The invisible waiting list: attracting new patients

Bobby Bhandal shares his tips for attracting new patients, particularly as a newly established dental practice.

One of the biggest challenges preventing dentists from independently opening their own practice is the fear of struggling to attract new patients. I hear this concern time and time again. Some newly established practices thrive, while others struggle. So, what sets them apart?

It all comes down to a concept I call ‘the invisible waiting list’ – a formula built on three key components designed to ensure a strong start:

1. Community building versus traditional marketing
2. The authenticity advantage
3. Personal brand.

How do you start building a waiting list of patients before opening your practice? This strategy is just as valuable for ambitious associates looking to expand their reach – creating a patient base that can later transition into opening and building own squat dental practice.

With the invisible waiting list, you’ll have a virtual queue of patients eager to secure a spot before your doors even open. It’s a game-changer – and a crucial factor in the success of your practice.

1. Community building versus traditional marketing

Most new practice owners spend thousands on traditional marketing, trying to build trust with people who have never heard of them. But what if we flipped the approach – opening with a queue of patients who already know, like and trust you?

The trust timeline

• Traditional marketing: spend money → open practice → try to build trust
• Community approach: build trust → open practice → welcome eager patients.

To put this into perspective, I recently spoke with a squat practice owner who was spending £5,000 a month on digital advertising yet saw little return. Despite having a beautifully designed practice in a prime high-street location within an affluent area, new patients simply were not interested.

On the other hand, I also spoke with two other squat owners who had to fit a third surgery within just four months of opening due to overwhelming demand.

The key difference? They took a community-first approach actively engaging with and building trust within their local audience before opening. As a result, they did not need to spend a single penny on digital advertising.

2. The authenticity advantage

Professional advertisements can make you look good, but authentic presence makes people trust you. Here we can highlight the difference between professional generated adverts and having an authentic presence.

The compound effect

• Professional adverts stop working when you stop paying
• Every piece of authentic content continues working forever
• Content builds on content
• Each post increases your searchability
• Your library of content becomes an asset.

The trust factor

• People trust individuals more than institutions
• They want to know their dentist before committing
• Personal content allows them to feel like they know you
• They are choosing a relationship, not just a service
• They become advocates, not just patients.

Your patients want to know the real you, not a social media persona. They want to feel confident that the dentist they connected with on social media is the same person they meet in real life. This consistency reinforces trust and strengthens their decision to choose your practice.

3. Personal brand

By far the most successful independently owned squats I have seen have been opened by dentists who have a ‘personal brand’, but what does this mean?

Building your personal brand is not about becoming an influencer – it is about letting potential patients see the real dentist behind the mask.

It’s a simple yet powerful concept that costs nothing to implement but can have the greatest impact on your squat practice’s success – if started early and executed effectively.

The best thing about this is, it is free! You don’t have to spend a single penny to start this process, yet it is one of the most profound and impactful things you can do to start making your squat practice a success, if done early enough. One of the biggest barriers to building this for many dentists is a lack of confidence on social media and structure to achieve this, so here’s a few pointers to get you started:

The edutainment edge

Why edutainment works in dentistry:

• Education removes fear barriers
• Entertainment makes dental content shareable
• It combines authority with accessibility
• It showcases the personality behind the profession
• It makes dental topics digestible and engaging
• It transforms followers into loyal advocates.

Potential content types

• Behind the scenes content
• Myth busting series
• Treatment transformations
• Quick tips content
• Patient journey stories.

Each piece of content should:

• Be under two minutes
• Include a clear takeaway
• End with a call to action
• Use simple, non-clinical language
• Include personality and humour where appropriate.

The content pillars

• Clinical excellence – showing your work and explaining procedures
• Patient care – how you make dentistry comfortable and accessible
• Personal journey – your development as a dentist, your philosophy
• Community connection – local involvement, team interactions
• Educational value – tips, insights, myth busting.

The 3-5-7 rhythm

• Three posts minimum per week
• Five different content types (mixing up formats)
• Seven minutes per day commitment.

This breakdown makes content creation manageable rather than overwhelming.

The authority blueprint:

• Start with what you know (your daily cases)
• Share your learning (courses, new techniques)
• Celebrate patient successes
• Document rather than create
• Be consistently present rather than occasionally perfect.

The formula in action:

• Monday: quick tip video (two minutes)
• Wednesday: case study/before-after
• Friday: behind the scenes or team content
• Plus two spontaneous authentic moments weekly.

The confidence code – key compontents

You do not need to be an extrovert or a natural on camera. You just need a system to build your confidence one small step at a time.

The 30-second sprint

• Start with 30-second videos only
• One topic, one tip, one take
• No editing needed
• Build ‘camera fitness’ like you’d build physical fitness
• Graduate to longer content naturally as confidence grows.

This method ensures:

• Short enough to not feel overwhelming
• Long enough to deliver value
• Easier to maintain energy/enthusiasm
• Forces you to be concise
• Quick wins build confidence.

The five-minute mindset

• Record for just five minutes every day
• Don’t post everything you record
• Focus on progress, not perfection
• Create a routine (same time, same place)
• Remember: your expertise matters more than your performance.

The confidence multiplier

• Start with your strongest topics
• Use patient questions as content prompts
• Build from positive feedback
• Learn from, don’t compare to, others
• Focus on helping, not performing.

Common fears and solutions

How do we combat the imposter syndrome that kicks in when you start to try and film and how do we get over this? Here are a few ideas to help you reframe the way you think about things to get over this

• ‘I’ll look stupid’ → Your knowledge matters more than your delivery
• ‘I don’t know what to say’ → Start with patient FAQs
• ‘I hate how I look/sound’ → Everyone does at first, but viewers care about value
• ‘What if I make a mistake?’ → Mistakes make you more relatable
• ‘What will my colleagues think?’ → They will wish they had started sooner.

By implementing the invisible waiting list strategy, you are not just opening a practice – you are building a loyal community. When patients already know, trust and value you before they even step inside, you are not chasing success – you are guaranteeing it.

For more information visit www.squatsuccess.co.uk/squat-success.

This article is sponsored by Squat Success.