The 2027 Crystal Ball: Color, Consumers, & A Few Surprises

And how these trends may impact your dental marketing strategies

Every year brings a fresh batch of "trends to watch." Most of it is noise dressed up as insight, but human authenticity and AI optimization always make the list. As a dental marketing company, we knew we needed to dig into what's happening heading into 2027 – based on real data – and sort it into what matters for how you attract, treat, and keep patients. Plus, a bit of fun!

What’s hot in color for 2027?

Color me curious! After years of cool grays and minimalist everything, warmth is making a comeback. Sherwin-Williams' 2027 Rewild forecast features 48 colors, with earthy tones and warm neutrals taking center stage. Their color of the year is celery, and it looks like it sounds. LOL! Other organizations are identifying smoky blues, greens, and earthy browns, and even Pantone went that route with its fall colors. While the official 2027 colors of the year from Pantone (2026 was Cloud) and KitchenAid (2026 was Spearmint) won’t be released until later this year, that doesn’t mean businesses should trade crisp white websites, strong typography, and high-contrast accent colors for muted browns and greens. We shouldn’t repaint our office every time a new palette emerges, either. But color does influence how people experience your brand. In marketing, color has a different job. It helps establish brand recognition, direct attention, communicate personality, and make important elements stand out. Blue and red remain among the most widely used corporate brand colors, while research shows that contrast – and not one magic color – is what helps website buttons stand out. A crisp, clean design with a bold pop of color commands attention. Your website, signage, photography, and marketing materials should feel intentional, consistent, and distinctly you. Is your logo feeling 2027, or is it time for an update? We can help. After all, around here, standing out never goes out of style, no matter your color!

Sixty is not the new 30, apparently, despite how I feel! It’s the new 60 … with a smartphone!

Forget the outdated image of older adults struggling with technology. Most adults have smartphones, 90% use social media, and AI has entered the picture, of course. Adults are exploring tools that help them find information, compare options, and make everyday decisions. One of the most desired target audiences for our clients, 60+ adults aren’t slowing down when it comes to their smiles, either. For example, a 2026 clinical study found that 65% of orthodontic patients aged 60+ sought treatment primarily to improve crowding of their front teeth. This is an active generation that’s embracing technology, investing in their health, and redefining what aging looks like. Sandra Bullock is 62, Tom Cruise is 64, and Jennifer Aniston will turn 58 in February. Sixty-plusses are living around your practice, serving as an active, connected, and influential audience to attract.

Digital confidence isn’t reserved for the young, but if the quality of your digital presence isn’t strong, no audience on your radar will convert as well as it could. Your website needs a strong foundation for today's audiences: speed, easy navigation, custom content, clear branding, and consistent, high-quality information that answers questions. Technically sound SEO/AEO helps search engines and AI tools understand it. I just wrote an article about website structure and speed. Websites will need to be even faster in 2027 because speed affects your rankings, conversion rates, and visibility across AI search engines. Are you wondering how your website is performing? Are you ready to take your website to the next level?  Speak with one of our experts: schedule a website review now.

The neighborhood is literally getting older.

The 65+ crowd represents close to 20% of the population, but here’s what’s interesting: they aren’t a predictable demographic. Some are working, some are traveling, some are having new families, some are helping kids and grandchildren, and many are investing in their health and quality of life. Make sure messaging across digital and direct mail campaigns highlights the benefits and importance of good oral health and elective solutions for adults of all ages. These older adults are bombarded with healthy living tips, but there’s little practical, local information about oral health, which is a gap your practice can fill. Consider how you can be more proactive in reaching these people and giving them the nudge they need to check out your services.

Five stars? Apparently 4.5 will do!

The need for reviews isn’t going anywhere, and your online reputation has an expiration date. BrightLocal’s 2026 consumer research found that over 30% of consumers will only consider a business rated 4.5 stars or higher, with the sweet spot being 4.8-4.9. (A full 5-star rating can raise skepticism, and a mix of good and not-so-good reviews is more trusted than all good reviews.) And because three-quarters of consumers only pay attention to reviews from the previous three months, that means a glowing review from last year will not carry the weight it once did. Over 99% of consumers read reviews, and 93% report that they influence their purchasing decisions. Don’t forget to acknowledge and thank your patients for their reviews, and keep in mind that 80% of consumers prefer to do business with companies that actively respond to reviews. Reviews play a role in AI summaries and Google ranking. The lesson for 2027? Keep earning those stars, encourage a steady stream of authentic patient feedback, and respond professionally. Need support? Our Review BOOSTER platform does the heavy lifting.

