30 September 2026 · 5 min read · Oscar Markham
Most patients do not know what they are entitled to
A great many working adults in Ireland have not seen a dentist in years, and a meaningful number of them assume it is because they cannot afford to. Plenty of them are entitled to a routine examination and cleaning through their PRSI contributions and have no idea. Explaining that plainly is one of the easiest and most honest campaigns a practice can run.
The entitlement is not well understood
People know vaguely that something exists. They do not know whether it applies to them, what it covers, or how to claim it, and that uncertainty is enough to stop them booking.
A single clear page answering who qualifies, what is included and what happens at the appointment removes the barrier. It is also exactly the kind of practical question people type into Google.
It reaches the patients who have been away longest
Someone who has not attended in five years is nervous about the cost and frequently nervous about the visit itself. The entitlement gives them a reason to come that does not require them to commit to anything expensive.
Those patients are valuable well beyond the first appointment, because most of them have work that needs doing and will proceed once they trust the practice.
Say what happens next, honestly
If the examination finds work that is not covered, say so upfront rather than letting the patient discover it in the chair. People do not object to paying; they object to being surprised.
A practice that sets that expectation clearly gets fewer awkward conversations and better reviews.
The medical card scheme is a separate question
Patients often confuse the two, and a practice that states plainly whether it takes medical card patients saves everyone time.
It is one line on the website and it is missing from a surprising number of them.
Why this works as a campaign
It is useful rather than promotional, it is checkable, it needs no discounting, and it brings in people who were not otherwise in the market.
Very few Irish practices build anything around it, which means the ground is largely open.
Written by Oscar Markham, founder of Dublin Growth Digital. We run lead generation for Irish estate agents and trades, reported every Friday in enquiries and booked work.