Does Your Dental Office Website Have to Comply with the ADA?

by Olivia Wann

Your dental practice may be ADA compliant inside the office—but what about your website?

For many dental practices, the website is the first interaction a patient has with the practice. Patients use dental websites to learn about services, find office hours, complete forms, request appointments, make payments, review insurance information, and communicate with the office.

If a patient with a disability cannot effectively access that information or use those online services, your practice may have an accessibility problem.

The ADA Doesn’t Stop at the Front Door

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is designed to prevent discrimination against individuals with disabilities and to provide equal access to goods and services.

Dental offices are generally considered places of public accommodation under Title III of the ADA. While the ADA was enacted long before most businesses had websites, website accessibility has become an increasingly important issue for businesses that provide services to the public.

For a dental practice, that means ADA compliance should not be limited to the physical office.

Your ADA compliance review should also consider your digital front door: your website and patient portals.

United States v. Springfield Clinic, LLC

In May 2024, the DOJ entered into a Title III settlement with Springfield Clinic, a healthcare provider, after a patient with a vision disability complained that the clinic’s website and web-based patient services were inaccessible to screen-reader users.

The DOJ settlement required the clinic to:

• Make its websites and web-based services accessible;
• Address its patient and records-request portals;
• Follow WCAG 2.1 AA;
• Adopt a web accessibility policy;
• Designate a web accessibility coordinator;
• Train employees;
• Conduct accessibility testing; and
• Provide compensation to the complainant.

That’s very relevant to a dental practice because it involves a healthcare provider whose website was connected to patient services.

Although courts have not uniformly agreed on whether every website is independently covered by Title III of the ADA, website accessibility claims continue to be litigated, and the Department of Justice continues to pursue website-accessibility enforcement. For healthcare providers, the issue is particularly significant when a website provides access to patient services

What Could Make a Dental Website Inaccessible?

A website can look attractive and function perfectly for most visitors while still creating barriers for patients with disabilities.

Consider a patient who is blind and uses a screen reader. If your website contains photographs of your office, doctors, or procedures without appropriate alternative text, the patient may not receive the same information as other visitors.

Or consider a patient who cannot use a mouse and relies on keyboard navigation. If the appointment request form or menu cannot be navigated with a keyboard, the patient may be unable to contact your practice or request an appointment.

Common accessibility issues on dental websites may include:

• Images without appropriate alternative text
• Videos without captions
• Poor color contrast
• Forms that cannot be completed using a keyboard
• Online appointment systems that are inaccessible
• Links that do not clearly identify their purpose
• PDFs that cannot be read by screen readers
• Pop-ups that cannot be closed using a keyboard
• Improperly structured headings
• Inaccessible patient forms
• Online payment systems that create accessibility barriers
• Third-party scheduling or communication platforms that are not accessible

What About Your Online Appointment System?

This is particularly important for dental offices.

Many practices allow patients to request or schedule appointments online. If that system is inaccessible to a patient with a disability, the problem may extend beyond the practice’s website itself.

Dental offices should look at the entire patient experience—not simply the homepage.

Ask:

Can a patient with a disability independently:

• Find your office location?
• Learn about your services?
• Find your telephone number?
• Request an appointment?
• Complete new-patient forms?
• Access financial or insurance information?
• Read important patient instructions?
• Contact the office electronically?
• Navigate your website without a mouse?
• Use your website with a screen reader?

If the answer is no, your practice may need to address accessibility barriers.

Don’t Forget Your PDFs and Patient Forms

Dental practices frequently place documents on their websites, including:

• New-patient forms
• Medical history forms
• Financial policies
• HIPAA notices
• Privacy policies
• Post-operative instructions
• Patient education materials
• Insurance information
• Registration documents

Simply making a PDF available for download does not necessarily make it accessible.

A PDF may need to be properly structured so that assistive technology can interpret the document and present the information to the user.

Every document you add to your website should be considered part of your accessibility program.

What Are the WCAG Guidelines?

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are commonly used as a technical framework for improving website accessibility.

WCAG focuses on four basic principles. Website content should be:

Perceivable – Patients should be able to perceive the information being presented.

Operable – Patients should be able to navigate and interact with the website.

Understandable – Information and navigation should be clear and understandable.

Robust – The website should work with a variety of browsers, technologies, and assistive devices.

WCAG can be a valuable resource for dental practices working with their website developers to improve accessibility.

However, simply stating that a website is “WCAG compliant” does not necessarily eliminate every potential legal concern. Dental practices should consider their specific circumstances and applicable legal requirements.

Don’t Rely Solely on an Accessibility Widget

Some dental practices have added accessibility widgets or overlays to their websites believing that this automatically makes the website ADA compliant.

It isn’t that simple.

An accessibility tool may provide useful features, but it should not be viewed as a substitute for addressing accessibility problems in the underlying website.

A better approach is to identify potential barriers, correct them, and establish a process for maintaining accessibility as the website changes.

Dental Websites Change Constantly

Website accessibility should not be treated as a “one and done” project.

Dental practices routinely add new:

• Doctors and staff
• Services
• Blog posts
• Photos
• Videos
• Patient forms
• Online scheduling features
• Payment systems
• Patient education materials
• Third-party applications

Any of these changes can potentially create a new accessibility barrier.

For that reason, website accessibility should be incorporated into your practice’s ongoing compliance efforts.

What Should Your Dental Practice Do?

Consider adding website accessibility to your practice compliance checklist.

1. Have Your Website Evaluated

Work with someone knowledgeable about website accessibility to identify potential barriers.

Automated scanning tools can be helpful, but automated testing alone may not identify every accessibility problem.

2. Review Your Patient-Facing Technology

Don’t stop with your homepage.

Review your:

• Online scheduling system
• Patient forms
• Payment portal
• Patient portal
• Contact forms
• PDFs
• Videos
• Chat features
• Third-party applications

3. Correct Identified Problems

Prioritize and address accessibility barriers rather than simply documenting them.

Your website developer should be involved in correcting technical issues.

4. Develop an Accessibility Policy

Consider creating a written website accessibility policy explaining your practice’s commitment to providing accessible digital information and services.

5. Provide a Way to Report Accessibility Problems

Patients should have a clear way to contact your practice if they encounter difficulty accessing information or services online.

Your practice should have a process for responding to those concerns.

6. Train the Appropriate Team Members

The people responsible for updating your website should understand basic accessibility principles.

Something as simple as uploading an image without appropriate alternative text can create an accessibility issue.

ADA Compliance Is Part of the Patient Experience

For dental practices, accessibility isn’t simply a legal issue. It is also about providing patients with equal access to healthcare information and services.

Your website is your digital front door.

Just as you want your physical office to be accessible to patients with disabilities, you should consider whether your online presence provides meaningful access as well.

Don’t wait until a complaint or demand letter brings website accessibility to your attention.

Take a proactive approach. Review your website, identify potential barriers, correct them, and make accessibility part of your dental practice’s ongoing compliance program.

Is Your Dental Practice’s Website Accessible?

If your practice has never evaluated its website for accessibility, now is a good time to put it on your compliance checklist.

A comprehensive compliance program should look beyond the four walls of the dental office—and that includes the technology your patients use to interact with your practice.

Your patients deserve access to your practice—both inside the office and online.