How patients actually search
A keyword is simply the words someone types into Google. For a dental practice, the useful ones aren't marketing phrases like "premier dental solutions". They're what a person with a toothache, a nervous child or a quote from another dentist types at 10pm.
The examples in this guide come from Google's own search suggestions (the list that drops down as you type), which we checked in November 2026 for the US, the UK, Ireland and Australia. Google says these predictions "reflect real searches that have been done on Google", shaped by language, location and trending interest. Google also says they aren't a popularity ranking, so this guide doesn't claim how many people search for each phrase. We don't have that data, and you don't need it to make good choices.
Check your own area: open a private browser window, type the start of a search ("emergency dentist", "dentist that takes") and note the suggestions. Do it again with your town's name. Suggestions vary by place and change over time.
Patient searches fall into five groups. Each one signals a different need, and each needs a different page.
Emergency searches
These are the most urgent searches a practice can show up for. The person wants to be seen today.
- emergency dentist near me
- emergency dentist open now
- emergency dentist open sunday
- emergency dentist no insurance (US)
- emergency dentist that takes medicaid (US)
- emergency dentist nhs, emergency dentist nhs near me (UK)
- emergency dentist for kids near me
- dentist open on saturday near me, dentist open late near me
Symptom searches sit next to these: "broken tooth repair", "chipped tooth what to do", "lost filling what to do", "wisdom tooth pain", "toothache relief". Many of these people want a home fix first, but a share of them will need an appointment.
Where it belongs: one emergency page that says plainly whether you see emergencies, on which days and hours, what it costs or how payment works, and how to get in (call this number, before this time). Your Google Business Profile hours must match, including holiday hours. If you add a short "what to do until you can see us" section for a broken tooth or lost filling, that page can also catch some of the symptom searches.
Treatment searches
These come from people researching a specific treatment, often weeks before they book. Typical suggestions:
| Treatment | What patients type |
|---|---|
| Implants | dental implants near me, dental implants cost, dental implants vs dentures, dental implants before and after |
| Clear aligners and braces | invisalign cost, invisalign vs braces, invisalign near me, orthodontist near me for adults |
| Root canal | root canal procedure, root canal recovery time, root canal specialist, root canal pain |
| Wisdom teeth | wisdom tooth removal, wisdom tooth extraction cost, wisdom tooth removal recovery |
| Cosmetic | teeth whitening near me, teeth whitening cost, veneers cost per tooth, cosmetic dentist near me |
| Dentures | dentures near me, dentures cost, dentures vs implants |
| Gums | gum disease treatment, gum disease symptoms, bleeding gums when brushing |
| Nervous patients | dentist for nervous patients near me, sedation dentistry near me, sedation dentistry for kids |
| Children | dentist for kids near me, pediatric dentist near me (US), paediatric dentist near me (UK, Ireland, Australia) |
Notice how often "vs" appears. Patients compare options before they choose, and a page that answers "implants or dentures, which suits me?" honestly is more useful than one that only sells implants.
Where it belongs: one page per treatment you actually offer. Each page should cover what the treatment is, who it suits, the steps, recovery, the cost or a price range, and the common comparison. A single "Services" page listing twenty treatments in one line each can't rank for any of them.
Cost searches
Price is one of the most common things patients type, and few practice websites answer it.
- how much is a filling without insurance, how much is a filling with insurance (US)
- how much is a filling on the nhs, how much is a filling private (UK)
- how much is a filling in ireland, tooth extraction cost medical card (Ireland)
- how much is a filling in australia, tooth extraction cost medicare (Australia)
- dental crown cost, tooth extraction cost, root canal cost with insurance
- teeth cleaning cost without insurance (US), scale and polish cost (UK and Ireland)
- dental check up cost, dental check up cost nhs
- dental payment plans, dentist accepting payment plans, dentist that takes afterpay (Australia)
You'll also see "dental implants in turkey", "veneers cost in mexico" and similar. Those people are pricing treatment abroad. Unless you want to compete on that, skip them.
Where it belongs: a fees page that lists your prices or "from" prices, plus a short cost section on each treatment page. If you truly can't give a figure, explain what the price depends on and what the first consultation costs. A clear price, even a range, answers the question the patient actually asked.
"Near me" and city searches
These are the searches that decide who gets the call:
- dentist near me, dentist near me open now, dentist near me accepting new patients
- dentist open saturday, dentist open saturday dublin, dentist open today near me
- dentist in [your town], dentist [your neighbourhood]
- affordable dentist near me, private dentist near me (UK)
- dentist reviews near me
"Near me" searches are answered mostly by the map results, which come from Google Business Profiles. Google says local results are based on three things: relevance (how well a profile matches the search), distance (how far the business is from the person searching) and prominence (how well known the business is). You can't change distance, but you can work on the other two.
Where it belongs:
- Your Google Business Profile: the right main category, every service listed, accurate hours, real photos, and steady reviews you reply to. Don't add "Best Dentist Downtown" or treatment names to your business name: Google's guidelines say including unnecessary information in the name isn't permitted.
- Your home page: your town and the areas you serve in plain words, near the top, with your address and phone number.
- A location page for each practice if you have more than one, with its own address, hours, team and directions.
- A "new patients" page if you're accepting them. "Accepting new patients" and "taking new patients" are common additions to these searches, so say clearly whether you are.
