CASE STUDIES

What got mailed, and what other practices have reported.

Each Virginia program is written out: the practice, the route, what each side of the card says, and the invoice. The other offices are written out the same way, from PostcardMania, Cactus Mailing, and Dental Economics, including where a second source disagrees with the headline. A dollar figure that is patients times an assumed lifetime value is labeled as an estimate.

Programs we produced in 2026

Manassas, Leesburg, and Alexandria. Response is tracked by the practice, from the phone number on the card. We do not invent a patient count after the fact.

Front

Back

ACG CLIENT · 2026

Manassas Modern Dentistry

10620 Crestwood Drive, Unit A, Manassas, VA 20109 · Shared value card

703-977-2376 · Open Saturdays. Late appointments. Se habla español.

Pieces: 11,972
Program: $2,753.56
Rate: 23¢
Drops: 1

THE PRACTICE

Manassas Modern Dentistry, 10620 Crestwood Drive, Unit A, Manassas, VA 20109. The card names Dr. Yndira Rodriguez and Dr. Tareq Salameh as the general dentists and Dr. Mohammad Zohaib as the pediatric dentist. It also says the office is open Saturdays, takes late appointments, and that the staff speaks Spanish. The phone on the piece is 703-977-2376.

THE LIST AND THE MONEY

One shared-mail drop. 11,972 homes, in-home September 13, 2026, at 23¢. The program is $2,753.56, which covers design, the list, print, and postage. Shared mail is cheaper than a solo postcard because the postal panel is shared. That is why this job sits under the published solo tiers of 26¢ to 30¢. It is not a discount off the solo card. It is a different format.

THE FRONT

A family photograph, the practice name, and one offer: 30% off any major dental work. No service list, no paragraph. The person sorting mail can read the deal without turning it over. The photograph is a family, which matches a practice that sees kids and adults at the same address.

THE BACK

Six coupons, all dated through December 31, 2026. $59 for a new-patient exam, x-ray, and cleaning for patients without insurance. A free consultation on any work. Clear aligners at $199 a month. $1,000 off an implant, with a no-interest plan. Free take-home whitening after the new-patient visit for insured patients. All insurance and Medicaid. The doctors’ names sit with the coupons so the call is to a person, not a logo.

WHAT THIS DOES NOT PROVE

September in the mailbox and a December 31 expiration give the office one season to answer the phone. We do not have a patient count for this drop, and we are not going to estimate one and print it next to their name. The only decision math that belongs here: the program was $2,754. Two retained patients in the $8,000–$15,000 lifetime-value range cover that spend. That is break-even, not a report of who called.

EVERY OFFER ON THE CARD

30% off any major dental work
$59 new-patient exam, x-ray, and cleaning for non-insured patients
Free consultation on any dental work
Clear aligners at $199 a month
$1,000 off an implant, with a no-interest payment plan
Free take-home whitening after exam, x-ray, and cleaning for insured patients
All insurance and Medicaid. Coupons expire December 31, 2026.

Dr. Yndira Rodriguez and Dr. Tareq Salameh, general dentists. Dr. Mohammad Zohaib, pediatric dentist.

IN-HOME SCHEDULE

IN HOME	PIECES	PROGRAM
Sep 13, 2026	11,972 · 23¢	$2,753.56

Shared value card, not a solo postcard. That is why this drop priced at 23¢, under the published solo tiers.
The address panel is a postage-paid shared-mail indicia. The practice address on the creative is Crestwood Drive.
Offer is specific and dated — the pattern that shows up on cards that actually get called.

Open the card larger

Lansdowne Family Dental shared-mail panel with the team by the water and a new-patient call to action.

Practice panel

Offer panel

ACG CLIENT · 2026

Lansdowne Family Dental

19415 Deerfield Ave., Suite 309, Leesburg, VA 20176 · Shared value card · four drops

703-729-1818 · Mon & Tue 9–7 · Wed & Thu 7–3 · Fri 8–1 · Saturday by appointment.

Pieces: 31,525
Program: $8,827
Rate: 28¢
Drops: 4

THE PRACTICE

Lansdowne Family Dental, Implant and Cosmetic Center, 19415 Deerfield Avenue, Suite 309, Leesburg, VA 20176. Wael Elosta, DDS, FAGD. The card lists Monday and Tuesday 9–7, Wednesday and Thursday 7–3, Friday 8–1, and Saturday by appointment. Phone 703-729-1818. Services named on the piece: cosmetic dentistry, implants in the office, veneers, CEREC crowns, sleep apnea, and laser dentistry. Se habla español.

