Dental Market Radar

Brief · facilities

Online and AI booking in dental clinics in 12 Asia-Pacific and Gulf markets: what clinic websites offer, and what holds adoption back

No official statistic or independent study in any of the 12 markets states what share of dental clinics lets patients book online or uses AI for patient contact. We sampled 150 clinics at random in each of Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia and read their websites.

AI-assisted: written with an AI desk and credited to the editorial team. Approved for publication. See editorial policy.

Countries: Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar

Cite this

Dental Market Radar Editorial Team. (2026). Online and AI booking in dental clinics in 12 Asia-Pacific and Gulf markets: what clinic websites offer, and what holds adoption back. Dental Market Radar. https://dentalmarketradar.com/briefs/dental-clinic-online-ai-booking-12-markets/

Permanent URL: https://dentalmarketradar.com/briefs/dental-clinic-online-ai-booking-12-markets/. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Key points

  • No official statistic or independent study in any of the 12 markets states what share of dental clinics lets patients book online or uses AI for patient contact. We sampled 150 clinics at random in each of Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia and read their websites.
  • Real-time online booking, with the slot picker seen: Japan 6 of 150 sampled clinics, 4.0% (95% CI 1.8–8.5%); Taiwan and Malaysia 0 of 150 (0–2.5%). Counting every link to a booking system as an upper bound: Japan 20.0%, Taiwan 1.3%, Malaysia 0.7%.
  • Booking by messaging app is the common online channel outside Japan: WhatsApp in Malaysia 18.0% of sampled clinics (12.7–24.9%), LINE in Taiwan 4.7% and Japan 6.0%.
  • AI claimed for patient contact: 1 of 450 sampled clinic websites (a Japanese clinic announcing a trial of AI voice for phone calls). No sampled site showed a chat widget.
  • Australia, self-reported: 12% of 414 surveyed dental practices said they use AI for appointment scheduling, and 40% would not consider it (CommBank and ADA survey, late 2023).

More findings

TL;DR

Booking on clinic websites (advertised)

Definitions. B2 real-time online booking: the patient picks a live slot online. B1 online request: the patient asks for a slot and the clinic confirms later; booking systems that take only a provisional booking confirmed by phone are B1. M1 messaging booking: the clinic's site invites booking through LINE, WhatsApp or similar. [4]

Real-time online booking (B2)

MarketSampling frameB2-seen: slot picker seen (share of all 150, 95% CI)Upper bound: B2-seen + booking-system link (share of all 150, 95% CI)Clinics with a readable own web presence
JapanMHLW 医療情報ネット open data, 54,637 dental clinics (June 2026) [1][4]6; 4.0% (1.8–8.5%)30; 20.0% (14.4–27.1%)89
TaiwanNHIA contracted dental clinics, 6,998 active (November 2026) [2][4]0; 0.0% (0.0–2.5%)2; 1.3% (0.4–4.7%)26
MalaysiaMOH list of private dental clinics registered as of 30 June 2022, 3,259 entries [3][4]0; 0.0% (0.0–2.5%)1; 0.7% (0.1–3.7%)51

Other online channels

MarketOnline request form (B1), share of all 150 (95% CI)Booking by messaging app (M1), share of all 150 (95% CI)Any online channel (B1, B2 or M1), share of all 150 (95% CI)Phone or walk-in only, share of readable sites (95% CI)
Japan [1][4]8; 5.3% (2.7–10.2%)9, all LINE; 6.0% (3.2–11.0%)39; 26.0% (19.6–33.6%)50 of 89; 56.2% (45.8–66.0%)
Taiwan [2][4]7; 4.7% (2.3–9.3%)7, all LINE; 4.7% (2.3–9.3%)11; 7.3% (4.1–12.7%)15 of 26; 57.7% (38.9–74.5%)
Malaysia [3][4]16; 10.7% (6.7–16.6%)27, all WhatsApp; 18.0% (12.7–24.9%)39; 26.0% (19.6–33.6%)12 of 51; 23.5% (14.0–36.8%)

