1 Why this guide exists
Smile Gulf Coast's May 20, 2026 Growth Readiness Briefing put 3 of 5 gates in the "needs work" column, and the H1 2026 Patient Funnel Scorecard (Jan–Jun) confirms the leaks are conversion-side, not demand-side: 4.9★ Google rating with only 62 lifetime reviews, 28% missed-call rate, no online scheduling, and a website scored 55/100 with Conversion 30 / Patient Resources 29.
Growth is handling the tech and channel work — Neurality, PeerLogic, Instagram launch, referral packaging, website remediation. The pieces we can't produce without the practice are the doctor's clinical voice, patient stories, financing decisions, and photography. This guide is the shortlist of exactly those, in priority order, with the gate each one unlocks.
2 What Smile Gulf Coast already has
Content we don't need to ask Dr. Buntyn for — but that is under-used on the homepage today and absent from Growth's referral collateral.
Team page — smilegulfcoast.com/team/
| Person | What's on file |
|---|---|
| Dr. Randy Buntyn, DMD | Headshot + full bio. LSU → University of Mississippi School of Dentistry → AEGD residency. Former dental-school restorative instructor. Navy vet (USS Forrestal). Focus: cosmetic, TMJ, endodontic therapy, conscious sedation. Lifelong Gulf Coast resident. |
| Dr. Ross Buntyn, DDS | Headshot + full bio. MS State → Loyola New Orleans → studied under Bill Dickerson at LVI. Navy Vietnam vet. Past president of Greater Gulfport Study Club, MS Dental Association peer review, and MS Academy of General Dentistry. Cosmetic focus since 1997. |
| Leah, CRNA | Headshot + bio. MSN Nurse Anesthesia (UAB). Founder of Gulf Coast Anesthesia LLC. Provides IV sedation and general anesthesia in-house — major differentiator for full-arch / Hybridge cases. |
| Brittany, Morgan, Misty — Hygienists | Headshots + short bios (PRCC dental hygiene program). |
| Helena, Keva, Kim — Admin | Headshots + short bios. |
Financing & Insurance page — smilegulfcoast.com/financing-insurance/
- Insurance posture: Out-of-network with all carriers. Practice files claims and provides an estimate up front.
- Payment methods: Cash, checks, major credit cards.
- Financing partner: CareCredit (only).
- Voice line worth pulling forward: "You'll always know what to expect before treatment begins."
3 Content priority list
Ordered by unlock value against SGC's actual scores — GBP photos 53%, Doctor/Team Trust 50, Social Proof 42, Patient Resources 29 — and the Gate 5 Advanced Care strategy (referral-based full-arch / Hybridge).
Tier 1 · Foundational identity
Unblocks GBP photo score (53 → 100), Doctor/Team Trust (50), and everything downstream. Nothing else really scales until this is in.
Highest leverage — production ready
All three lift GBP + website + referral collateral simultaneously.
- OMOffice photos — exterior signage, reception, treatment rooms, sterilization / tech, waiting area, exterior daytime shot. Team headshots already exist; Google specifically weights place photos in the map pack. Deliver 15–20 iPhone-quality shots minimum; a Studio-scheduled shoot is ideal.
- OMDefinitive Friday hours — website shows "Select Fridays," Google shows "Friday Closed." Pick one and Growth updates both. Flagged as the top NAP fix in the briefing.
- DoctorOMPractice founding / tenure narrative — Dr. Ross's bio implies a Smile Design Center → Smile Gulf Coast transition around 2015; Growth needs the clean "Serving the Gulf Coast since [year]" line for LP hero, homepage, and referral one-pager.
Tier 2 · Trust and social proof
Website Social Proof scored 42/100. The site has 4 unattributed quotes; the LP template uses attributed Google reviews.
Patient content
Directly moves Gate 4 (Reputation) and Gate 5 (Advanced Care conversion).
- OMFront Desk3–5 refreshed patient testimonials — first name, city, consent to include a photo. Briefing's explicit P3 ask. The existing 5-star Google review of Dr. Randy is a strong anchor to build around.
- DoctorOMBefore / after gallery — full-arch, Hybridge, cosmetic, with patient consent. Zero outcome imagery on the site today. This is the single biggest content gap for the Advanced Care story.
