Key takeaways
- All 3 Map Pack winners have 100+ reviews; Village Dental - North Raleigh leads with 1,875.
- Top-3 average review count is 897, vs. 549 for positions 4 through 27, a 63 percent gap.
- Ratings range from 4.5 to 5.0 across all 27 tracked practices, making stars a baseline, not a differentiator.
- The review gap between #1 and the median practice (14th of 27, 436 reviews) is 1,439 reviews.
- Wake Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry has 1,423 reviews but ranks at position 19, pointing to category mismatch as a barrier.
The top 3 dentists in Raleigh's Google Map Pack average 897 reviews. The leader, Village Dental - North Raleigh, has 1,875. The median practice across 27 tracked businesses has 436. That 1,439-review gap between first place and the field's midpoint is the clearest pattern in this data.
How competitive is the Raleigh dentist market?
We tracked 27 dental practices with Map Pack positions in Raleigh, North Carolina. The data comes from Cascade's own point-in-time captures of Google Local Pack results.
Ratings are clustered tight: every tracked practice sits between 4.5 and 5.0 stars. That tells me ratings are baseline, not a differentiator, in this market.
Review volume is where the gaps open up.
The top 5
| Business | Position | Rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Village Dental - North Raleigh | 1 | 4.7 | 1,875 |
| Dental Smiles of NC | 2 | 4.9 | 489 |
| Raleigh Dental | 3 | 5.0 | 328 |
| Midtown Dental | 4 | 5.0 | 734 |
| Your Raleigh Dentist | 5 | 4.8 | 436 |
See the full live ranking for Raleigh dentists.
What the top 3 have in common
All three Map Pack winners have 100+ reviews. All three have websites.
The top 3 average 897 reviews. Positions 4 through 27 average 549 reviews. That is 63 percent more reviews on average for the Map Pack practices, and it holds up in other dentist markets Cascade tracks.
Rating is table stakes here. Every practice in Raleigh's tracked 27 sits between 4.5 and 5.0 stars. The spread is only half a point. Google is not sorting this market on stars.
The #1 practice has a review moat
Village Dental - North Raleigh has 1,875 reviews. The second-place practice has 489. That gap (1,386 reviews) is not a lead you close in a few months without a consistent system for asking every patient.
The third-place practice, Raleigh Dental, holds its spot with 328 reviews. That is less than half the count of Midtown Dental at position 4, which has 734. Review count explains rank up to a point, and then proximity, relevance, and engagement signals take over.
What keeps the rest out
The 24 practices outside the Map Pack average 549 reviews. Some have more reviews than the top-3 average of 897. Wake Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry has 1,423 reviews but sits at position 19.
The most likely explanation is category relevance. If Google reads a practice primarily as an orthodontist or pediatric provider, it will not rank it at the top for a broad dentist query. Our board tracks the dentist Map Pack specifically, so practices with mixed category signals face a harder road regardless of review count.
For general dentistry practices with a clean category setup, the data suggests 300 to 500 reviews is the realistic floor to reach the Map Pack, based on where positions 2 and 3 currently sit. That is achievable for a practice that asks patients consistently.
What to do if you are a Raleigh dentist not in the top 3
The first question is whether your primary Google Business Profile category is set to a general dentistry category. If it is not, that is likely a bigger issue than review count.
The second question is review velocity. The top 3 average 897 reviews. If you are at 200 reviews with the right category, you are probably closer to the Map Pack than your current rank suggests.
For a detailed breakdown of where your practice stands and what the specific leaders above you look like, run a free local SEO audit.
For a broader look at how local SEO works for dental practices, the dentist local SEO guide covers the ranking factors in more depth.
Frequently asked questions
How many Raleigh dental practices does Cascade track?
We tracked 27 dental practices with confirmed Map Pack positions in Raleigh, North Carolina. This data comes from Cascade's own point-in-time captures of Google's Local Pack results, not third-party estimates.
What is the average review count for the top 3 Raleigh dentists?
The top 3 practices average 897 reviews. Village Dental - North Raleigh leads with 1,875 reviews. Positions 4 through 27 average 549 reviews.
Does star rating determine ranking in Raleigh's dentist Map Pack?
Ratings run from 4.5 to 5.0 across all 27 tracked practices. Because the spread is so narrow, rating does not appear to be the deciding factor. Review volume and category relevance show clearer patterns.
What is the review gap between #1 and the median practice in Raleigh?
Village Dental - North Raleigh (position 1) has 1,875 reviews. The median practice (14th of 27) has 436 reviews. The gap is 1,439 reviews.
How do I find out where my Raleigh dental practice ranks?
Check the live Raleigh dentist leaderboard to see your current position, or run a free audit for a more detailed breakdown.
Frequently asked questions
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