---
title: "Only 28% of dental practice websites say which insurance they take"
status: published
date: 2026-10-14T06:00:00Z
author: clikiti-research
excerpt: "It's the first question a new patient has, and 72% of the 135 independent practices we scanned make them call to ask. Prices and new-patient status are missing even more often."
featured_image: /research/dental/2026-q4/scenes/scene-consult-1600.webp
featured_image_alt: "A dentist talks with a patient in a bright consultation room"
featured_image_caption: "New patients decide whether to call before they ever speak to the practice."
og_image: /research/dental/2026-q4/og.jpg
category: dental
tags: [pricing, trust, pitching]
type: finding
cites:
  - dental/2026-q4#insurance
  - dental/2026-q4#newpts
  - dental/2026-q4#price
summary:
  - "Only 28% of 135 independent dental practice websites say which insurance they take (Clikiti Research, October 2026)."
  - "Fewer still say what a visit costs (23%) or whether they're taking new patients (22%)."
  - "79% state their opening hours, so practices can publish facts; they just leave out the ones patients ask first."
pitch_line: "\"Do you take my insurance?\" is the first question a new patient has, and your site makes them call to ask."
audio:
  src: /research/posts/dental-websites-insurance/episode.mp3
  duration: 219
  transcript: /research/posts/dental-websites-insurance/episode.txt
---

A new patient looking for a dentist has a short list of questions, and the first one is almost always the same: do you take my insurance? On most independent practice websites, the answer is a phone call.

In [The State of Dental Practice Websites 2026](/research/dental), Clikiti Research scanned 135 independent dental practices: general and family, orthodontic, pediatric, and cosmetic and implant practices. **Only 28% say which insurance they take.**

::stat{ref="dental/2026-q4#insurance"}

## What else do new patients have to call to find out?

Insurance isn't the worst-answered question. Only 22% of practices say whether they're taking new patients at all, and 23% show a price for a common visit or a membership plan. Meanwhile 79% state their opening hours, which shows the sites can carry plain facts. They just leave out the ones a new patient needs first.

::chart{ref="dental/2026-q4" highlight="insurance"}

## Which practices are the best prospects?

The four types of practice score within a few points of each other, so pick by the gap rather than the type.

| Type of practice | Sites | Median score |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| General and family | 37 | 78 |
| Orthodontics | 33 | 77 |
| Pediatric | 31 | 77 |
| Cosmetic and implants | 34 | 74 |

Cosmetic and implant practices have the lowest median, and their patients are the most likely to pay out of pocket, so a missing price or insurance page costs them the most.

::stat{ref="dental/2026-q4#newpts"}

:::pitch{title="How do you pitch it?"}
1. **Ask their question as a patient would.** Search their site for "insurance" on a phone and screenshot what comes back.
2. **Give them the industry number.** 72% of practices in the study don't answer it either, so you're pointing at an easy way to stand out, not a failure.
3. **Quote one page.** An insurance page that names every plan they're in network with, or says clearly that they're fee-for-service, linked from the home page. Small job, visible result.
:::

Speed is the next conversation: 91% of the practice sites take longer than 2.5 seconds to load on a phone. But start with insurance. It's the question their front desk answers all day, and they'll recognise it straight away. Law firms have the same blind spot with [whether anyone will answer tonight](/research/posts/law-firm-websites-look-open).