Local Dental Hub

Closing the "in-network" trust gap between patients and dental clinics

Overview

Role: Solo designer & builder
Tools: Glide, Google Places API, Google Sheets, Mapbox
Status: Pre-launch, functionally complete

The Problem

Most patients search for a dentist the same way: check their insurance portal for "in-network" providers, pick one nearby, and book. The catch — insurance portals and clinic websites are frequently out of date. A clinic can drop out of network while the insurance company's own directory still lists them as covered, and patients don't find out until they're in the waiting room, or after the bill arrives.

Existing tools — Google Maps, generic directories, even the insurance company's own site — can tell you where a clinic is. None of them can tell you, reliably, whether you can actually afford to walk in.

Why this Isn't Just a Directory App

Early on, the plan was a filterable directory — sort by insurance type, specialty, distance. But a key constraint reshaped the approach: Google Places API, the data source for clinic locations, has no reliable field for insurance participation. No API does, because network status changes clinic by clinic and isn't public structured data anywhere.

That constraint became the actual design insight: don't automate what can't be automated. Design around the one verification method that's always accurate — a direct phone call — and make that step as fast as possible.

The Core Flow

Discover — Directory & Map
Patients browse a searchable directory or a full map view, sortable by relevance or distance.

Verify — Call to Verify
Every clinic profile leads with distinct actions — Call, Call to Verify, Request Appointment — deliberately separated so patients know exactly why they're dialing.

Trust — Claim This Clinic
Clinics can claim their listing and update their own information, keeping data fresher than a static directory could manage alone.

Save — Favorites
Once a patient calls and confirms a clinic is in-network, they save it — turning a search result into a verified shortlist.

Flowchart showing a patient browsing the directory, calling a clinic to verify insurance, then saving confirmed clinics to favorites.

Design Decisions

Separating "Call" from "Call to Verify" — a single generic contact button would have been simpler to build, but it erases the point. Naming the action tells the patient what to ask before they dial.

Favorites sits after the verify step, not before — so a saved clinic means something confirmed, not just something noticed.

Letting clinics claim their own listing shifts data upkeep to the party with the most accurate information and the clearest reason to keep it current.

Known Gaps & Next Steps

The incentive for clinics to claim a listing is still weak. Yelp and ZocDoc solve this with visibility and booking volume; this app has no equivalent hook yet. It's the main open question before launch.

The Google Places data pull needs a cleanup pass — some non-dental businesses surfaced in early results.

Favorites has no "last verified" date. Network status changes, so a clinic confirmed six months ago isn't the same as one confirmed yesterday. That's the next feature I'd build.

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