THE LIST AND THE MONEY

Four shared-mail drops into the same Leesburg market, not four towns. In-home September 20 (9,150 pieces, $2,562), October 4 (7,737, $2,166.36), November 3 (5,487, $1,536.36), and December 6 (9,151, $2,562.28). Every drop is 28¢. Together that is 31,525 pieces and $8,827. The count changes because the route buy changes. The rate does not. Shared mail again, which is why 28¢ is the number and not the solo tier.

THE CREATIVE

One panel is the team by the water and a plain line: accepting new patients, call 703-729-1818. The other panel is the price list a person can act on. $999 for a same-day CEREC crown. For new patients, a $50 Target gift card after the exam if they have insurance, or $119 for the exam, x-ray, and cleaning if they do not. An implant, abutment, and crown at $3,299 against a $5,025 regular fee. Whitening-for-life at $99 after the new-patient visit. $1,000 off Invisalign. An in-house plan for patients without insurance.

WHY FOUR DROPS

The first card introduces the name. The October, November, and December cards are there when someone is actually looking for a dentist. The last in-home date is December 6, which is the benefits deadline, not a random fourth touch. Published monthly programs elsewhere in this list are the same idea: repetition. Those offices published patient counts. This one has not, and the shared-mail format is not their format. Do not paste their results onto these four dates.

WHAT THIS DOES NOT PROVE

31,525 pieces is a large number of doors. It is not a large number of patients. The program cost $8,827 across four months. A handful of retained patients at a typical lifetime value covers that. How many actually booked is the front desk’s count, from the phone number on the card, and it is not on this page.

EVERY OFFER ON THE CARD

Accepting new patients — call 703-729-1818
$999 same-day CEREC crown
$50 Target gift card after a new-patient exam for insured patients, or $119 exam, x-ray, and cleaning for new non-insured patients
Implant, abutment, and crown at $3,299 (regular $5,025)
$99 whitening-for-life program after the new-patient visit
$1,000 off Invisalign
In-house benefit plan for patients without insurance

Wael Elosta, DDS, FAGD.

IN-HOME SCHEDULE

IN HOME	PIECES	PROGRAM
Sep 20, 2026	9,150 · 28¢	$2,562
Oct 4, 2026	7,737 · 28¢	$2,166.36
Nov 3, 2026	5,487 · 28¢	$1,536.36
Dec 6, 2026	9,151 · 28¢	$2,562.28
Total	31,525	$8,827

The creative is a shared-mail ad with a reserved postal area, not an 8.5×5 solo card.
Four in-home dates to the same market. Repeated mail is the point — one drop introduces the name, the next three are there when someone actually needs a dentist.
Services called out on the piece: cosmetic dentistry, implants in-office, veneers, CEREC crowns, sleep apnea, laser dentistry. Se habla español.

Open the card larger

Front

Back

ACG CLIENT · 2026

Alexandria Dentistry, PLLC

6000 Stevenson Avenue, Suite 103, Alexandria · Solo postcard · 8.375 × 5 in.

571-366-4749 · Monday–Friday 9–6. Open evenings and Saturday.

Pieces: 7,523
Program: $2,635.68
Rate: 35¢
Drops: 1

THE PRACTICE

Alexandria Dentistry, PLLC, 6000 Stevenson Avenue, Suite 103, Alexandria. General dentists Dr. Tareq Salameh, Dr. Yndira Rodriguez, and Dr. Nour Tellawi. Hours on the card are Monday through Friday 9–6, with evenings and Saturday. Phone 571-366-4749. The site on the piece is DentistryAlexandria.com.

THE LIST AND THE MONEY

A solo postcard, 8.375 by 5 inches, both sides the practice’s. 7,523 homes, in-home October 13, 2026, at 35¢. The program is $2,635.68, design, list, print, and postage included. Solo costs more than the Manassas and Lansdowne cards because nothing else shares the paper or the postal panel. The published solo tiers of 26¢ to 30¢ assume larger quantities. This drop is smaller, and 35¢ is the rate on the job.

THE FRONT

A year-end benefits reminder. The line is “don’t forget to use your dental benefits,” with 30% off any major dental work. The photograph is a patient in the chair with the dentist, not a grid of stock smiles. The reason to call (December) and the offer (30% off major work) are the same side of the card.

THE BACK

The price list, with the regular fee printed next to the new-patient fee. $89 for a new-patient exam, x-ray, and cleaning against a $315 regular fee. $59 for kids 13 and under. A free consultation. Clear aligners at $199 a month. $1,000 off an implant. Free take-home whitening. In-network with most PPO plans and Medicaid. Every coupon expires December 31, 2026. From an October 13 in-home date, that is about ten weeks to use the card.

