It depends on the channel. Paid ads can bring consultation inquiries within days; SEO, content, and reputation compound over three to six months into a durable, lower-cost new-patient pipeline. We usually run both — quick wins now, lasting growth building underneath — and report progress every month so you always see what’s working.

Industry guidance puts healthcare marketing at roughly 7–10% of revenue, more in competitive markets or growth phases — and practices that promote orthodontic insurance acceptance and in-house financing in their campaigns tend to convert more of that spend. Rather than quote a number that doesn’t fit your practice, we start with a free marketing audit and give you a clear, fixed monthly proposal — no long lock-ins, no surprises.

Compliance is built into how we work. We configure analytics and tracking for healthcare privacy — no patient PHI in your reporting — keep ad campaigns within platform healthcare and dental advertising rules, and never make outcome guarantees on treatment. Marketing care decisions that involve children and families has to be handled with care, not as an afterthought.

Completely. Your website, content, ad accounts, Google Business Profile, and the authority we build all live in your name and stay with you. We never hold your marketing hostage.

By what actually matters: qualified inquiries and booked consultations — not vanity traffic. We track rankings, ad performance, Map Pack visibility, calls, and form fills, then tie every number back to real new patients in plain-English monthly reports.

It depends on your goals and timeline. SEO and content marketing build a durable, lower-cost new-patient pipeline; Google and Meta ads bring consultation inquiries fast; reviews and a website that explains insurance and financing clearly convert the parents and adults already considering you. For most practices the answer is a mix — we recommend the channels that fit your market, not a one-size package.

Your patients are high-consideration and comparison-driven — parents and adults weighing braces vs Invisalign, cost, and credibility — and orthodontics is a high-trust (YMYL) healthcare niche where Google and ad platforms weigh credibility (E-E-A-T), compliance, and treatment-level relevance heavily. Marketing has to earn trust, protect privacy, map to specific treatments, and skip the hype generic agencies lean on — while still meeting patients exactly where they search.

Both. We market the practice as a brand and each orthodontist and location individually — provider pages, Healthgrades profiles, and campaigns — so a multi-location group captures demand in every market and treatment, and a solo orthodontist builds the personal reputation that fills the new-patient consult calendar.

Ideally before you need the patients. Ads can fill gaps quickly, but SEO, content, and reputation take a few months to compound — so starting early means the pipeline is there when you want the consultation calendar full. Opening, relocating, adding an associate orthodontist, or leaning on dentist referrals you don’t control are all signals it’s time to build demand you own.

Yes — Stethon Digital Marketing is an orthodontic marketing agency that specializes in orthodontic and dental specialty practices, not a generalist agency learning your niche on your dime. Every channel — SEO, paid ads, local, website, reputation — is built around how patients and parents research orthodontic treatment, compare braces and Invisalign, and search locally, and how Google evaluates YMYL healthcare content. Whether you’re a solo orthodontist, an Invisalign specialist, a pediatric practice, or a multi-location group, you get a partner who already understands E-E-A-T, HIPAA-aware analytics, and the orthodontic patient journey.