reception is a complaint waiting to happen. If nothing about their own care is changing, say so plainly.

The BDA describes communicating effectively with patients and stakeholders as part of a considered approach to the change ^[4]. A short written note that reception can hand over or read from does most of the work.

Advertising rules

Every advert, social post and web page that promotes private treatment falls under the GDC's guidance on advertising. Among other things it says you must make clear in advertisements whether the practice is NHS, mixed or wholly private ^[1]. Information must be current and accurate, include GDC registration numbers, and avoid claims likely to create unjustified expectations about results ^[1]. Where you promote treatment on social or marketing platforms, you must make clear that it may not be appropriate for every patient and depends on a satisfactory assessment ^[1].

The practice website must also show, among other details, the complaints procedure, who patients can contact if they are not satisfied (the relevant NHS body for NHS treatment and the Dental Complaints Service for private treatment) and the date it was last updated ^[1]. Check these before any campaign sends traffic to the site.

Contracts are a separate decision

Growing private work inside a mixed practice and reducing or ending an NHS contract are different decisions. The second is contractual, has pension and notice implications, and is not something a marketing guide should advise on. The BDA notes that withdrawing from NHS contracts requires formal notice and that the groundwork should begin well in advance ^[4]. Its guidance is written for England and Wales ^[4]. If you practise in Scotland or Northern Ireland, look for guidance specific to your own nation. Wherever you are, take professional advice before changing any contract, and plan the marketing around that decision rather than ahead of it.

The order I would do it in

1. Measure current private enquiries, consultations and treatment starts, so you have a baseline.
2. Free and protect capacity for private appointments, with named clinicians and sessions.
3. Publish the price list on the website and in reception, and check they match.
4. Agree the wording for explaining options, and brief the whole team.
5. Prepare existing patients with a short written explanation.
6. Check every page and advert against the GDC advertising guidance.
7. Only then market, starting with one treatment and one channel so you can see what works.

The private-growth readiness worksheet turns this list into questions you can answer for your own practice, with the essentials flagged. Once the basics are in place, how quickly enquiries are answered and followed up decides how much of the marketing turns into treatment. That stage is where Dental Mastery's enquiry capture and follow-up fits.