WHAT THIS DOES NOT PROVE

A benefits card mailed in October is a seasonal argument, not a measured campaign. We know the quantity, the date, and the $2,635.68. We do not know how many of the 7,523 booked. Two retained patients cover the invoice. That sentence is the budget. It is not a result.

EVERY OFFER ON THE CARD

Don’t forget to use your dental benefits — 30% off any major dental work
$89 new-patient exam, x-ray, and cleaning (regular $315)
$59 kids exam, x-ray, and cleaning, 13 and younger
Free consultation on any dental work
Clear aligners at $199 a month
$1,000 off an implant
Free take-home whitening
In-network with most PPO plans and Medicaid. Coupons expire December 31, 2026.

Dr. Tareq Salameh, Dr. Yndira Rodriguez, and Dr. Nour Tellawi, general dentists.

IN-HOME SCHEDULE

IN HOME	PIECES	PROGRAM
Oct 13, 2026	7,523 · 35¢	$2,635.68

Solo card, both sides, 8.375 by 5 inches. Design, print, list, and postage in one program price.
The front is a benefits reminder. The back is the offer. That split is what we recommend when a practice wants the card kept until someone books.

Open the card larger

What similar campaigns have reported

Copied from the publisher, then checked against the second source when one exists. A headline percentage that does not match the patient count is called out. None of these offices are All Creative Graphics clients, and none of these results are a quote for your zone.

NOT AN ACG CLIENT

Peak Family Dentistry & Orthodontics

Westminster, CO · Dr. Brandon Campbell

A new practice mailed the same 22,000 homes four times.

88,000: Cards in the first program, 22,000 homes × 4
78: Of 344 new patients tied to the postcard
$390k: Their estimate, at $5,000 lifetime value each
1,175%: ROI on that estimate, not collected production

THE SITUATION

Dr. Campbell was building Peak from a startup in a Denver suburb. PostcardMania describes an affluent area with families, a three-mile radius that was not crowded with competitors, and a mall going in a block and a half away that he expected would stretch that radius toward five miles.

WHAT THEY MAILED

22,000 residents inside two miles, four times, 88,000 cards in the year. The design notes on the case study are a grown-up color palette, one main photograph, and three offers with an end date — enough to act on, not a menu of everything the office does. He told PostcardMania the postcard was also sending people to the website.

WHAT THEY REPORTED

In the first six months the practice counted 344 new patients, 78 of them from the postcard. PostcardMania multiplies those 78 by an estimated $5,000 lifetime value to get $390,000 and a 1,175% ROI. That revenue figure is an estimate, not money already collected. From the first quarter to the second, organic Google leads were up 767%. He credited the card and review-asking for the online lift. A Dental Economics follow-up said the first year finished at $970,000, with him in the chair only two days a week for the first six months, and the next year was tracking toward $1.7 million. By then the list was 18,000 homes inside five miles, four times a year. July 2015 was 58 new patients. July 2016 was 79. He had not skipped a month.

WHAT TO COPY

Same list, repeated, with a dated offer. Do not read a startup’s first drop as the whole result. And do not quote the 1,175% as if it were collected production — it is 78 patients times their lifetime-value assumption.

SET NEXT TO A CURRENT ACG DROP

Their list was 22,000 homes, mailed four times. The closest published ACG solo tier is 20,000 pieces at 27¢, about $5,400 for one drop. One drop is not their program. Budget the repeats before you borrow the 78 patients.

Source: PostcardMania case study, with a later Dental Economics interview

NOT AN ACG CLIENT

Auburn Family Dental

Dr. Behnaz Raisdana · startup

Opened in January. Hit 112 new patients in August.

6,000: Cards a month, homes within 3 miles
$18,445: Nine-month campaign cost
350: Of 592 new patients from the postcard
2,079%: Immediate ROI on $402,095 production

THE SITUATION

Dr. Raisdana opened Auburn Family Dental on January 4, 2016. She wanted the book full before and right after opening, not a slow ramp. PostcardMania also describes a 19,000-piece mailing that hit before the doors opened.

WHAT THEY MAILED

After the opening drop, the ongoing list was households within three miles, 6,000 cards a month. Dental Economics priced nine months of that schedule at $18,445. The design, in the PostcardMania telling, kept going every month rather than stopping once the first calendar filled.

