Questions patients ask AI before choosing a dentist

Your dental practice result

From this report, answers captured September 8, 2026.

29 of 40

Cities where the answer is still open

No single dental practice owns the AI answer there yet

3.4

Dentists named in the average city answer

Everyone the answer leaves out is invisible to that buyer

310

Dentists screened

Websites read by machine across 40 US cities

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The library

The ten, and what each one is testing.

Questions are exactly the ten already published on the dentists hub. Wording is unchanged; [city] is the market being checked. Each observed example is the answer Google AI Mode gave to that exact question for Carmel, Indiana on October 2, 2026: how it opened and the place cards it showed.

The Dental AI Visibility Index lists who the answer named for the best dentist, city by city.

01
Which family dentist in [city] is accepting new patients?
Testing: New patient availability
Where the answer is pulled from: A new patient page. 44 percent of the 366 dental homepages read for the index link one, and new patients welcome is stated in words on 20 percent.
Observed example: Asked in Carmel, Indiana on October 2, 2026. The answer opened: "Several highly rated family dentists in Carmel, Indiana, are actively accepting new patients, including Fleming Family Dental, Carmel West Dentistry, and Carmel Dental Group." It showed place cards for 6 businesses: Fleming Family Dental; Carmel West Dentistry; Carmel Dental Group; Smile N' Style Dental of Carmel; Carmel Dental Care, PC; and Smiles in the Village Dentistry.
02
How much does a dental crown cost in [city]?
Testing: Price
Where the answer is pulled from: A page that states a fee. Only 15 percent of read homepages show a price on the homepage or link a pricing page, and this line does not separate named practices from unnamed ones at all: 15 percent on both sides.
Observed example: Asked in Carmel, Indiana on October 2, 2026. The answer opened: "In Carmel, Indiana, the out-of-pocket cost for a single dental crown typically ranges from $800 to $2,500 per tooth if you do not have insurance. If you see a specialist (like a prosthodontist) or require highly customized aesthetic work, the price can climb up to $3,000." No place cards were shown.
03
Who is the best dentist in [city] for dental implants?
Testing: A specific procedure
Where the answer is pulled from: A page naming implants specifically. 81 percent of read homepages list dental implants as a service, and implants offered separates named practices from unnamed ones, 89 versus 79 percent.
Observed example: Asked in Carmel, Indiana on October 2, 2026. The answer opened: "Finding the 'best' dentist for dental implants comes down to whether you need a specialized surgical procedure or a comprehensive restorative practice that handles everything from the surgical placement to the final crown." It showed place cards for 6 businesses: Carmel Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery; Smiles in the Village Dentistry; SmileCentric - General, Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry; Mouchaham Dentistry; The Extra Smile: Tim Hoftiezer DDS; and Smile Arts Dental.
04
Is there an emergency dentist open today in [city]?
Testing: Same-day emergency care
Where the answer is pulled from: Emergency dentistry stated on the homepage. 57 percent of read homepages offer it, and it separates named practices from unnamed ones, 70 versus 52 percent.
Observed example: Asked in Carmel, Indiana on October 2, 2026. The answer opened: "Yes, there are several emergency dentists open today (Friday) in and around Carmel, Indiana, offering options ranging from regular family practices with urgent Friday hours to dedicated 24-hour services." It showed place cards for 6 businesses: Dr. Jason Warren Emergency Dentist Carmel 24 Hours, Emergency Dental (Indianapolis), Cornerstone Dentistry, Smiles in the Village Dentistry, SmileCentric and Taylor Family Dentistry.
05
Which dentist in [city] takes Delta Dental?
Testing: A specific insurance plan
Where the answer is pulled from: An insurance or financial policy page. 42 percent of read homepages link one, but insurance accepted stated in words is only 14 percent, and in-network stated is 7 percent, one of the few lines that runs slightly backwards: 6 percent among named practices against 7 among the rest.
Observed example: Asked in Carmel, Indiana on October 2, 2026. The answer opened: "There are more than 50 dentists in Carmel, Indiana who participate in the Delta Dental Network. Depending on whether you have a PPO or Premier plan, you have several highly rated local options to choose from." Its list of in-network practices included Hiple Family Dentistry; Cool Creek Dentistry of Carmel; Vega Dental; Carmel West Dentistry; Mouchaham Dentistry; Dr. Elaine Reina, DDS; and John Reno, DDS. No place cards were shown.
06
Who is a good pediatric dentist near [city]?
Testing: A specific patient type
Where the answer is pulled from: Pediatric dentistry stated on the homepage. 31 percent of read homepages offer it.
Observed example: Asked in Carmel, Indiana on October 2, 2026. The answer opened: "If you are looking for a highly-rated pediatric dentist in the Carmel area, you have several exceptional options. Parents in the community frequently praise these practices for their kid-friendly environments, ability to soothe dental anxiety, and experience handling unique sensory or medical needs." It showed place cards for 6 businesses: Carmel Pediatric Dentistry; Hamilton County Pediatric Dentistry; Weddell Pediatric Dental Specialists, LLC; Sanders Pediatric Dentistry; Newman Family Dentistry; and Hiple Family Dentistry.
07
Which [city] dentist offers Invisalign or clear aligners?
Testing: A specific procedure
Where the answer is pulled from: A page naming Invisalign or clear aligners. This is the single strongest separator in the whole index: 76 percent of named practices offer it against 51 percent of the rest. No practice in the index claims an Invisalign provider tier at all, 0 percent of 366 sites.
Observed example: Asked in Carmel, Indiana on October 2, 2026. The answer opened: "Several excellent dental practices and orthodontists in Carmel, Indiana offer Invisalign or alternative clear aligner treatments. Depending on whether you prefer a general dentist who handles comprehensive care or a dedicated orthodontist, here are the top options:" It showed place cards for 8 businesses: SmileCentric, Dentistry on 116, Carmel West Dentistry, Mouchaham Dentistry, The Extra Smile, Carmel Orthodontics, Gorman & Bunch Orthodontics and Emerick Orthodontics.
08
I am anxious about the dentist. Who in [city] is good with nervous patients?
Testing: A specific patient concern
Where the answer is pulled from: Sedation dentistry stated on the homepage, or language about nervous or anxious patients. Sedation dentistry is offered on 39 percent of read homepages and separates named from unnamed, 49 versus 37 percent.
Observed example: Asked in Carmel, Indiana on October 2, 2026. The answer opened: "It is completely normal to feel anxious about visiting the dentist, and finding a team that validates your fears can completely change your experience. Several top-rated dental practices in Carmel, Indiana excel at managing dental anxiety through gentle techniques, non-judgmental care, and sedation options." It showed place cards for 5 businesses: Dentistry on 116, Image Dental, Holistic Dental Wellness, Smile N' Style Dental of Carmel and Carmel West Dentistry.
09
How much is a teeth cleaning without insurance in [city]?
Testing: Price without insurance
Where the answer is pulled from: A stated cash price or a membership or savings plan. 20 percent of read homepages mention a membership or savings plan, and a new patient special or offer actually runs backwards, 6 percent among named practices against 11 among the rest.
Observed example: Asked in Carmel, Indiana on October 2, 2026. The answer opened: "In Carmel, Indiana, the cost of a standard routine teeth cleaning (prophylaxis) without insurance typically ranges from $75 to $200. However, because you are paying out of pocket, your total bill at a dental office will depend heavily on whether you are a new or returning patient, and what other services are bundled into your visit." No place cards were shown.
10
Which dentist in [city] has Saturday or evening appointments?
Testing: Extended hours
Where the answer is pulled from: Hours stated on the homepage or an online booking route. An online booking or appointment request route exists on 70 percent of read homepages, and a named online booking vendor separates named practices from unnamed ones, 31 versus 22 percent.
Observed example: Asked in Carmel, Indiana on October 2, 2026. The answer opened: "Several highly rated dental practices in Carmel, Indiana offer extended availability, including dedicated Saturday hours or late evening appointments." It showed place cards for 8 businesses: Dr. Elaine Reina, DDS, LLC; Smile N Style Dental of Carmel; Cornerstone Dentistry; Smile Arts Dental; SmileCentric; Holistic Dental Wellness of Carmel; Holistic Dental Wellness; and Newman Family Dentistry.