Tier 3 · Service depth
Drives the Advanced Care play. Gate 5's recommendation is referral-based full-arch / Hybridge growth; the referral package Growth is building needs content only Dr. Buntyn can approve.
Clinical narratives
Powers Growth's referral collateral, the Hybridge service page rebuild, and the eventual paid-media LP.
- DoctorHybridge / full-arch case narrative — visit-by-visit timeline, what a patient experiences at each stage, typical financing range, healing expectations, 1–2 real patient stories. Growth writes the copy; needs Dr. Buntyn's clinical direction.
- DoctorSedation dentistry page — feature Leah (CRNA) explicitly. IV vs oral vs nitrous, who's a candidate, safety credentials. High-value content already sitting on /team/ but unused on service pages.
- OMTop 3 FAQ topics per service line — briefing ask. Recommend: Hybridge cost + financing, sedation options + candidacy, emergency same-day, insurance handling for OON patients.
Tier 4 · Conversion content
Patient Resources scored 29/100. The out-of-network insurance posture makes membership + expanded financing more urgent, not less.
Financial pathway
Direct fix for the funnel step where OON, uninsured, and Hybridge-considering patients drop out.
- DoctorOMApprove in-house membership plan concept + tier structure — briefing P2 ask. Suggested starting point: 3 tiers modeled on Smile Center of Orlando (Adult, Adult Plus, Kids). More urgent for SGC because there are zero in-network relationships to fall back on.
- GrowthOON-friendly copy for LP + homepage — no doctor input needed, but flagged so it doesn't get scoped as "insurance list." Recommended line: "We work with any PPO plan as an out-of-network provider. We file your claim and estimate your benefits before treatment — no surprises."
- DoctorExpand financing partners beyond CareCredit — CareCredit alone doesn't work for $25–50K Hybridge cases. Add Sunbit (approval-friendly) + one high-limit lender (Proceed Finance or LendingUSA). Vendor selection is Dr. Buntyn's call; Growth handles enrollment.
- OMHSA / FSA acceptance language + pre-treatment estimate workflow — add to the financing page and pull to the LP. Trust-builder for uninsured patients weighing a full-arch case.
- OMEmergency / same-day protocol — clear promise language for the homepage and GBP.
Tier 5 · Growth engine content
Powers the Advanced Care referral pipeline and the community-content social calendar.
External-facing collateral
Growth executes the outreach; needs Dr. Buntyn's target list and any current community activities.
- DoctorReferral partner target list — Gulf Coast primary care, periodontists, and oral surgeons Dr. Buntyn would like Growth to prime with the Hybridge referral package.
- OMCurrent community involvement — sponsorships, school partnerships, local causes for 2026. Dr. Ross's historical study-club leadership is documented but Growth needs current-year activities to fuel social + PR.
4 Recommended additions to the SGC-MS scorecard
The current Patient Funnel Scorecard is heavy on funnel KPIs; the briefing surfaces items it doesn't yet reflect. Ordered by strategic value.
| # | Add to scorecard | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Website Doctor/Team Trust (50) and Social Proof (42) subscores | Scorecard cites Conversion 30, Patient Resources 29, Mobile 25 but omits these two — the ones content unblocks |
| 2 | Membership plan approval status (pending → approved → live) | Ties to Patient Resources score and uninsured-patient conversion; more critical given OON insurance posture |
| 3 | Zappy card + morning-huddle review-ask deployment status | Scorecard reports the 0-reviews/mo outcome but not whether the tactical fix has been deployed |
| 4 | Front desk L&D phone-skills training status | 28% missed calls + 50% answered-call conversion — this is the lever that would move the missed-call KPI |
| 5 | Meta Business Manager access + Facebook branding refresh status | Scorecard notes Instagram/Optio block but not the Facebook side |
| 6 | Hours NAP inconsistency (Fri: Select vs Closed) | Data-quality flag from briefing; scorecard doesn't surface GBP/website mismatches |
| 7 | Monthly tech-investment context ($341/mo — GHL, PeerLogic, PromoRepublic, Cookiebot, Userway, SEO) | Frames the "stabilize before spend" verdict — Dr. Buntyn is already funded on the foundational stack |
| 8 | Yelp listing needs to be claimed — yelp.com/biz/smile-gulf-coast-gulfport-2 (listing exists, no activity, unclaimed) | Briefing calls it out; scorecard is silent. Claiming unlocks owner responses, photos, and hours control |