We recently analyzed dental practice websites across London, Ontario as part of our city-wide web presence audit. Dentists landed at an average score of 4.4 out of 10 — not terrible, but not good either.
The frustrating part? Most of the problems we found are completely fixable. Here are the five most common mistakes and what they're actually costing dental practices.
1. Stock Photos That Scream "Not a Real Office"
We get it — professional photography costs money. But when every dental website features the same smiling model from a stock photo library, patients notice. Multiple London dental sites used identical stock images, which immediately undermines trust.
Patients want to see your office, your team, and your equipment. A smartphone photo of your actual waiting room builds more confidence than a stock image of a model who's never been to London, Ontario.
What it costs you: First-visit patients are already anxious. If your website feels generic, they'll lean toward the practice that looks real and familiar.
2. Buried or Missing Online Booking
Of the dental practices we reviewed, fewer than half had online booking accessible within two clicks from the homepage. Several had no online booking at all — just a phone number.
In 2026, patients — especially younger demographics — expect to book appointments online. Making someone call during office hours to schedule a cleaning is friction that costs you bookings. Practices offering online booking consistently see 20-30% more new patient appointments.
What it costs you: Every extra step between "I need a dentist" and "I've booked an appointment" loses you patients. If the competitor down the street lets them book in 30 seconds, you've already lost.
3. Walls of Text With No Visual Hierarchy
Dental services are complex, and practices naturally want to explain everything they offer. But several London dental sites read like medical textbooks — dense paragraphs with no headings, no bullet points, no breathing room.
Visitors don't read websites — they scan them. If a patient is looking for "teeth whitening" and has to wade through 2,000 words of unformatted text, they'll bounce.
What it costs you: High bounce rates signal to Google that your site isn't helpful, which pushes you lower in search results. The patient who bounced went to the competitor with the clean, scannable service page.
4. Sites That Break on Mobile
This was the most common technical issue across all industries, and dental sites were no exception. Websites that look acceptable on a desktop but fall apart on a phone: menus that don't open, buttons too small to tap, text that requires pinching to read, and contact forms that are impossible to fill out.
Over 60% of people searching for a dentist are doing it on their phone. Nearly half of the dental sites we reviewed had meaningful mobile usability issues — not cosmetic quirks, but problems that prevent patients from completing basic tasks.
What it costs you: Google's mobile-first indexing means your mobile experience directly affects your search ranking. A broken mobile site is a double penalty — patients can't use it and Google pushes you down.
5. No Mention of What Makes You Different
Here's the subtlest issue and arguably the most costly: most dental websites say exactly the same thing. "We provide comprehensive dental care for the whole family in a comfortable environment." That could be any dentist anywhere.
The practices that stand out make specific, concrete claims: "Same-day emergency appointments." "Sedation dentistry for anxious patients." "Open Saturdays until 4pm." "Direct billing to all major insurers."
What it costs you: When every dentist's website sounds identical, patients default to whoever's closest or cheapest. Differentiation lets you attract the right patients — ones willing to travel or pay more for what you specifically offer.
The Common Thread
None of these are hard to fix. Real photos, visible booking, clean layouts, mobile testing, and specific differentiators — these aren't expensive or technically complex. They just require attention.
The dental practices in London scoring 7+ on our directory have figured this out. They're not spending more on their websites — they're spending smarter.
Curious how your practice scores? Find dental practices in our directory or request a free audit.