Insurance, NHS, PPO and public schemes
This group depends most on the country, and it's where patients are closest to booking: they've already decided to go, they just need a practice that fits how they'll pay.
| Country | What patients type | What it means for your site |
|---|---|---|
| US | ppo dentist near me, dentist that accepts delta dental, dentist that takes medicaid for adults, dentist that takes medicare near me, dentist accepting united healthcare | List every insurance plan and network you accept by name. PPO and HMO are types of insurance network. Adult Medicaid dental cover is set by each state, so say clearly whether you accept it. |
| UK | nhs dentist near me, dentist accepting nhs patients, nhs dentists taking new patients, nhs dentist bands, private dentist near me | Say whether you offer NHS treatment, private treatment or both, and whether you're taking new NHS patients right now. Explain NHS charges by band and your private fees. |
| Ireland | dentist medical card near me, dentist that takes medical card, prsi dental, prsi dental cleaning | State whether you see medical card patients and PRSI patients, and what they need to bring to the first visit. |
| Australia | bulk billing dentist near me, child dental benefits schedule, dental payment plans centrelink, invisalign cost bupa | Say whether you accept the Child Dental Benefits Schedule and bulk bill it (NSW Health notes that many private dentists bill it to Medicare directly), which health funds you work with, and what payment plans you offer. |
Where it belongs: one clear "insurance and payment" page (or "NHS and private fees" in the UK), linked from the menu and from every treatment page. Keep it current. A page that still says "accepting new NHS patients" when you aren't will cost you goodwill and calls.
US and UK wording differences
The same need is written differently on each side of the Atlantic. Use the words your patients use, not the ones from your training or your software supplier.
| US patients tend to type | UK, Irish and Australian patients tend to type |
|---|---|
| dental office near me | dental practice near me, dental surgery near me (UK) |
| pediatric dentist | paediatric dentist, children's dentist |
| teeth cleaning, dental cleaning | scale and polish, hygienist |
| with insurance, without insurance, PPO, Medicaid | NHS, private (UK); medical card, PRSI (Ireland); bulk billing, health fund (Australia) |
| dental exam | dental check up |
| accepting new patients | taking new patients, accepting NHS patients (UK) |
Some terms are the same everywhere: "emergency dentist", "dental implants", "invisalign", "root canal", "wisdom tooth removal" and "near me". If you're in the UK, use "practice" and British spelling in your headings. If you're in the US, "office" will match more searches.
How to choose which searches to target
You can't target everything, and you shouldn't try. Score each group against four questions:
- Do you offer it? Obvious, but many sites list treatments the practice refers out.
- Do you want more of it? Implants, aligners, emergency slots that sit empty, new patient check-ups. Put your effort where an extra booking matters most.
- Is the person ready to book? "Emergency dentist open now" and "dentist that takes delta dental" are close to booking. "Toothache home remedies" is mostly someone trying to avoid a dentist tonight.
- Can a local practice realistically appear? Searches with "near me", a town name, or a payment term are winnable for a local practice. Broad questions like "what are veneers" are dominated by large health sites and treatment brands.
Skip the noise that shows up in suggestions but isn't for you: job searches ("dental hygienist salary", "dental hygienist school"), treatment abroad, and pet dental cleaning, which appears surprisingly often.
A practical starting set for most practices is the emergency page, your four or five most valuable treatment pages, the fees page, the insurance or NHS page, and a complete Google Business Profile. Get those right before writing blog posts.
The keyword to page map
Each group of searches should have one clear home. Two pages chasing the same search compete with each other.
| Search group | Example | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency | emergency dentist open now | Emergency dentist page, plus accurate hours on your Business Profile |
| Treatment | dental implants vs dentures | One page per treatment |
| Cost | how much is a filling without insurance | Fees page, plus a cost section on each treatment page |
| Near me and city | dentist near me open saturday | Google Business Profile, home page, location pages |
| New patients | dentist accepting new patients | New patients page |
| Insurance, NHS, public schemes | dentist accepting nhs patients | Insurance and payment page (NHS and private fees in the UK) |
| Nervous patients and children | dentist for nervous patients near me | A dedicated page for each, linked from the home page |
| Symptoms and questions | chipped tooth what to do | Short advice articles that link to the emergency or treatment page |
Use the main phrase naturally in the page title, the main heading and the first paragraph, then write for the patient. Pages that answer the questions people ask (cost, pain, recovery, how to book) tend to do better than pages that repeat a phrase.
For more on how search works for practices, see our page for clinics and health practices. Our free visibility check looks at exactly this: which of these searches your practice shows up for today, on Google and on Google Maps.
Questions
Do I need paid keyword tools to choose keywords for my dental practice?
Not to start. Google's search suggestions, the searches your own patients mention, and the questions your front desk answers every day give you most of what you need. Paid tools add estimated volumes, which help when deciding between two similar phrases.
Should I put my town name in every page title?
Put it where it's natural: the home page, location pages and the main treatment pages. Repeating it in every title and heading doesn't help and reads badly to patients.
Is it worth writing blog posts about dental symptoms?
Only after your main pages are in place. Symptom articles can bring visitors, but most are looking for a home remedy, so each article should point clearly to your emergency or treatment page.
What if my practice is both NHS and private, or takes several insurance plans?
Say so on one clear page and name every scheme or plan. Patients often search for the exact plan name, and a page that lists it answers their question straight away.
Want to know where you stand?
Our free visibility check shows where you appear on Google and Google Maps for the searches that matter, and who customers find instead. One page, in 2 business days.
Sources
- Google Search Help: How Google autocomplete predictions work
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
- Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines for representing your business on Google
- Medicaid.gov: Dental care
- NHS: How much will I pay for NHS dental treatment?
- NSW Health: Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS)