What can a dental practice pay for with trade dollars?

Dental practices typically use ITEX trade dollars for new-patient marketing, printed collateral and signage, office cleaning and equipment maintenance, accounting, legal and payroll services, and staff incentives or continuing education. You earn them by taking barter appointments into otherwise-open chair time and unfilled hygiene slots, then apply them to those fixed overhead costs.

Does accepting barter appointments affect my fee schedule or insurance billing?

No. You bill your normal fees; trade dollars offset practice expenses, not your rates, and barter applies to your open chair time rather than to insured care. A trade broker will confirm how to structure it for your practice.

Will bartering cheapen my brand?

No. With ITEX you sell into the network at your normal pricing — barter is not a discount. You control what you offer, when, and how much, so your published rates and brand positioning stay intact while you monetize capacity that would otherwise go unused.

Do I have to accept things I don't want in trade?

No. You decide how to spend the ITEX trade dollars you earn. The network spans thousands of member businesses across many categories — marketing, printing, maintenance, professional services and more — so you direct your trade dollars toward the real expenses you actually need to cover.

Is barter only for struggling businesses?

No. Healthy, established businesses use ITEX selectively to fill predictable slow periods and conserve cash on routine expenses. It is an efficiency tool for capacity you already have, not a last resort.

Will my regular customers know I barter?

No. ITEX barter transactions are business-to-business and typically invisible to the public. Your retail customers and your cash pricing are unaffected; trade happens within the member network.

For tax purposes a barter sale is treated the same as a cash sale. ITEX provides the transaction records you need, and a trade broker will confirm the specifics for your business — Boone does not give tax advice.

Does a dental practice need a patient's permission to use their information in marketing?

Generally yes. Dental practices are HIPAA covered entities, and under the HHS Privacy Rule a practice must obtain written patient authorization before using or disclosing protected health information for marketing, with limited exceptions such as certain face-to-face communications. This is general information, not legal advice — confirm current requirements with HHS.

Which review and booking platforms matter most for dental practices?

Google Business Profile is the highest-traffic starting point for local searches and reviews and should be claimed first. Zocdoc — which began as a dentist-booking service — lets patients filter by dental insurance and book open slots in real time, and the ADA's Find-a-Dentist directory reaches patients specifically looking for an ADA member dentist. General sites like Yelp and Healthgrades also carry dentist profiles worth claiming and keeping accurate.

Can our office reply to a patient's online review?

Yes, but carefully. Under HIPAA you may not confirm the reviewer was a patient or disclose any health information, even if they named themselves — HHS OCR settled with a dental practice (New Vision Dental) over exactly this. Keep responses generic, invite the person to contact the office privately, and consult HHS OCR guidance. Separately, never buy or incentivize positive reviews; the FTC's 2024 rule prohibits it.

How can ITEX help my dental practice during a slow season or downturn?

When patient volume dips and chairs or hygiene slots sit open, ITEX lets you fill those hours with paying ITEX-member patients and earn trade dollars you spend on real practice expenses — lab work, marketing, maintenance — which helps conserve cash. Contact ITEX to see whether cashless trade fits your practice.

Do I have to discount my fees to attract ITEX patients during off-peak hours?

No. Services are transacted at your normal rates in ITEX trade dollars, so filling slow-time openings adds incremental demand without cutting your published fee schedule. Reach out to ITEX to learn how enrollment and trade work.

Which growth channel should a dental practice set up first?

Start with the free listings patients search first — Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect (Apple Maps), and Bing Places for Business — since these are managed at no charge and appear in maps and search. Feature your practice with ITEX to reach its member-business network and fill open chair time, then keep booking and directory profiles (Zocdoc, ADA Find-a-Dentist) accurate.

Do online reviews really matter for attracting dental patients?

Yes. BrightLocal's 2024 survey found 83% of consumers use Google to read reviews of local businesses, and 88% would use a business that replies to all its reviews. Claim your Google profile plus dentist directories like Zocdoc and the ADA's Find-a-Dentist, then routinely ask satisfied patients to leave a review — never paying or conditioning rewards on positive sentiment.

Dental Practices · Owner's guide

Dental practices in the U.S.: a founder's guide to running & growing your business

ITEX brings your dental practice new customers from a nationwide trade network and lets you cover real expenses without spending cash. This national guide covers running and growing a dental practice; the local editions add city-specific detail.

Explore ITEX in your area

Marketing

Marketing a dental practice in the U.S.