WHAT THEY REPORTED

PostcardMania’s headline result is 337 new patients, $402,095 in revenue, and a 2,079% ROI. The Dental Economics interview of the same practice uses the same cost and the same $402,095 production, and then breaks the nine months down: 592 new patients total, 350 from postcards, 103 from referrals, 59 from drive-by, 37 from the website. Early months averaged about 64 new patients. August reached 112. She left an associate job because the startup was full. The 337 and the 350 are both in print. They are close, and they are not the same count. Use them as the publisher’s figures, not as one reconciled number.

WHAT TO COPY

A startup can mail before it opens, then stay on a monthly 6,000-piece radius. Track the source. In her numbers the postcard was most of the new patients, and referrals were second — the card did not replace word of mouth.

SET NEXT TO A CURRENT ACG DROP

After opening, the list was 6,000 cards a month. The nearest published tier is 5,000 pieces at 30¢, about $1,500 a drop. Nine of those is about $13,500, next to the $18,445 Dental Economics printed for nine months. Same kind of monthly budget. Not their mailer, and not 112 new patients.

Source: Dental Economics interview and PostcardMania write-up

NOT AN ACG CLIENT

A general practice in Toledo

Ohio · practice name withheld

2,500 cards a week, for five months, to homes over $35,000.

2,500: Cards every week
$19,508: Five-month cost
75: New patients reported
1,438%: ROI on a $4,000 lifetime value

THE SITUATION

Dental Economics published this with the practice name changed. It is a general practice in Toledo, and it is not the 337-patient result. That result is Auburn Family Dental. The two get mixed up because they appeared in the same article.

WHAT THEY MAILED

Residences with average household income of $35,000 or more. Not every door. The schedule was 2,500 cards a week for five months, which is a much heavier cadence than a monthly saturation drop. Campaign cost was $19,508.

WHAT THEY REPORTED

75 new patients. The dentist values a patient at $4,000 lifetime, so the column multiplies that out to $300,000 and a 1,438% ROI. The dollar figure is his lifetime-value assumption times the patient count, not a tally of treatment already billed.

WHAT TO COPY

Income and radius are the list, and the mail has to keep coming. A weekly 2,500 is a different budget than a monthly 5,000. Price it before you copy the cadence.

SET NEXT TO A CURRENT ACG DROP

2,500 cards a week is closer to 10,000 a month than to a single saturation drop. A 10,000-piece tier is 28¢, about $2,800 if it were one monthly drop. They mailed every week, and five months cost $19,508, about $3,900 a month. Do not copy a weekly cadence on a monthly budget.

Source: Dental Economics, PostcardMania column

NOT AN ACG CLIENT

Tanty Family Dental

Waukesha, WI · Dr. Kevin Tanty

New patients moved from 8 a month to 22.

8 → 22: New patients per month, as published
6,000: Homes, mailed every month
212: Tracked calls in the reported window
$60k+: Average household income on the routes

THE SITUATION

The practice was stuck around 8 new patients a month and wanted enough volume to hire. PostcardMania wrote that Dr. Tanty had already spent over $9,000 on Yelp with nothing to show for it. That is their account of it.

WHAT THEY MAILED

This was not postcard-only. Starting around July 2017 he mailed about 6,000 resident/occupant cards every month to postal routes averaging $60,000 household income, inside a radius of the office. The same artwork ran as Google, Facebook, and Instagram ads through PostcardMania’s Everywhere Small Business program. The card itself used three offers, a family photograph, and a phone number you could read.

WHAT THEY REPORTED

The average moved from 8 new patients a month to 22. Dental Economics said that was about a year in, and that he hired an associate and bought a larger space. Tracked activity in the PostcardMania window: 212 calls, 1,131,000 Google ad impressions, 377 Google clicks, 102,000 Facebook and Instagram impressions, 238 social clicks. The headline on the case study says 349% more new patients. Twenty-two is 175% more than eight, not 349%. Both numbers are in their material. Use the 8-to-22 count.

WHAT TO COPY

Monthly, same income band, and a card that matches whatever you run online so the name looks familiar. Do not treat this as proof that a postcard alone triples a practice. The published program included paid digital.

SET NEXT TO A CURRENT ACG DROP

6,000 homes a month sits just above the 5,000-piece tier at 30¢, about $1,500 for the card alone. Their published program also bought Google, Facebook, and Instagram. The postcard price is not the whole spend, and the 8-to-22 change is not a postcard-only result.

Source: PostcardMania case study and Dental Economics

NOT AN ACG CLIENT

North Broad Family Dental

Elizabeth, NJ · Dr. Jacob Plawner

About one in six new patients was coming from the card.

