How a postcard brings a new patient to the practice
New dental patients mostly come from a few miles around the office, and they decide on a handful of practical questions: is it close, do they take my insurance, are they taking new patients, and can I get an appointment at a time that works. A postcard that answers those four questions on one side does most of the selling.
The trigger is usually a life change: a move into the area, a new job with new insurance, a child who needs a first visit, or a toothache. EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) reaches every household on the carrier routes around the office, including the new arrivals who have not chosen a dentist yet.
A mailer repeated every six to eight weeks catches each of those moments as it happens.
Printing for the front of the practice and the mailbox
The new-patient postcard
An 8.5″ × 11″ postcard looks substantial in the mailbox and has room for a team photo, the insurance plans you accept, your hours and a map. It qualifies for EDDM, and 5,000 cost $829 on 16pt card. Practices mailing more often can use the 6″ × 11″ size, 5,000 for $639.
Appointment cards
Standard 3.5″ × 2″ business cards work as appointment cards with a write-in date and time on the back. 2,500 cost $69 and last most front desks a long time.
Table tents in the office
A 4.25″ × 6″ table tent at the front desk or in the operatory can promote whitening, a referral program or your membership plan for patients without insurance. 2,500 cost $764.50.
What a dental mailer needs to show
List the insurance plans you accept by name. It answers the first question most readers have, and it filters out calls you cannot help.
Use a real photo of your team and office. People are choosing who will work inside their mouth, and a real face matters more here than in almost any other trade. Show your hours, especially early, evening or Saturday appointments, and say clearly that you welcome new patients.
Your state dental board sets rules for advertising, such as how specialties and offers may be described. Have the final design checked against those rules before you approve the proof. Our dental new-patient mailer guide goes through each panel of the card.
Choosing the homes to mail around a dental office
Start with the carrier routes closest to the office and work outward, since convenience is the main reason a patient picks a dentist. On the USPS EDDM map, each route shows its household count and filters for age and household size, which helps a family practice favor routes with more households with children.
New neighborhoods and apartment areas near the office deserve a place on the list. People who just moved are the ones actively looking for a new dentist, and EDDM reaches them without waiting for their names to appear on any mailing list.
Our guide to choosing EDDM carrier routes walks through the map filters step by step.
Keeping the patients a mailing brings in
The new-patient mailer is half of the plan. The other half is the recall reminder that brings each patient back for cleanings, which is where a practice earns most of a patient's lifetime value.
Recall cards go to your own patient list, so they are addressed mail rather than EDDM, and a smaller card works fine. 2,500 4″ × 6″ postcards cost $179. Your practice software or a mail house can add the addresses before mailing.
Separate mailers for implants, braces and cosmetic work
High-value services such as implants, clear aligners or cosmetic work deserve their own mailer rather than a line on the new-patient card. The reader for an implant card is an older adult with a specific problem, while the new-patient card speaks to families.
The 8.5″ × 11″ size gives room to explain the treatment, show financing options and include a before-and-after photo where your state dental board allows it.
What a new-patient campaign costs to print
A starting order for one practice: 5,000 8.5″ × 11″ postcards ($829) and 2,500 appointment cards ($69). The printing total is $898 before shipping, which covers one mailing to about 5,000 homes around the office.
Add the design fee of $89 if you want us to lay out the postcard. Then use the EDDM cost calculator for shipping and postage, and the break-even calculator with the value of a patient over a year or more. Because patients return for years, a mailing often needs only a few new patients to pay for itself.
Prices from our current price list. Content reviewed October 4, 2026.