US dental practices build patient volume through a mix of local-search, reputation, and referral channels — and unused chair time is common enough that marketing has real capacity to fill: about one-third of dentists told the ADA Health Policy Institute they were not busy enough and could treat more patients in Q1 2026, up from about one-quarter two years earlier.¹ The market they compete in is large — national dental spending reached $189 billion in 2024.² A verified Google Business Profile is a foundational, no-cost listing: dentists who see patients in person qualify, and Google restricts verification and management to the practice owner or an authorized representative.³ Online reviews strongly shape how patients choose a dentist, and the FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule (effective October 21, 2024) bans fake, AI-generated, and undisclosed insider reviews as well as review suppression.⁴ Dental practices are HIPAA covered entities, so marketing that uses patient information generally requires written patient authorization under the HHS Privacy Rule.⁵ Advertising itself must be truthful: the ADA Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct prohibits any communication that is false or misleading in any material respect.⁶ Confirm current requirements directly with the FTC and HHS.

Resources

Does a dental practice need a patient's permission to use their information in marketing?: Generally yes. Dental practices are HIPAA covered entities, and under the HHS Privacy Rule a practice must obtain written patient authorization before using or disclosing protected health information for marketing, with limited exceptions such as certain face-to-face communications. This is general information, not legal advice — confirm current requirements with HHS.
Can a dental office offer discounts or gifts in exchange for online reviews?: No. The FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule (effective October 21, 2024) prohibits incentivizing reviews conditioned on a specific sentiment, as well as fake, AI-generated, and undisclosed insider reviews. The ADA Code separately requires that all practice communications be truthful. Follow the review platform's own policies and check current FTC guidance.

Ask Boone about marketing a dental practice in the U.S.

Customer service

Customer service & reputation for dental practices in the U.S.

For U.S. dental practices, patient acquisition and reputation increasingly run through a few digital platforms. A free Google Business Profile places the practice in local Google Search and Maps and hosts patient reviews, which feed into local ranking.⁷ Zocdoc — which launched in 2007 as a dentist-booking service — lets patients filter dentists by dental insurance, visit reason, and location, then book real-time appointments online at no cost to the patient.⁸ The ADA's own Find-a-Dentist directory searches a network of more than 100,000 ADA member dentists by address or ZIP code, with filters for specialty, language, and insurance accepted.⁹ Because reviews strongly influence how patients pick a provider — about 71% use online reviews as a first step in the search¹⁰ — practices typically claim each listing, keep hours and services accurate, and respond to feedback. Two cautions: the FTC's final rule on consumer reviews prohibits fake and incentivized reviews,¹¹ and HIPAA applies to review responses — federal regulators settled with a dental office (New Vision Dental) that disclosed patient information while replying to Yelp reviews.¹² Consult FTC and HHS guidance rather than treating this as advice.

Resources

Which review and booking platforms matter most for dental practices?: Google Business Profile is the highest-traffic starting point for local searches and reviews and should be claimed first. Zocdoc — which began as a dentist-booking service — lets patients filter by dental insurance and book open slots in real time, and the ADA's Find-a-Dentist directory reaches patients specifically looking for an ADA member dentist. General sites like Yelp and Healthgrades also carry dentist profiles worth claiming and keeping accurate.
Can our office reply to a patient's online review?: Yes, but carefully. Under HIPAA you may not confirm the reviewer was a patient or disclose any health information, even if they named themselves — HHS OCR settled with a dental practice (New Vision Dental) over exactly this. Keep responses generic, invite the person to contact the office privately, and consult HHS OCR guidance. Separately, never buy or incentivize positive reviews; the FTC's 2024 rule prohibits it.

Ask Boone about customer service & reputation

Slow times

When things are slow: a cushion for your dental practice in the U.S.

For U.S. dental practices, slow and off-peak stretches show up as open chair hours and unfilled hygiene slots. About one-third of U.S. dentists reported being "not busy enough" in early 2026, up from roughly one-quarter two years earlier (ADA Health Policy Institute),¹ and missed appointments compound the problem — an analysis of 1.6 million appointments across 64 dental practices measured no-show rates high enough that automated reminders cut them by nearly 23%,¹³ while an academic dental clinic recorded 14.3% of appointments as no-shows.¹⁴ ITEX, a cashless business trade network, lets a practice route ITEX-member patients into those otherwise-idle slots, adding incremental demand during quieter periods. Trade dollars earned that way can then cover real operating costs — dental lab work, supplies, marketing, printing, or equipment servicing — helping the practice conserve cash through off-peak periods instead of discounting its published fee schedule.

