Where our information comes from

Dentist Signal is run by Team DentistSignal. To reach us, use the mistake form.

Finding a dentist usually means scrolling through star ratings that all say 4.9. We built Dentist Signal to show what actually helps you choose — who sees emergencies, who’s open evenings and Saturdays, what patients say about nervous visits or kids — and to let you call the clinic directly.

It collects each clinic’s public Google profile, reads the clinic’s own website and counts what its Google reviews describe, then lays that out the same way for every clinic, so you can compare them. That’s how we can cover every clinic we found in each city.

What you read about a clinic is a fact from its Google profile or website, a link to its own page, a count of what its reviews describe, or a review a patient wrote on Dentist Signal. We don’t generate descriptions, ratings or review summaries. AI does help us read at scale: it sorts one- and two-star reviews into a fixed list of reasons, works out what each price on a clinic’s website pays for, and picks out schools, training and languages from team bios. Every school, training course, language and price it picks out must appear word for word in the source, or we drop it, and samples are read again to check. The general wording — headings, the questions to ask, these explanations — was drafted with help from AI writing tools and reviewed before it went live.

AI readers read every one- and two-star written Google review since October 2023 for each clinic with a page and sorted each reason it gives about that clinic into one fixed list (charged more than told, insurance or plan billing, pushed treatment, waits, phones, front desk, the dentist’s manner, rough treatment, work that failed, and so on). Reviews about an insurer, another clinic or with no reason are counted separately and not shown as complaints. A clinic’s reasons show only once all of its reviews in that period have been read. We also note how the clinic replied: an apology, an invitation to get in touch, an offered fix, a defence, or a statement that the reviewer wasn’t a patient, which we report as the clinic’s position. A second, independent AI reader read a sample again to check agreement, and code checks that every count matches the reviews behind it. We count reviews; we don’t quote them.

Beyond its themes and complaints, a clinic page shows every other fact we could verify about it. From its reviews: who comes there (parents of toddlers, seniors, students, patients without insurance), how nervous patients were looked after (sedation, fears handled, comfort), what treatment was like, what patients say about insurance and paying, and getting there. Each kind of fact was checked before it was used: either 23 or more of 25 randomly chosen matching reviews really said it, or an AI reader read every matching review and only the ones that said it were counted. Each fact shows with its exact count, even when that is 1 review. Findings that describe the result of a treatment are never shown. From the clinic’s own website: its policies (first visit, cancellation, payment, emergencies, children’s first visit), each stated in its own words before we use it, and the forms, galleries and tours it offers. Team members show how many reviews name them, only when their surname is unique on the team.

A price shows only when the clinic’s own website gives it as its own price. Each one is labelled by what it pays for (for example “Exam, cleaning and X-rays” rather than “Cleaning” when the price is a package; “Implant post only” when it excludes the crown). A financing limit, a discount, a membership fee or a figure about other offices is not shown as a price. Comparisons set a price only against the same thing at other independent clinics in the city that post one, and a “from” price only against other “from” prices, with at least five others.

Before a kind of information appears, we check samples of it against the source, with code and a second AI reader. For example, an AI reader read 25 to 30 random reviews behind each “Patients say” point, and a point shows only when at least 92% of them really said it; we also flag dentists that recent reviews say have retired.

A clinic or neighbourhood page asks search engines to list it only when it has enough information of its own. Pages with less are still here for anyone browsing the site.

Google listings and reviews were collected on 9 September 2026, and clinic websites were read once, on 12 September 2026. The next full update is planned for December 2026. Google ratings and review totals change every day, so we round them down, like “4.5+ stars” or “250+ reviews”, to keep them true until the next update. Clinic details change too, so always call to confirm.

From the clinic’s Google profile. Hours can be off around holidays, so call if you’re not sure.

From the clinic’s own website and Google profile: the treatments it has pages about, the insurance and plans it mentions, and any prices it posts. If a website doesn’t mention something, we don’t guess.

The dentists and team named on the clinic’s website. If a recent patient review says a dentist has retired, we flag it so you can ask.

We don’t show it. Clinics open up and fill up week to week, and no website or listing keeps up with that, so the only reliable answer is the clinic itself. Every clinic page has its phone number and the questions to ask.

Counted from Google reviews: nervous patients who felt at ease, same-day appointments, good visits with kids, and treatments like root canals and implants. A theme shows once at least 3 separate reviews describe it (1 in 100 for clinics with many reviews), and never one about the result of a treatment. We don’t copy what reviewers wrote; we link you to the reviews.

Each clinic’s own figures sit beside the middle clinic in its city. The share of one- and two-star reviews and the share of reviews the clinic replied to are counted from its written Google reviews, and compared only among clinics with 20 or more written reviews, in cities with at least 30 such clinics. The last 12 months are compared with the years before only when both periods have 20 or more reviews and the share of 4–5 star reviews moved by 5 points or more. A theme is shown as standing out when the clinic’s share of reviews mentioning it is at least twice the city’s middle clinic. Weekend and evening hours are compared among clinics whose posted hours we could trust. “A smaller share than 70% of clinics” means 70% of the city’s clinics in that set had a bigger share.

Amounts patients said they paid in their reviews, grouped by treatment. We only show a price when enough patients at different clinics mention it.

A clinic gets a full page when it has enough reviews and its website tells you enough to choose. Every clinic still appears in the list for its city.

The default order puts clinics with a full page on Dentist Signal first, then sorts by Google rating, weighed by how many reviews it rests on, with a small lift for clinics whose websites name their dentists and list treatments, hours and prices. One location per website comes before a group's other locations. It is a sort order, not a ranking of care, and no clinic pays for its place.

Sort by closest to you, open now, most reviewed lately or biggest team.

Only used when you tap “Near me” or “Use my location”, and only in your browser, to sort by distance. It’s never sent to us.

Kept on your device. We never see them, and clearing your browser data removes them.

We publish your rating, your review, the name you choose and the month you visited. Your email is never shown or shared; we use it only to ask about your review or to take it down if you ask. Every review waits in a moderation queue and is published only when a person approves it; nothing goes up automatically.

Some clinics take appointment requests through Dentist Signal; their pages say “Verified clinic”. When you send one, we email your name, phone, email, the time you picked, what you need and how you’ll pay to that clinic’s front desk, and send you a copy. We don’t ask for health details, and we don’t share your request with anyone else. We delete your contact details 180 days after the request and keep only the clinic, date and outcome.

Some pages ask one optional question, such as what you came to check. Your answer changes what that page shows you, and we count answers in Google Analytics without your name or any contact details. Your browser remembers that you answered, so you aren’t asked again for 30 days.

We use Google Analytics to learn which pages and features help people, such as how often someone calls a clinic or uses a filter. It sets cookies and Google processes that data under its own privacy policy. We don’t collect names, emails or health details this way. To opt out, use Google’s Analytics opt-out add-on or block cookies for this site.

Fonts come from Google Fonts and maps from OpenStreetMap and unpkg, so they can see your IP address when a page loads. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Let us know what’s wrong and where we can check it, using the mistake form. We’ll fix the page and note the date.

Because it has a public Google profile. Your page shows what your Google profile and your website say, so the quickest way to change it is to update those. We read clinic websites once, on 12 September 2026; the next read is planned for December 2026.