Frequently Asked Questions

WhoIsMyDentist is a free, public reference platform that helps people understand who is providing their dental care and who owns or manages the practice behind it. We have mapped more than 270,000 dentists and 145,000 dental offices nationwide, organizing publicly available information into clear, structured profiles. No reviews, no paid rankings, just facts.

Dentistry has seen a major shift over the past two decades, with large corporate groups and private equity acquiring thousands of practices nationwide. While the dentist in the room may be excellent, ownership structure can influence treatment protocols, staffing, and business priorities. We believe patients deserve to know this context before they sit in the chair.

Use the search bar at the top of the site, or the one on the homepage. You can search by dentist name, office name, or location, and narrow to a single state with the state selector. Selecting a result takes you straight to that profile page, where you can see associated dentists, ownership context, location, and contact details.

No. We do not publish star ratings, paid rankings, or user-submitted reviews. Our mission is to present neutral, factual information. Offices that claim their profile can link their Google reviews, so patients can see them directly on the office page.

Some corporate-affiliated offices show an ownership chain: the sequence of entities between the office and its ultimate owner, for example the office, a dental group, a DSO, and a private equity firm. Every link in the chain is backed by a cited public source. Signed-in users can suggest missing links, and each suggestion is verified by our team before anything appears publicly.

Yes. Signed-in users can submit corrections and ownership details directly from any office or dentist profile page. Submissions are queued for review before anything changes on the public listing. You can also reach us through the Contact page if you prefer.

Yes. Browsing the map, searching, and viewing every profile is completely free, with no account required. Accounts are only needed to claim a profile or submit contributions.

Open your listing and click "Claim Profile" to start. Provide your verification details and complete the quick anti-spam check, and we email you a link right away to set your password. There is no wait for manual approval: you can set your password and start editing your profile in the same visit.

Open the office profile page and select "Claim Office." You must be signed in as a verified dentist. Unlike a dentist profile claim, an office claim is reviewed by our team before management access is granted, because it controls how a whole practice is represented. Including ownership or licensure context in the notes helps speed up that review.

Use "Forgot password" on the login page. If your account is still waiting on first-time setup, we email you a fresh account-setup link instead of a reset link, and either one lets you choose a new password and sign in. The email arrives within a couple of minutes, so check your spam folder if you do not see it. Still stuck? Reach out through the Contact page and include the email address you claimed with.

Verified dentists and office managers can update professional details, bio, headshot, contact information, hours, and associated dentists. Keeping your profile current ensures patients see accurate, up-to-date information about you and your practice.

Ownership classification is not directly editable, even by a verified owner. If you believe your office is classified incorrectly, submit the correct ownership details and they are routed to our team for review rather than applied automatically. This keeps the classification neutral and trustworthy for patients, and protects it from being changed to influence how a practice appears.

Every accepted contribution, such as claiming a profile, adding a missing office, referring a colleague who claims their profile, or submitting verified ownership details, earns transparency points. Reaching milestones unlocks contributor tiers, and the public leaderboard recognizes the people helping build the most complete, accurate picture of dental ownership in the country.

The radar, part of the Dentist Pro dashboard, runs nightly checks on the public records tied to your practice: your state license standing and board actions, edits to your NPPES record, and whether your practice website is up. You can also opt in to alerts when your Google rating moves. Each monitor has its own toggle on the Radar tab of your dashboard, and you get an email when something changes, so a lapsed license, a hijacked NPPES entry, or a downed website never goes unnoticed for long.

Claiming your profile and keeping it up to date is free. We also offer Dentist Pro, a paid upgrade that adds a premium public profile and a private dashboard for dentists who want more. You never have to pay to appear, correct your information, or be found, and rankings are never for sale.

Dentist profile claims are self-service and take effect immediately, protected by an anti-spam check and tied to the email you verify. Office claims and ownership changes go through team review. We monitor claims against public records, and anyone can flag a listing that looks wrong. If a claim is found to be inaccurate or fraudulent, we revoke access and correct the listing.

Corporate-backed practices often have large marketing budgets that push independent dentists off the first page of search results. WhoIsMyDentist gives independent dentists a dedicated, neutral space where patients who actively care about ownership can find them, without competing against ad spend.

Our core listings are built from publicly available records, primarily the National Provider Identifier (NPI) registry, alongside state dental licensing boards and business registries. We enrich this with accepted contributions from verified dentists and office teams. We do not purchase or rely on proprietary data brokers.

Core reference data is refreshed periodically as new public records become available. Dentists and office managers who claim their profiles can make updates at any time. Direct profile edits publish quickly, while ownership changes and office claims are reviewed first.

A dentist's direct phone number and email are private by default, even when they appear in public records, and only become visible if the dentist chooses to publish them on their claimed profile. Office listings are different: they show the practice's public business contact information, which is how most patients should get in touch.

We collect only what is necessary to operate the platform: account credentials, profile data you provide, and standard usage analytics. We do not sell personal data. Full details are in our Privacy Policy, linked in the footer.

Licensed dentists are listed as part of our public reference database, which is built from public records. If your listing contains inaccurate information, the fastest fix is to claim your profile and correct it directly. You can also contact us with a correction or removal request, and we will review and respond within a reasonable timeframe.

Use the Contact page for questions, corrections, or business inquiries. For faster help with a claim, include the profile URL and any relevant context so our team can locate the record quickly.