Chat and AI for patient contact

MarketChat widget (C1), share of all 150 (95% CI)AI claimed (A1 chat/booking or A2 phone), share of all 150 (95% CI)
Japan [1][4]0; 0.0% (0.0–2.5%)1; 0.7% (0.1–3.7%)
Taiwan [2][4]0; 0.0% (0.0–2.5%)0; 0.0% (0.0–2.5%)
Malaysia [3][4]0; 0.0% (0.0–2.5%)0; 0.0% (0.0–2.5%)

Survey figures on AI and booking software (used, self-reported)

MarketFigureWhat it measures
Australia12% of surveyed practices "currently using" AI for appointment scheduling; 40% "would not consider using"; 2% using AI for FAQs and queries (fieldwork late 2023) [5]414 decision-makers at dental practices, contacts supplied by the Australian Dental Association; not a random sample; the survey does not say whether the AI faces patients
Australia20% of practices used "online directories and booking services" to attract patients in 2023, down from 23% in 2022 [5]One combined marketing category; not real-time booking
Australia (patients)19% name the practice website as their first-choice way to book a dentist, against 41% for the telephone (October 2023) [6]1,127 online respondents; preference, not clinic adoption
Japan36.7% of 152 responding dentists have appointment-management software (June 2025) [7]Opt-in members of a dental media site; software may be internal only, not patient-facing
Korea6.6% of 18,240 dental clinics had a working website registered with HIRA (2020 data) [8]Web presence, not booking; clinics using portal or blog pages are not counted

What holds adoption back

Barrier evidence was collected per market and class, from primary sources only: law or regulator text on an official portal, regulator guidance, or the survey's own publisher. Where nothing primary was found the cell says so. [4]

Market(a) Software integration(b) Insurance and booking rules(c) Advertising rules(d) Privacy and health data(e) Staff and workflow(f) Patient trust(g) Cost
Japan [4]National API guide for booking tools covers check-in only, not free-slot queries; medical clinics, not dental [11]Booking-system fee allowed from 1 June 2026; no-show fee only under the booked-consultation scheme, with prior consent [9]Clinic websites are regulated as advertising; booking hours and booking URLs may be shown [10]Medical history is special-care data; prior consent needed [12]Tokyo 2024 survey: too busy, too few staff to adopt clinic software (electronic records) [13]No primary evidence foundCost is the most-cited software criterion, named by 61.8% of 152 dentists (opt-in) [7]
Korea [4]No primary evidence foundBan on profit-motivated patient brokering and inducement [14]Testimonial and comparative ads banned; prior review for ads in designated internet media and apps [14]Health data is sensitive; separate consent needed [15]No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence foundNo primary evidence found
Taiwan [4]No primary evidence foundRegistration fees are set by each clinic, not by the authority [18]Ad content limited by law; clinic web information governed by separate rules and the false-claims ban [16]Medical data may be collected only on listed bases such as written consent [17]No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence foundNo primary evidence found
Singapore [4]No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence foundInternet and apps permitted; pushed promotional messages need prior consent; reviews and testimonials restricted [28]Appointment reminders are treated apart from marketing messages; AI guidelines address clinics as deployers [29][30]No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence foundNo primary evidence found
Malaysia [4]One clinic queue system states an open booking API [34]Public dental check-ups are booked through the government MySejahtera service [33]Websites and apps allowed; messaging-app outreach needs prior consent [31]Health data is sensitive; explicit consent needed [32]No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence foundNo primary evidence found
Thailand [4]No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence foundNo primary evidence found (law text found only on non-official hosts)No primary evidence found (law text found only on non-official hosts)No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence foundNo primary evidence found
Vietnam [4]No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence foundNo primary evidence found (decree text found only on a private legal database)No primary evidence found (law summary found only on a provincial explainer)No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence foundNo primary evidence found
Australia [4]One practice system publishes a free-slot API; another limits its API to existing partners [22][23]No primary evidence foundTestimonials banned in advertising, including on booking sites [19]Every practice holding health information is covered regardless of size; AI recording needs consent [20][21]68% of surveyed practices say access to skilled staff limits capacity (2023) [5]64% of patients worry about data breaches; 20% uncomfortable with AI-supported scheduling [6]One booking platform charges $65 per new patient booked [24]
New Zealand [4]Same two practice systems as Australia [22][23]No primary evidence foundTestimonials need written permission and verification [25]Health Information Privacy Code applies; regulator expects an impact assessment before AI tools [26][27]No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence foundNo primary evidence found
Saudi Arabia [4]No primary evidence foundMOH Sehhaty app takes and reschedules bookings for public primary care centres [36]Practitioners may not advertise themselves except as the implementing regulation allows [37]Health data is sensitive data; the regulations set extra controls for processing it [38]No primary evidence foundOlder adults in Jazan who had never booked online cited poor digital skills, unreliable internet, little family support and distrust (qualitative, 27 people) [39]; ease of contacting the dental clinic had the lowest patient satisfaction score, 54.2%, in MOH clinics [40]No primary evidence found
UAE [4]No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence foundDubai: facility social-media accounts must show the medical advertisement licence number [41]; federal fine of AED 100,000–200,000 for unlicensed health advertising through the system [42]Health data from UAE services may not be stored or transferred abroad except as decided by the health authority [42]; Dubai requires AI solutions to disclose which functions are AI-enabled [43]No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence foundNo primary evidence found
Qatar [4]No primary evidence foundHamad dentistry asks patients to start with a primary health centre dentist for an initial assessment [44]No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence found (law text found only as an unofficial translation)No primary evidence foundNo primary evidence foundNo primary evidence found

