Choose the team that can demonstrate the dental work your practice needs, whether it serves only dentists or works across several fields. Booking, insurance and treatment pages, accessibility, patient photo consent and a safe vendor handoff deserve more weight than the label. Ask about HIPAA and a business associate agreement, or BAA, with your own counsel. A dental-only agency and a general studio can both fit. Compare their proposed work before choosing either.
The short answer: ask for dental proof
A dental-only focus is a reason to look at a team, not enough reason to hire it. A general portfolio needs a closer look at dental work, but serving other fields does not rule a studio out.
Bring your current booking setup, page list and vendor agreement to the discussion. Ask the team to explain how it would handle them. Request a demonstration of the proposed booking route and written answers about ownership, support and leaving later.
Use the same brief for each quote. A low build price tells you little if writing, booking setup or moving the domain remains unpriced. Our guide to choosing a practice web company can help you organize the review.
What a dental-only agency usually offers
A dental-only agency can bring familiarity with the field, a developed set of dental templates and a library of treatment content. That may fit a practice that wants to choose from established page layouts and have a team that knows dental terms. Great Dental Websites' home page, for example, says "Dental-only since 2007" (checked October 20, 2026).
Ask to review the actual pages proposed for your office. Who will check treatment descriptions? Who will replace general insurance wording with your approved details? A content library still needs review against the care your practice provides.
Dental-only offers often take the form of a platform with monthly fees. Read what the subscription includes, what you can change and what happens when it ends. For dated vendor terms, use the dental website company comparison. The label alone does not tell you the contract terms.
What a general web studio usually offers
A general studio may offer a custom build and ideas drawn from work in other fields. That can suit a practice with a specific page plan or booking route. Ask which parts of the proposal are planned around your office and which use an existing layout.
The studio still needs to show dental knowledge. Have it explain how patients would find the care offered, check insurance details and reach the correct office. Ask who reviews treatment text and how the proposed booking setup works with your practice software.
Do not treat custom design as a promise of ownership or included support. Request those terms separately. Our custom dental website and platform guide can help you compare the build approach alongside the provider.
Questions that matter more than the label
Use these questions during proposal reviews. The final column describes what to request, not a promise that every agency or studio offers it. Ask for missing details before accepting a quote.
| Question | Why it matters | What a good answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| How will booking work with Dentrix, Open Dental or Eaglesoft? | Define the patient steps and what reaches your staff. | A named connection, a demonstration and a clear distinction between a request and a confirmed appointment. |
| Will you sign a BAA if our practice needs one? | Identify who handles patient information for review with your counsel. | A direct answer about the agreement and a description of where form and booking data goes. |
| Will you commit to an accessibility standard in writing? | Give the practice a clear target to review. | A named standard, such as WCAG 2.2 AA, and a written scope. |
| Who owns the site and domain? | Clarify what the practice controls. | Written terms that name the owner of each asset and explain account access. |
| What happens if we leave? | Plan the handoff before agreeing to the service. | Notice requirements, fees, export options and responsibility for the domain, DNS and email move. |
| Who writes the copy? | Assign treatment and insurance page work. | A list of included pages, a writer and a practice reviewer, with revision responsibilities stated. |
| How will DSO location pages work? | Check office details and booking routes. | A page plan showing each office, its services and the process for updating location information. |
| Who handles dental ads? | Clarify the boundary of the website proposal. | A direct answer about included work, separate services or referrals, with costs identified in the quote. |
Also ask how patient photos get approved for publication and who records consent. Take HIPAA, BAA and photo consent questions to your own counsel. Use the dental website HIPAA guide and accessibility guide to prepare questions, then have counsel review your situation.
When dental-only makes sense
Consider a dental-only provider when you want an all-in-one monthly platform and its offered pages, booking setup and support match your needs. Review the bundle as a working service for your practice, including the parts you would use after launch.
Ask staff to review a proposed insurance page and follow the booking steps. Have the clinical team review the treatment content. If the offer includes ads or SEO, ask for the scope of each service rather than treating the bundle name as the full explanation.
Choose this route if you are comfortable with the editing options, recurring costs and exit terms. If ownership matters to you, settle it in the agreement before choosing a platform.
When a studio makes sense
Consider a studio when you want a custom build, a one-time project price and ownership of the finished site written into the agreement. Those are terms to seek, not benefits to assume from the word studio.
This route may fit when you want to specify how treatment, insurance and location pages relate to each other. Ask the team to walk through that plan using your services. For a group, review the DSO website options and decide how brands and offices should appear.
Before hiring, confirm who maintains the site and who answers booking questions after launch. A studio should still pass the same dental review as a specialist. Choose based on the proposed work and terms you can accept.
How WTM handles it
WTM Studio is not dental-only. It serves dental practices, DSOs, med spas, law firms and local service businesses nationwide. Pearl Dental Care is a client. You can also read the unnamed 9-location dental group case study.
As of October 2026, websites cost $6,000 to $30,000 as a one-time project. Payment is a 50% deposit to start and 50% at launch. Copy is included, hosting is free for life, and support lasts one year after launch. See pricing. For enterprise websites, contact WTM for a quote.
WTM builds to WCAG 2.2 AA and puts that commitment in writing. It signs BAAs when a practice needs one. Booking options include Dentrix, Open Dental, Eaglesoft, Calendly or WTM's own booking system. See dental website services. Dental ads are referred out; WTM handles dental websites and SEO.
Clients can make edits or ask WTM to do them. WTM handles the domain, DNS and email move and can build while the practice is still under contract with its old vendor.
The written 180-day full refund guarantee covers websites and SEO. For websites, the period starts at launch; for SEO, it starts when the first SEO changes go live. A full refund applies if the work brings no new patients or leads within that period. A lead is a contact form, phone call or booking from the website. It does not promise rankings or AI recommendations. Read the guarantee and full terms.
Questions about choosing a dental web team
Is a dental-only agency better than a general web designer?
Either can fit if it can demonstrate the dental work your practice needs. Compare booking, page content, accessibility commitments, ownership and exit terms before deciding.
Is WTM Studio a dental-only agency?
No. WTM serves dental practices, DSOs, med spas, law firms and local service businesses nationwide. See its dental website services.
What should I ask any agency about dental booking?
Name your practice software and ask the team to demonstrate the proposed booking route. Confirm what the patient sees, what your staff receives and whether the result is a request or a confirmed appointment.
Will a general studio sign a BAA?
Ask the studio directly and have your own counsel review what your practice needs. WTM signs BAAs when a practice needs one; other providers should give their own written answer.
Does a dental-only agency cost more?
It depends on the offer. Compare written quotes covering the same pages, booking setup, writing, hosting and support, including recurring charges and exit costs.
Does a custom build mean I own the website?
Ask for ownership to be stated in the agreement. Have the provider identify what you can keep, export and move if you leave, including the site, content and domain.