Champagne taste, smart-shopping habits.

Consumers love quality, but they also love a good deal. NielsenIQ's 2027 consumer outlook revealed that spending has shifted from mid-priced consumer products toward both budget-friendly and premium alternatives. A 2026 shopper survey found that over half of respondents said that good deals or promotions would encourage them to return to a brand, while the other half cited product quality. The message for a local dentist? Don’t confuse “price-conscious” with “cheap.” Patients may happily invest in quality, service, and an experience they trust, while still appreciating an incentive that makes their decision to schedule now a little easier. The trick is to promote value without making price your entire story.

The shopping journey itself is changing. A third of the population is using AI to help make purchasing decisions. That’s not dental-specific, but it signals a broader change in how people will discover and evaluate businesses. In 2027, your practice needs more than a beautiful website. Clear information, credible reviews, consistent business details, and a recognizable local brand all matter when consumers use search engines and AI tools to narrow their choices. The technology may be changing, but trust will still do the lion’s share of the work.

So how do you work around AI overviews? Paid ads. And they are shifting for dentists. As Google continues to expand its AI Overviews, Local Service Ads (LSAs) are emerging as the most popular and valuable real estate in search results. These ads sit at the top, above traditional PPC, map packs, and organic listings. As we’ve said before, they are more challenging to earn because you must complete a detailed process to win a Google Screened badge. But when you consider that AI Overviews will be served when a patient asks a question, and more search queries are appearing as questions, LSAs are worth investigating. Our team will walk you through the required steps to qualify. Book a call to talk about LSAs for your practice.  

Speaking of trust and decision-making...

Consumers still trust word-of-mouth and peer recommendations the most, while print ads and direct mail remain the most trusted paid ad formats, with over 82% of consumers trusting print when making a purchase decision. It’s just a fact. And this matters for dentists, where trust is the desired outcome. Physical mail consistently outperforms digital channels in trust. Today, with digital feeds flooded with AI-generated spam and fake ads, the physical mailbox offers a tangible, uncrowded experience that is ranked as more authentic. And the open rates crush!

AI search and GEO. Traditional keyword SEO is evolving as users use AI tools alongside conventional search engines to find answers rather than clicking through a list of links. But because AI has made it easy to create content, consumers are craving human connection and transparency.

While the shopping journey is morphing, the modern dental patient journey won’t change for the dental practice. Patients still need to know you’re there; they need to know they need or want the services; they need quality information to make good decisions for their families; and they need to have a great experience booking appointments and returning to your practice. This isn’t a trend. The phases of the patient journey are how consumers move through the funnel toward becoming loyal and referring patients.

1. Awareness
2. Research
3. Buying Decision
4. Patient Experience
5. Advocacy

The true physical anchor here is direct mail, which is incredibly effective for local dental offices because you draw from a distinct radius. We can hyper-target based on your exact draw area. And with people feeling the digital overwhelm, direct mail cuts through and builds tangible relationships outside of your practice. Direct mail sits on the kitchen counter. For our clients, content is custom, featuring team and doctor imagery and real stories that resonate with readers. Our clients average 6-7X ROI within the first year, and most users recognize that the campaign is the single biggest driver of new patients. An effective direct mail campaign helps all your other channels work better.

If direct mail is the physical anchor to trust, then website video and custom photography take over once the patient looks you up online. Dental anxiety is real for some, dental complacency (thinking their teeth are healthy) is real for others, treatment perception (negative stories handed down for generations) is an issue for others, and dental fee/insurance concerns are a reality for many – even when they have insurance. A warm video, images of happy doctors and staff, and quality content that helps answer questions and overcome objections further build trust.

Hello … is that you?