Market by market

MarketClinic share with online bookingClinic share with AI patient contactWhy
TaiwanSampled: B2-seen 0%; any online channel 7.3%Sampled: 0%Two-thirds of sampled clinics have no own website [2][4]
JapanSampled: B2-seen 4.0%, upper bound 20.0%Sampled: 0.7% (one trial)Official clinic list with homepage field; survey data on software is opt-in [1][4][7]
KoreanullnullOnly a 2020 website-presence figure; no clinic list we could sample [8][4]
SingaporenullnullNo clinic list we may use; data.gov.sg holds counts only [4]
MalaysiaSampled: B2-seen 0%; WhatsApp booking 18.0%Sampled: 0%2022 register of private clinics [3][4]
ThailandnullnullPublic-hospital booking runs through a ministry app; no count on pages robots.txt allows [4]
VietnamnullnullNo clinic list; no survey found [4]
Australianull; practice survey only12% of surveyed practices use AI for scheduling (self-reported)No usable practice list; data.gov.au closes all paths to crawlers [5][4]
New ZealandnullnullNo practice list; no survey on booking channels found [4]
Saudi ArabianullnullNo public list of private clinics; the MOH Sehhaty app reported more than 11 million appointments across all services by February 2023, with no dental split [46][4]
UAEnullnullNo public national clinic list; the only vendor count found is undated and covers all specialties [4]
QatarnullnullPublic dental clinics (PHCC, 2025): 60% walk-in patients, 36% appointment no-show rate, 16 days' appointment wait; no booking-channel split [45]

Method

What cannot be measured, and why

Gaps

AI-assisted. Prepared by the Dental Market Radar Editorial Team from public sources and a website sample read on 2026-11-10.

Source links

Numbers in square brackets in the text link to this list.