Resources

How can ITEX help my dental practice during a slow season or downturn?: When patient volume dips and chairs or hygiene slots sit open, ITEX lets you fill those hours with paying ITEX-member patients and earn trade dollars you spend on real practice expenses — lab work, marketing, maintenance — which helps conserve cash. Contact ITEX to see whether cashless trade fits your practice.
Do I have to discount my fees to attract ITEX patients during off-peak hours?: No. Services are transacted at your normal rates in ITEX trade dollars, so filling slow-time openings adds incremental demand without cutting your published fee schedule. Reach out to ITEX to learn how enrollment and trade work.

Ask Boone about slow periods

Scale & grow

Resources to scale & grow your dental practice in the U.S.

Try ITEX!

List your dental practice with ITEX — reach new customers through the local trade network and cover real expenses without spending cash. It can even fund the ideas below.

Join ITEX now

Growth channels for a U.S. dental practice, in priority order. Featured: list your practice with ITEX to reach its member-business network and put open chair hours to work through cashless trade.¹⁵ Then claim the free listings patients search first — Google Business Profile,¹⁶ Apple Business Connect (Apple Maps),¹⁷ and Bing Places for Business.¹⁸ Maintain a mobile-friendly website; keep booking and directory profiles current on Zocdoc (whose platform began with dentists)¹⁹ and the ADA's Find-a-Dentist directory if you are a member;²⁰ and routinely ASK satisfied patients for reviews — 83% of consumers read Google reviews of local businesses.²¹ Layer in organic social, paid search, earned and local media, chamber of commerce and local-business partnerships, recall and appointment-reminder email/SMS, and community events like free screening days. Independent practices increasingly compete with DSO-backed groups for the same patients, which makes owning these channels more valuable, not less.²² Primary CTA: List your practice with ITEX.

…and 10 other good ideas

Which growth channel should a dental practice set up first?: Start with the free listings patients search first — Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect (Apple Maps), and Bing Places for Business — since these are managed at no charge and appear in maps and search. Feature your practice with ITEX to reach its member-business network and fill open chair time, then keep booking and directory profiles (Zocdoc, ADA Find-a-Dentist) accurate.
Do online reviews really matter for attracting dental patients?: Yes. BrightLocal's 2024 survey found 83% of consumers use Google to read reviews of local businesses, and 88% would use a business that replies to all its reviews. Claim your Google profile plus dentist directories like Zocdoc and the ADA's Find-a-Dentist, then routinely ask satisfied patients to leave a review — never paying or conditioning rewards on positive sentiment.

Ask Boone about scaling & growing a dental practice

Find ITEX for dental practices near you

About ITEX

ITEX is one of the longest-running barter communities in North America, with over 30 locations and thousands of member businesses across North America.

Trade dollars are the unit of exchange in the ITEX network: you earn them by selling your excess capacity to other members and spend them on real business expenses — at normal pricing, not a discount.

Join ITEX now

See if barter fits your practice. Get a quick, no-obligation assessment of your practice's unused chair time and potential trade value.

Join ITEX now Call 800.277.9722 Ask Boone

Prefer to talk to someone? ITEX Corporate Office · support@itex.com

Ask Boone

Ask Boone, our AI assistant, for quick answers tailored to your business.

This AI provides general educational guidance. A trade broker will confirm all details.

Common questions

What can a dental practice pay for with trade dollars?: Dental practices typically use ITEX trade dollars for new-patient marketing, printed collateral and signage, office cleaning and equipment maintenance, accounting, legal and payroll services, and staff incentives or continuing education. You earn them by taking barter appointments into otherwise-open chair time and unfilled hygiene slots, then apply them to those fixed overhead costs.
Does accepting barter appointments affect my fee schedule or insurance billing?: No. You bill your normal fees; trade dollars offset practice expenses, not your rates, and barter applies to your open chair time rather than to insured care. A trade broker will confirm how to structure it for your practice.
Will bartering cheapen my brand?: No. With ITEX you sell into the network at your normal pricing — barter is not a discount. You control what you offer, when, and how much, so your published rates and brand positioning stay intact while you monetize capacity that would otherwise go unused.
Do I have to accept things I don't want in trade?: No. You decide how to spend the ITEX trade dollars you earn. The network spans thousands of member businesses across many categories — marketing, printing, maintenance, professional services and more — so you direct your trade dollars toward the real expenses you actually need to cover.
Is barter only for struggling businesses?: No. Healthy, established businesses use ITEX selectively to fill predictable slow periods and conserve cash on routine expenses. It is an efficiency tool for capacity you already have, not a last resort.
Will my regular customers know I barter?: No. ITEX barter transactions are business-to-business and typically invisible to the public. Your retail customers and your cash pricing are unaffected; trade happens within the member network.
How is barter taxed?: For tax purposes a barter sale is treated the same as a cash sale. ITEX provides the transaction records you need, and a trade broker will confirm the specifics for your business — Boone does not give tax advice.

