Guide
How to get more dental patients: answer their questions on video
Updated
To get more dental patients with video, post short videos that answer the questions patients search for and show who will treat them. Three a week is the aim, and keep it up for months.
In short
- To get more dental patients with video, answer the questions they search for and show them who will treat them.
- Video can help when patients search a question, when they check you out and when a friend recommends you.
- The two videos to make first are meet the dentist and a first-visit walkthrough from the street door to the chair.
- A weekly routine is three patient questions, filmed back to back in one go and posted across the week.
- No one can promise a number of new patients from video, and dental advertising rules limit promises about results.
- Patient questions to answer each week
- 3
- Longest an answer video needs to be
- 60 sec
- Longest video Google Business Profile takes
- 30 s
Where new patients come from
Video can help at each of the three points where a new patient finds your practice.
3 ways new patients find a practice
| Where they look | What the patient does | How video helps |
|---|---|---|
| Search | Types a question, or a treatment and a town | A short answer video can show up for that question |
| Your website and profiles | Looks you up before booking | Videos show your dentists and your rooms |
| Referrals | Gets your name from a friend | A video link is easy to forward |
Where they look: Search
- What the patient does
- Types a question, or a treatment and a town
- How video helps
- A short answer video can show up for that question
Where they look: Your website and profiles
- What the patient does
- Looks you up before booking
- How video helps
- Videos show your dentists and your rooms
Where they look: Referrals
- What the patient does
- Gets your name from a friend
- How video helps
- A video link is easy to forward
Answer the question in the first sentence
A patient who searches 'does a root canal hurt' wants the answer first.
- Start with the question in the patient's words, and answer it in the next sentence.
- Explain after the answer, not before it.
- Keep it under a minute, with one question and one answer.
- End with one next step, like 'Call the front desk to book'.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
Where to post the answer videos
Post the same vertical video everywhere. Each app reaches patients at a different moment.
- YouTube Shorts and your Google Business Profile show up in search, so an answer video can appear when someone types the question.
- Instagram Reels and TikTok reach people while they scroll.
- Your Google Business Profile takes videos of up to 30 seconds, so keep a 30-second version of each answer for it.
Show the dentist and the rooms
Nervous patients want to know who will treat them and what the practice looks like.
- A meet-the-dentist video gives your name, how long you have practised and what you tell nervous patients, in about 60 seconds.
- A first-visit walkthrough follows the walk from the street door to the chair, with you explaining each step.
- Both videos show the patient what to expect before they arrive.
- Film them once. They are worth reposting every few months, because new patients keep arriving.
A weekly routine
Film three patient questions a week, back to back in one go, and keep it up for months.
- Your front desk hears patients' questions all day, so ask them for three questions every week.
- Film the three answers back to back, with the phone at eye height in the same spot each time.
- Post one on Monday, one on Wednesday and one on Friday. If a week gets away from you, one video is still worth posting.
- Keep it up for months. A question video keeps working for as long as people search that question.
- Ask every new patient how they found you. When people start saying they saw a video, the posting is working.
One week of patient videos
Write down 3 questions
Asked at the front desk this week
Film 3 answers
Phone at eye height, same spot
Edit
Add captions and trim the quiet start
Post across the week
One on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
How to handle the editing
Filming three answers takes minutes, but editing them by hand takes much longer.
4 ways to edit patient videos
| Option | Cost | Downside |
|---|---|---|
| Post without editing | Nothing | Nobody watching on mute knows the answer |
| Edit it yourself in CapCut | Free to start; auto captions need Pro, $19.99 a month | You make every cut yourself |
| Pay an editor per video | A fee per video | You wait for every video to come back |
| Cutroom | $39.99 a month for about 20 videos of 60 seconds, which covers three a week; $19.99 covers one or two | It only makes vertical video, so there is no wide version for your website |
Option: Post without editing
- Cost
- Nothing
- Downside
- Nobody watching on mute knows the answer
Option: Edit it yourself in CapCut
- Cost
- Free to start; auto captions need Pro, $19.99 a month
- Downside
- You make every cut yourself
Option: Pay an editor per video
- Cost
- A fee per video
- Downside
- You wait for every video to come back
Option: Cutroom
- Cost
- $39.99 a month for about 20 videos of 60 seconds, which covers three a week; $19.99 covers one or two
- Downside
- It only makes vertical video, so there is no wide version for your website
Where Cutroom fits
Cutroom edits a video of someone talking into a finished vertical video with captions, in about a minute.
- You upload one video of you talking, up to 3 minutes, and highlight a phrase to put a clip over those words.
- A 60-second video costs 120 credits, so one a week is about 480 credits a month and three a week is about 1,560.
- Three videos a week needs Basic, $39.99 a month for 2,500 credits.
- Lite is $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, which covers one or two 60-second videos a week.
- Your first video is free, with no card. You get 600 credits for that one video and 7 days to make it.
A month of 60-second videos, in credits
One video a week fits inside Lite. Three a week needs Basic.
- One a week, about 4 videos~480 credits
- Three a week, about 13 videos~1,560 credits
- Lite, $19.99 a month1,250 credits
- Basic, $39.99 a month2,500 credits
Questions people ask
- How long does it take for video to bring in patients?
- Months of steady posting, not weeks, and no one can promise a number. A question video keeps showing up as long as people search that question, so your videos add up over time.
- Where should dental videos go first?
- Your Google Business Profile and YouTube Shorts, because they show up in search. Then Instagram Reels. The same vertical video posts to all of them, with a 30-second version for your profile.
- Does video work for a small-town practice?
- Yes. Patients in a small town search the same questions, and a clear answer video from a local dentist can show up for them.
- What if nobody at the practice wants to be on camera?
- Start with the first-visit walkthrough, where the rooms do most of the talking. For the other videos, answering a question to a phone in a quiet room is all it takes.
- Can I say the practice is painless, or the best in town?
- Better not. Dental advertising rules in many countries restrict claims like 'best' and promises about results. Say what happens during a visit instead.
- What does Cutroom cost for this routine?
- A 60-second video costs 120 credits. Lite at $19.99 a month covers one or two a week, and Basic at $39.99 covers three. Your first video is free, with no card.
Answer three real patient questions on camera every week. Your first video is free.