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The pattern

Why one name is luck.

The letters after a dentist's own name do not decide this. DDS or DMD appears after a name on 37 percent of AI-named practice sites and 48 percent of the rest; any provider credential at all runs 44 versus 54, backwards. A dentist can be the single most credentialed office in a city and still lose the naming question to a practice that simply lists more of what it does.

What actually separates named practices from unnamed ones is the range of procedures stated in writing: Invisalign 76 versus 51 percent, emergency dentistry 70 versus 52, sedation 49 versus 37, periodontal 65 versus 48, implants 89 versus 79. Named practices list a median of 14 services against 12 and write 1,314 words against 946. That range is exactly why a practice named for best dentist in general can still be absent from the Invisalign question, the emergency question or the insurance question: each one reads a different page, and a practice only wins the questions whose procedure or plan it actually wrote down.

CareCredit is the clearest proof that a popular badge is not a visibility strategy. It sits on 94 of the 366 read homepages, a quarter of the whole index, and the share is 26 percent among named practices and 26 percent among unnamed ones, identical to the point. Being named once does not mean a practice did anything right that the badge itself explains. It means, question by question, its own pages happened to answer what was asked.

What we do for dentists

Cite this report

KKV Labs (2026). The 10 questions patients ask AI before choosing a dentist, September 2026 edition. KKV Labs LLC. https://www.kkvlabs.com/research/what-patients-ask-ai-dentists

GitHub: dataset and crawl code. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

Sources

Every percentage and every observed example on this page traces to one of these files.

The Dental AI Visibility Index, September 2026 (all percentages, counts and headline findings)
Google AI Mode answers to the ten questions on this page, asked word for word on October 2, 2026 (every observed example)
The 10 dental patient questions published on our dentists page (the exact questions)

GitHub: dataset and crawl code. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

Questions

What people ask about this data.

Where does this data come from?

From our own screening, run the same way for every report. We ask Google AI Mode who the best dentist is in each city from a fresh logged out session, then we open the practices it names, one by one, and read their homepages. The Dental AI Visibility Index has crawled 435 sites and read 366 of them, across 40 cities, with 134 practices named. Nothing is bought, licensed or estimated.

How should I choose an AI system for my dental practice?

Choose by where your patients already ask: ChatGPT and Google AI Mode. Before you pay for any AI tool or agency, ask both the ten questions on this page with your town in them and note which practices are named. Then judge any system by one test: does it get your practice named more often, shown with dated screenshots.

Can I cite these numbers?

Yes, free of charge. Name KKV Labs as the source and link to the report page so your reader can see the date and the method.

Is a dentist named in the answer better than one that is not?

No, and we do not say that anywhere. The lists are a dated snapshot of what one AI answer said on one day. They are not rankings, not endorsements, and not a judgement about any dentist's work.

Where do the observed examples come from?

We asked each of the ten questions, word for word, in Google AI Mode on October 2, 2026, logged out, with the town set to Carmel, Indiana. Each example quotes how that answer opened and lists the place cards it showed. It is one answer in one town on one day, so the same question in your town can name other practices.