New practicesTimeline

Marketing a New Dental Practice: The 120-Day Launch Plan

A new practice that starts marketing on opening day spends its first months with an empty schedule. This is the timeline we use with startups and new locations, from the lease signing to the first 90 days, so patients are booked before the doors open.

By Abdullah AsimPublished Nov 6, 2026Updated Nov 6, 20267 min read

Before you open

90 days

is how early a verified Google Business Profile with a future opening date can appear on Google.

Source: Google Business Profile Help

On this page

Short answer: start marketing a new dental practice about four months before opening. Create your Google Business Profile with a future opening date, launch the website with an "opening soon" page and a pre-booking list, start insurance credentialing early, run Google and Meta ads in the last 30 days to fill the first weeks, and have a review system ready for your first patient.

Key takeaways

You can create a Business Profile up to one year before opening; once verified, it shows on Google 90 days before your opening date.
Choose "Verify later" and set the opening date before you verify, so the profile does not show you as open too early.
Your first reviews matter most. A new practice with zero reviews struggles to convert map and ad traffic.
Spend more on ads in the first 90 days than you will later, because you have no referrals, SEO history or reviews yet.

What is the marketing timeline for opening a dental practice?

Day −120Brand, domain, phone numbers, website build starts, Business Profile created

Day −90Website live, profile verified and visible, pre-booking list open

Day −60Listings, photos, community outreach, grand opening offer set

Day −30Google and Meta ads live, front desk trained, review system ready

Day 0 to 90Ads at full budget, reviews from every patient, weekly numbers

What should you do 120 to 90 days before opening?

Lock the name and brand.Check the name is not already used by a nearby practice, buy the matching domain, and register the social handles. Avoid a name that is only a keyword; you want a name patients can remember and say.
Get your phone numbers.A main office number that will never change, plus tracking numbers for ads and your website. The main number goes on your profile and every listing.
Create the Google Business Profile.When asked to verify, choose "Verify later" and set your future opening date first. You can enter a date up to a year ahead, and the verified profile appears on Google 90 days before it.¹
Start the website.Brief the build now so it is live by day −90. At minimum: homepage, new-patient page, one page per main service, about the dentist, insurance and contact.
Start insurance credentialing.It often takes months. Patients will ask which plans you accept before they book, so you need the answer on the website and the phone.

What should you do 90 to 60 days before opening?

Launch the website with an "opening soon" banner, the opening date and a pre-booking or waitlist form.
Verify the Business Profile and complete every field: categories, services, hours from opening day, booking link, and photos of the building and the build-out.
Post updates on the profile. Google lets you engage with your community from 90 days before your opening date.¹
Claim your other listings: Apple Business Connect, Bing Places, Yelp, Facebook, Healthgrades and the insurance directories as each plan approves you.

What should you do 60 to 30 days before opening?

Set a grand opening offer you can sustain, such as a new-patient exam and cleaning at a set price or a free consult for aligners. Make sure it complies with your state's rules and your insurance contracts.
Meet the neighbors. Local employers, schools, gyms and other health providers nearby. Offer a staff appointment day or a talk; these are some of your first referrals.
Photograph the finished office and team for the website, profile and ads. Real photos convert far better than stock.
Write your phone script and decide who answers at lunch and after hours. Our guide to turning calls into booked patients has a template.

Opening a practice or a new location?

We will map your launch timeline, check your profile and website setup, and estimate a first-90-day ad budget for your market, free.

Plan my launch

What should you do in the last 30 days before opening?

Launch Google Search ads.Start with new-patient and emergency campaigns pointing to the new-patient page, then add your key specialty. Use the structure in our Google Ads campaign guide.
Launch Meta ads around the opening.A short video of the dentist in the new office, the opening date and the opening offer, to a radius around the practice. See Meta ads for dentists for what the rules allow.
Book the pre-booking list.Call everyone who signed up and give them first choice of appointments.
Set up the review request.A text with your review link, sent after each visit, ready from the first patient. Our reviews guide covers what is allowed.
Install tracking.Call tracking, form tracking and a simple sheet where the front desk marks how each new patient found you.

What matters most in the first 90 days after opening?

Weeks	Focus	Watch
1 to 4	Answer every call, book fast, ask every patient for a review	Answer rate, new patients booked, reviews gained
5 to 8	Cut ad spend on searches that do not book; add the services patients ask for most	Cost per booked patient by campaign
9 to 12	Start SEO content and service pages; plan recall and referral programs	Share of patients from Google Maps and referrals

i

Budget more for ads at launch than you expect to spend later. With no reviews, no search history and no referrals, paid search is the only channel that can fill the first weeks. As reviews and map rankings build, the share of patients from ads usually falls.

How much should a new dental practice spend on marketing?

It depends on your market and how fast you need to fill the schedule. For one location in a mid-size market, we usually plan at least $3,000 a month on Google Ads and $1,500 on Meta for the first three months, plus the website and setup. Our guide to what dental marketing costs in 2026 has benchmarks and a calculator, and our pricing page shows the one-time Setup & Handover package, for practices that want everything built and then run it themselves.

Frequently asked questions

When should a new dental practice start marketing?

About four months before opening. That gives time to build the website, set up the Business Profile with a future opening date, start insurance credentialing and launch ads in the final 30 days.

Can I create a Google Business Profile before my practice opens?

Yes. Choose "Verify later", set a future opening date up to a year ahead, then verify. The profile appears on Google 90 days before the opening date.

How do new dental practices get patients fast?

Google Search ads for new-patient and emergency searches, a pre-booking list from the website, a grand opening offer, local outreach and a review request sent after every visit.

How much should a new dental practice spend on marketing?

Plan to spend more in the first 90 days than later. For one location we usually plan at least $3,000 a month on Google Ads and $1,500 on Meta at launch, plus the website and setup.

What should be on a new dental practice website?

A homepage, a new-patient page, one page per main service, the dentist's bio, insurance accepted, hours, location and a booking option, plus an opening-soon banner before launch.

Sources

Abdullah AsimFounder, The Dental Marketing Firm · 10+ years in dental marketing

Abdullah has launched ad accounts, websites and Business Profiles for new dental locations, including a three-location Columbus practice that produced 317 patient leads in its first ten weeks. The Dental Marketing Firm works only with dental practices, from 3925 W North Ave, Chicago.

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Last updated November 6, 2026.