References & sources

Citations for the local facts on this page. Regulated topics link to the official source of record.

American Dental Association, Health Policy Institute. “The State of the U.S. Dental Economy, 1st Quarter 2026 Update”. Q1 2026. https://www.ada.org/-/media/project/ada-organization/ada/ada-org/files/resources/research/hpi/state_us_dental_economy_q12026.pdf. Accessed 2026-07-27.
American Dental Association, Health Policy Institute. “National dental expenditures, 2024”. 2024. https://www.ada.org/resources/research/health-policy-institute/dental-care-market/national-dental-expenses. Accessed 2026-07-27.
Google Business Profile Help (official). “Business eligibility and ownership guidelines”. 2026 (evergreen guidance). https://support.google.com/business/answer/13763036?hl=en. Accessed 2026-07-27.
U.S. Federal Trade Commission / Federal Register. “Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials”. Effective October 21, 2024 (published August 22, 2024). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/08/22/2024-18519/trade-regulation-rule-on-the-use-of-consumer-reviews-and-testimonials. Accessed 2026-07-27.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Office for Civil Rights). “Marketing (HIPAA Privacy Rule guidance)”. Evergreen (current guidance). https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/marketing/index.html. Accessed 2026-07-27.
American Dental Association. “Marketing and Advertising”. 2023 edition of the ADA Code. https://www.ada.org/resources/practice/legal-and-regulatory/marketing-and-advertising. Accessed 2026-07-27.
Google. “Get started with Google Business Profile”. 2026. https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177. Accessed 2026-07-27.
Zocdoc. “Find Dentists by Dental Insurance — Book Appointments Online”. accessed 2026-07. https://www.zocdoc.com/insurances/dental. Accessed 2026-07-27.
American Dental Association. “Search for ADA Member dentists — Find a dentist near me”. 2025 (redesigned April 2025). https://findadentist.ada.org/. Accessed 2026-07-27.
Software Advice. “How Patients Use Online Reviews”. Software Advice survey. https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/how-patients-use-online-reviews/. Accessed 2026-07-27.
U.S. Federal Trade Commission. “FTC Announces Final Rule Banning Fake Reviews and Testimonials”. Effective October 21, 2024. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/federal-trade-commission-announces-final-rule-banning-fake-reviews-testimonials. Accessed 2026-07-27.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. “HHS Civil Rights Office Enters Settlement with Dental Practice Over Disclosures of Patients' PHI”. 2022-12-14. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/compliance-enforcement/agreements/new-vision/index.html. Accessed 2026-07-27.
Dental Tribune US (reporting a Sesame Communications study). “Study reveals how automated patient appointment reminders affect dental practice no-show rates and production”. https://us.dental-tribune.com/news/study-reveals-how-automated-patient-appointment-reminders-affect-dental-practice-no-show-rates-and-production/. Accessed 2026-07-27.
National Library of Medicine (NIH), PMC. “Visit Characteristics Associated With Pediatric Dental Appointment No-Shows in an Academic Dental Setting”. 2025. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12274092/. Accessed 2026-07-27.
ITEX. “ITEX - a small business community and barter network”. 2026. https://www.itex.com/. Accessed 2026-07-27.
Google (Google Business Profile Help). “Add or claim your Business Profile”. 2026. https://support.google.com/business/answer/2911778?hl=en. Accessed 2026-07-27.
Apple. “Introducing Apple Business Connect”. 2023-01. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/01/introducing-apple-business-connect/. Accessed 2026-07-27.
Microsoft. “Add and manage your business listing”. 2026. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/add-and-manage-your-business-listing. Accessed 2026-07-27.
Wikipedia. “Zocdoc”. accessed 2026-08. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zocdoc. Accessed 2026-08-08.
American Dental Association. “Find a Dentist — ADA member benefits”. 2025 (tool redesigned April 2025). https://www.ada.org/join-the-ada/member-benefits/find-a-dentist. Accessed 2026-07-27.
BrightLocal. “Local Consumer Review Survey 2024”. 2024. https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey-2024/. Accessed 2026-07-27.
American Dental Association, Health Policy Institute. “Practice Ownership Trends in Dentistry: A New Look at Old Data”. 2023-2024. https://www.ada.org/-/media/project/ada-organization/ada/ada-org/files/resources/research/hpi/practice_ownership_trends_dentistry_new_look_old_data.pdf. Accessed 2026-07-27.