Ethan Brooks leads Sales and Partnerships at PeakIntent, where he helps high-ticket service businesses, from personal injury and tax resolution firms to cosmetic surgery, dental, restoration, and roofing companies, buy exclusive leads that actually convert. He writes about lead economics, why cost per signed case beats cost per lead, and how to scale acquisition without wasting budget.
If you buy patient leads for an implant practice, the number on the invoice is the price per lead. It is also the least useful number you have. What decides whether the spend pays off is how much you pay per consult that actually happens, and then per case that actually starts treatment.
This guide walks through all three, for single implants and for full-arch. It uses the same ranges as our dental implant and full-arch lead benchmarks and the procedure table in our dental lead generation field guide.
A note on the numbers: ranges are typical, and pricing varies by market and is confirmed before you buy.
Three numbers, not one
Every implant lead goes through the same funnel. Track each step separately.
- Cost per lead. What you pay for one inquiry.
- Cost per consult. Cost per lead divided by the share of leads that book a consult. This is where sources differ the most.
- Cost per case. Cost per consult divided by the share of consults that accept and start treatment.
Here is how the funnel looks with our sourced ranges. Exclusive implant leads typically book a consult 20 to 28 percent of the time. Shared leads book at 6 to 10 percent. Case acceptance from a booked consult is roughly the same for both, about 35 percent.
| Exclusive example | Shared, low price | Shared, high price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per lead | $350 (planning estimate) | $80 | $200 |
| Lead-to-consult | 20% to 28% | 6% | 10% |
| Cost per consult | $350 / 28% = $1,250 to $350 / 20% = $1,750 | $80 / 6% = about $1,333 | $200 / 10% = $2,000 |
| Consult-to-case | 35% | 35% | 35% |
| Cost per case | $1,250 / 35% = about $3,571 to $1,750 / 35% = $5,000 | $1,333 / 35% = about $3,810 | $2,000 / 35% = about $5,714 |
The $350 figure is a planning estimate from our own market defaults, which run $350 to $500 per exclusive implant lead. Notice that the cost per case overlaps. Exclusive is not automatically cheaper per case. What changes is how many conversations your team needs to fill the consult calendar: at 20 to 28 percent booking you need roughly 4 to 5 leads per consult, and at 6 to 10 percent you need 10 to 17.
Single implant vs full-arch economics
The procedure changes the math more than the channel does. Single-implant and full-arch inquiries are priced, and close, very differently.
| Single implant | All-on-4 / full-arch (per arch) | |
|---|---|---|
| Exclusive cost per lead | $80 to $180 | $200 to $500 |
| Case value | $3,000 to $6,000 | $20,000 to $40,000 |
| Lead-to-case close rate | 12% to 22% | 8% to 15% |
| Best case: cost per case | $80 / 22% = about $364 | $200 / 15% = about $1,333 |
| Worst case: cost per case | $180 / 12% = $1,500 | $500 / 8% = $6,250 |
Full-arch carries the bigger lead price and the lower close rate, but even the worst case is a small share of a $20,000 to $40,000 arch. Single implants are the tighter margin. At $1,500 per case against a $3,000 case, half the fee goes to acquisition. That is why many practices treat single-implant leads as volume and full-arch as the profit engine, and why the full-arch sales cycle, 2 to 12 weeks from inquiry to signed plan, deserves its own follow-up process.
For multi-location groups, routing and brand assignment add cost on top of these figures. Our breakdown of DSO patient acquisition cost covers that layer.
Channel comparison
Five channels handle most implant patient acquisition. Read the unit column before comparing prices.
| Channel | Typical cost | Unit | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exclusive pay-per-lead | $200 to $500 | per lead | One practice per market. Books consults at 20 to 28 percent if intake responds fast. |
| Google Ads PPC | $120 to $400 | per lead | Most controllable. Cost is the dominant search intent, so the landing page should lead with financing. |
| Google Local Services Ads | $60 to $180 | per booked consult | Requires strong reviews and verified credentials. Favors established practices. |
| Shared lead marketplaces | $80 to $200 | per lead | Same patient goes to several practices. Books at 6 to 10 percent. |
| Referrals | near zero | acquisition cost | Highest converting. Slow to build and capped by your past case volume. |
Shared leads are not wrong. A cheap shared lead with a strong intake team can match exclusive on cost per case, as the first table shows. The hidden cost is staff time spent calling patients who are already talking to other practices. Our shared vs exclusive leads comparison explains how to measure both sides for a month.
The biggest lever: consults that actually happen
Every number above assumes the booked consult shows up. When it does not, you paid the full cost per consult, $1,250 to $1,750 in the exclusive example, and got nothing. Cost per case rises in direct proportion to your no-show rate, which makes show rate the cheapest place to find margin. Improving it costs staff attention, not more leads.
What keeps show rates high is mostly logistics. Route each patient to the nearest location so the drive is reasonable. Confirm insurance and accepted carriers before booking, so "we don't take your plan" does not surface at the door. Hold the appointment by text right away, then call.
Speed sets this up. Implant patients often compare 3 to 5 practices in one browsing session, and the first coordinator to have a real conversation usually books the consult. Aim for under 5 minutes on new inquiries. After about four hours, close rates fall by 60 to 80 percent. The speed to lead playbook covers how to staff for it.
Financing: the hidden closer
An accepted treatment plan is not a started case. On full-arch especially, the gap between "yes" and the first appointment is usually payment. Patients wait on financing approval, compare monthly payments, or check with a spouse.
Practices that resolve money questions early convert more of the consults they paid for. Verifying insurance during the first intake conversation, instead of in a later call, is associated with closing 20 to 40 percent more consults. Add a financing reminder to the nurture sequence for patients who consult and defer. Count a case only when treatment starts, or your cost per case will look better than it is.
Frequently asked questions
How much do dental implant leads cost in 2026?
Typical ranges: shared implant leads $80 to $200, Google Ads PPC $120 to $400 per lead, and exclusive leads $200 to $500. Single-implant inquiries sit lower, about $80 to $180, and full-arch inquiries sit at $200 to $500 because the case is worth far more. Pricing varies by market and is confirmed before you buy.
What is a good cost per started implant case?
Compare it to the case value, not to other practices. A full-arch case worth $20,000 to $40,000 per arch can carry a few thousand dollars of lead spend. A single implant worth $3,000 to $6,000 cannot, so single-implant leads need a cheaper price or a higher close rate to work.
Why track cost per consult instead of cost per lead?
Because lead-to-consult booking rates vary several times over between sources. Shared implant leads typically book at 6 to 10 percent and exclusive leads at 20 to 28 percent, so two leads with the same price can produce very different consult costs.
Are exclusive implant leads cheaper per case than shared leads?
Not automatically. On our sourced ranges the per-case cost can overlap. The difference is that exclusive leads take fewer conversations to fill the consult calendar and reach patients who are not fielding calls from several other practices at once. Run both through the same funnel math before deciding.
How does financing affect implant lead cost?
Financing is often the step that decides whether an accepted treatment plan becomes a started case, especially on full-arch. Practices that resolve payment and insurance questions early convert more consults, and verifying insurance during intake is associated with closing 20 to 40 percent more consults.
How fast should an implant practice respond to a new lead?
Within minutes. Implant patients often compare 3 to 5 practices in one browsing session, and the first treatment coordinator to have a real conversation usually books the consult. After about four hours, close rates fall sharply.
PeakIntent delivers exclusive implant patient inquiries to one practice per market. See exclusive dental implant lead pricing for your market.