From direct mail to online, the goal is to create a great, trusting experience and get patients to pick up the phone. How that phone call is handled is critical to success. AI agents are popping up everywhere, and you can expect this to continue for dentistry when you consider how many calls go unanswered. Using AI for straightforward communication (FAQs, hours, basic screening, and even basic scheduling) can help capture more callers – even if the practice team must still call back. We’ve had some success tracking the results, but it’s early days, so we are continuing to investigate this area to support clients’ call-answer and conversion rates. The cool thing for our clients is that, because every marketing campaign has a call-scoring line, results are completely visible across all call handlers, including the AI receptionist you may want to test. That said, a trend that isn’t going away is that patients want to feel their business is valued. They want to feel welcome and cared for quickly. Our advice on call handling is to know how many calls are answered live and to boost the number your team can answer. We’ve found that humans generally do the best at conversion. And listen to a few of your calls across agents. Would you want to join your practice?

What’s happening on the dental scene?

Whitening has become an everyday habit rather than something reserved for a special occasion. But today, one-hour in-office formulations are moving toward gentler options, so consider the opportunity to re-engage patients who tried speed whitening once, developed sensitive teeth, and gave up. A little smile improvement can be just the right level of commitment to get patients in the chair. In today’s economic environment, not every smile improvement requires a major makeover, and that may be the way to ease patients into treatment. Whitening, bonding, and clear aligners offer patients an easy entry point to your practice when they’re looking for a smile upgrade. What about those improvements in professional teeth whitening formulations? Let your patients know times have changed! I’ve been through the zinger age of whitening (OMG, that was crazy), but I’d come back for promises of results and no zingers! Promotion opportunity! 😉 For dental practices planning their 2027 marketing, there’s an opportunity to showcase approachable cosmetic options alongside comprehensive restorative care.

Is there a GLP-1 trend? Maybe. (LOL!)

A new category of patient is walking through your door: GLP-1 users. What does dentistry need to know? With millions using medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and others, there’s growing interest in what these drugs might mean for oral health. A new 2026 study involving more than 184,000 patients found that 5.3% developed documented dry mouth within 12 months, with higher rates associated with greater weight loss. When compared to patients taking other diabetes medications, GLP-1 users were not at greater risk of caries and periodontal disease. It’s a reminder to ask patients about their medications and to monitor emerging science. I’m sure there will be more on this one!

Practice culture – it can be felt by patients.

The hygienist shortage is not due to a bad year. And it’s not just hygiene. Staffing has become one of the top operational headaches in dentistry. A practice that treats retention as seriously as recruitment is playing a smarter long game. At Patient NEWS, we work hard on culture. In fact, we put culture on our core list of values (there are three, including service with honesty and integrity, and product quality and innovation) when we set them in 2001. That’s 25 years of marching to the same beat, encouraging camaraderie, hard work, fun, and positivity while bringing teams together for celebrations. This dedication has helped us retain amazing people, have fun while we work hard, and yes, be recognized as a Top 100 employer four times! A little tip: check out the FISH! Philosophy. It’s a quick read and could give you a little inspo for your practice. We love it at Patient NEWS.

The four tenets of FISH! are simple and have become part of us:

• Choose a Positive Attitude
• Remember to Play (we can be serious about our work without being serious about ourselves)
• Be Present (in your interactions)
• Make Someone’s Day (when you see someone having an off day, it’s easy to share a smile)

The ripple effect is tangible when culture isn’t great. You can “feel” culture (as we’ve called it, “that intangible spirit”), and an unhealthy culture can lead to an unhappy, disengaged team … and to patients who don’t return due to longer waits for a cleaning or a recall appointment, and/or phones that go unanswered. Some tactics you can look at to improve culture include vacation and personal time allowances above the usual, health insurance benefits, company events, bonus plans, and recognition programs. Practice owners and leaders who get ahead of culture and team engagement – communicating proactively instead of letting the team and patients feel forgotten – will have more success and actually feel better themselves.

The crystal ball isn’t always crystal clear!

Some trends come and go. Colors will change, technology will keep surprising us, and patients will continue to redefine what they want from their dental care. But the fundamentals of a successful practice aren’t going anywhere. People want to feel confident in their choices, appreciated by the businesses they support, and cared for by the people they trust.

As you plan for 2027, don’t chase every shiny new trend. Pay attention to what’s changing in your area, understand the patients you want to attract, and keep investing in the experience that makes them want to stay and refer. A little innovation, a strong team, smart marketing, and a genuine commitment to your business will deliver the results you’re looking for.

SCHEDULE A CALL TO DISCUSS YOUR 2027 STRATEGIES TODAY!