How We Rank Dentists

The short version

Some of the placements you see on Dentists in Los Angeles are paid advertising. Dental practices can buy a higher position in their neighborhood, and those paid placements appear at or near the top of the list. We label premium listings, but you should assume that the top positions in a neighborhood may be there because the practice paid for them — not purely because they are "the best." The ratings and review counts we show are real and are not affected by payment.

What is paid (and how much)

We sell a small number of promoted slots in each neighborhood through paid subscription tiers:

• Elite and VIP tiers buy placement in the top-five visible block for a neighborhood. These are the most prominent positions on the page, and they are sold to practices.
• These are paid plans. Pricing runs up to roughly $997 per month for the most prominent Elite placement, with lower-cost tiers below that. Current pricing is always shown on our pricing page.
• Paid placement affects ordering. A practice that buys a VIP or Elite slot will appear above non-paying practices in that neighborhood, regardless of their relative ratings.

In other words: a higher position is not, by itself, an endorsement. It can simply mean the practice is an advertiser. This is paid placement, and we disclose it here so you can weigh listings accordingly.

What is NOT paid

• Star ratings and review counts are real. The numeric rating and the number of reviews shown on a listing come from real review data and are not bought, inflated, or altered by a practice's tier.
• Being listed is free. A practice does not have to pay to appear in the directory at all. Unpaid practices are listed below the promoted slots and are ordered by their own merits.
• Our editorial content is independent. Our neighborhood guides and blog articles are not sold; a practice cannot pay to be recommended in them.

How the order is built

Within a neighborhood, the list is assembled in this order:

1. Paid Elite slots (up to two) fill the very top positions.
2. Paid VIP slots (up to three) fill the remaining top-five positions.
3. Everyone else — including free and Verified-tier listings — follows below, ordered by rating, review volume, and relevance to your search. Verified status confirms a practice claimed and validated its listing; it does not buy a top-five slot.

Because the top of a neighborhood can be occupied by advertisers, we encourage you to read each listing's ratings, reviews, specialties, and details — not just its position — and to verify credentials and insurance directly with any practice before booking.

Questions

If anything about how a listing is ranked is unclear, email us at hello@dentistsinlosangeles.com. You can also read more about who we are on our About page.