15 / 90: Monthly new patients from mail, first write-up
$2,500: What he figured each was worth in a year or two
12,000: Cards a month in a later 12-month look
1,323%: ROI on that later campaign’s estimate

THE SITUATION

Dr. Plawner had been in practice 33 years when PostcardMania wrote this up. He had already tried newspaper, billboard, Yellow Pages, and transit. The front desk asked every caller how they heard about the office and which offer they were calling about.

WHAT THEY MAILED

The first published snapshot is about 6,000 postcards every two weeks, with several offers on the card. A later Dental Economics column looks at a finished 12-month run that averaged 12,000 cards a month and cost $37,930, about $3,160 a month. He also had pay-per-click running, which PostcardMania managed.

WHAT THEY REPORTED

In the PostcardMania study the card was producing about 15 of 90 new patients a month. At about $2,500 each in the first year or two, that is roughly $37,500 a month in gross from those patients. The later 12-month column uses a slightly different count: about 216 postcard patients, 18 a month, times $2,500, for $540,000 and a 1,323% ROI on the $37,930 spend. Lead mix in that column was 33.5% referral, 33.5% web and pay-per-click, 20% postcard, 13% other. The two write-ups are different periods. Neither is a single audited number.

WHAT TO COPY

Ask every caller where they came from, including which offer. A 20% share of new patients can still be the piece that pays for itself if you know the count. He only kept mail after the other media had already lost.

SET NEXT TO A CURRENT ACG DROP

The later year averaged 12,000 cards a month and cost $37,930, about $3,160 a month. On current solo tiers, 10,000 pieces is 28¢, about $2,800 a drop. Use that as a budget check against a different vendor and a larger quantity. It is not a rate card, and it is not 15 new patients.

Source: PostcardMania case study and a later Dental Economics column

NOT AN ACG CLIENT

Park Forest Dentistry

Monthly saturation · Isolda Quezada

About 10 new patients every time 2,500 cards go out.

2,500: Neighborhood cards, every month
~10: New patients per mailing
$30–80k: Cactus estimate of lifetime value, not a billings report

THE SITUATION

A steady saturation program, not a grand opening. Cactus Mailing describes patients calling because the card reminded them to book care they had already been putting off.

WHAT THEY MAILED

2,500 neighborhood-saturation postcards every month. That quantity is small enough for a tight ring of routes and large enough that a handful of new patients changes the math.

WHAT THEY REPORTED

About 10 new patients per mailing, month after month. Cactus then multiplies 10 by a $3,000–$8,000 lifetime value and calls the mailing $30,000–$80,000. That range is the mail house’s estimate. Isolda Quezada’s own words are plainer: the campaigns brought in a handful of new patients and made the office more familiar in the neighborhood.

WHAT TO COPY

A 2,500-piece monthly drop is a reasonable test if the route actually rings the office. Judge it on patients the front desk can name, not on the lifetime-value range printed under the case study.

SET NEXT TO A CURRENT ACG DROP

2,500 pieces is under the smallest published tier. A 5,000-piece solo card is 30¢, about $1,500. They reported about 10 new patients on half that paper. Half the quantity is not half the patients, and 10 is their count, not a quote.

Source: Cactus Mailing, published case study

NOT AN ACG CLIENT

Lompoc Dental & Associates

Lompoc, CA · Rachael Van Pelt

Eight years of mail. 12 to 14 new patients in a mailing month.

8 yrs: How long they have mailed with Cactus
12–14: New patients in a month they mail
Cash: The patients she says the card brings in

THE SITUATION

Not a launch story. Rachael Van Pelt at Lompoc Dental & Associates has used the same mail house for eight years and still mails in the months she wants new patients.

WHAT THEY MAILED

Recurring direct-mail postcards. The public testimonial does not publish the piece count or the list rules, so we are not going to invent them. She does say artwork changes come back fast, which only matters if the office is actually revising the offer instead of rerunning a tired card.

WHAT THEY REPORTED

“We average 12–14 new patients each month that we do a mailing,” and she describes them as the office’s best cash patients. Cactus repeats that as 12–14 new patients in the months they mail. There is no published ROI and no published revenue.

WHAT TO COPY

Stay on it long enough to know your own average. Eight years is the useful fact here, not a percentage. If your months without a mailing are quiet and your mailing months are not, you already have a better number than anyone else’s case study.

SET NEXT TO A CURRENT ACG DROP

No piece count was published, so there is nothing honest to price against the tiers. The detail that matters is the eight-year habit and 12–14 new patients in the months they choose to mail.

Source: Cactus Mailing, published testimonial

Price your own drop.

A 5,000-piece mailing at 30¢ is about $1,500. Two retained patients at a typical lifetime value cover it. The zone still has to be quoted.

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