  1. 医療情報ネット オープンデータ 歯科診療所 施設票 (MHLW, 2026-06-01) (accessed 2026-11-09)
  2. 健保特約醫事機構-診所 (NHIA open data, data.gov.tw 39283) (accessed 2026-11-09)
  3. Senarai Klinik Pergigian Swasta yang berdaftar di bawah Akta 586 as of 30 Jun 2022 (MOH Malaysia) (accessed 2026-11-09)
  4. Dental Market Radar Editorial Team, T1 website sample of 450 dental clinic websites in Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia, read 2026-11-10, with gap check and barrier records; sampling, coding and checks are described in the Method section of this brief and on the methodology page (accessed 2026-11-10)
  5. CommBank Dental Insights Report 2024 (Commonwealth Bank of Australia with the Australian Dental Association) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  6. CommBank Patient Experience Insights Report 2024 (Commonwealth Bank of Australia) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  7. 歯科医院におけるソフトウェア導入状況 (Dentwave member survey, June 2025) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  8. Factors Associated with Website Operation among Small Hospitals and Medical and Dental Clinics in Korea (Healthc Inform Res 2022;28(4):355-363) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  9. 「療養の給付と直接関係ないサービス等の取扱いについて」の一部改正について(保医発0327第7号, MHLW, 2026-03-27) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  10. 医療広告等ガイドライン (MHLW, last amended 2026-03-30) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  11. 電子カルテ及びレセプトコンピュータ 標準仕様書 第1章別紙6 業務効率化サービス API 実装ガイド(令和8年暫定版) (MHLW and Digital Agency) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  12. 個人情報の保護に関する法律 (e-Gov法令検索) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  13. 令和6年医療機関向けアンケート調査について(資料9) (Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Public Health) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  14. 의료법 (Medical Service Act, in force 2026-10-02; 국가법령정보센터) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  15. 개인정보 보호법 (Personal Information Protection Act, in force 2026-09-11; 국가법령정보센터) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  16. 醫療法 (全國法規資料庫, amended 2026-09-23) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  17. 個人資料保護法 (全國法規資料庫) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  18. 回診看檢查報告,掛號費收取問題 (Ministry of Health and Welfare, 2009-09-29) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  19. Guidelines for advertising a regulated health service (Ahpra and National Boards) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  20. Privacy Act 1988, Compilation No. 104 (Federal Register of Legislation) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  21. Meeting your professional obligations when using Artificial Intelligence in healthcare (Ahpra and National Boards) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  22. Dentally API developer documentation (Henry Schein One) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  23. EXACT API v1.0 documentation (Software of Excellence, Henry Schein One) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  24. HotDoc for dental practices (pricing page) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  25. Advertising practice standard (Dental Council of New Zealand, 1 September 2020) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  26. Health Information Privacy Code fact sheet 1: Overview (Office of the Privacy Commissioner, NZ) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  27. Artificial intelligence and the Information Privacy Principles (Office of the Privacy Commissioner, NZ) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  28. Healthcare Services (Advertisement) Regulations 2021 (Singapore Statutes Online) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  29. Advisory Guidelines for the Healthcare Sector, revised 20 September 2023 (PDPC Singapore) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  30. Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (AIHGle 2.0) (Ministry of Health Singapore) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  31. Guidelines and Provisions for Public Information, 4th edition, endorsed 14 March 2022, in force 1 July 2022 (Malaysian Dental Council); listed on the MDC guidelines page (accessed 2026-11-10)
  32. Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (Act 709), Malay and English text (Personal Data Protection Department) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  33. Application for Booking an Appointment for Health Check (MySejahtera), MyGOV portal (accessed 2026-11-10)
  34. Qmed features (QueueMed Healthtech) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  35. Online booking platforms for dental clinics in 12 Asia-Pacific and Gulf markets (Dental Market Radar brief) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  36. (الصحة) تتيح جدولة وإلغاء المواعيد في تطبيق (صحتي) (Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia, July 2022) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  37. Law of Practicing Healthcare Professions (Royal Decree M/59, 1426H) and implementing regulation, English translation (Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  38. Personal Data Protection Law (Royal Decree M/19, amended M/148), English text V2, 23 April 2023 (SDAIA) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  39. Perceptions of Online Dental Appointment Booking and Barriers to Its Adoption Among Older Adults: A Qualitative Study in the Jazan Region of Saudi Arabia (Dentistry Journal 2026; doi 10.3390/dj14110708; abstract via Crossref) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  40. Patient Satisfaction in Dental Healthcare Settings at Saudi Ministry of Health: A Descriptive Study (Patient Preference and Adherence; doi 10.2147/PPA.S419978; abstract via Europe PMC) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  41. Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media, DHA/HRS/HPSD/ST-21, Issue 1.1 (Dubai Health Authority, 2022) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  42. Federal Law No. (2) of 2019 on the Use of Information and Communications Technology in Healthcare (text published by the Dubai Health Authority) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  43. Artificial Intelligence in the Healthcare, Policy DHA/HISHD/PP-09 (Dubai Health Authority) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  44. Hamad Dentistry: Patient Information (Hamad Medical Corporation) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  45. PHCC Annual Statistical Report 2025 (Primary Health Care Corporation, Qatar) (accessed 2026-11-10)
  46. MOH news, 8 February 2023: Sehhaty application figures (Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia) (accessed 2026-11-10)