Northmed Dental – Northcote
According to our open methodology, this clinic scored 78.3/100 for transparency, reputation, service accessibility, and digital visibility.
Overall rank: #4 of 21 ranked clinics · Last checked: 10 September 2026
Positions by Rating Profile
- Overall Transparency & Trust#478.3/100
- Best for Expats#571.5/100
- Best for Dental Implants#476.5/100
- Best for Emergency Dental Care#968.5/100
- Best Price Transparency#586/100
- Best English-speaking Clinics#869.8/100
- Best for Families / Children#771/100
- Sleep Dentistry (GA / deep sedation)not ranked
General Anaesthesia & Deep Sedation
Whether the clinic documents treatment under general anaesthesia or deep / twilight sedation — "sleep dentistry", where the patient is asleep and unaware (does not feel, see, or hear the procedure). Ordinary conscious sedation, where the patient stays awake and responsive, does not count here. This is informational and does not affect the transparency score.
- ✗ General anaesthesia / deep sedation (sleep dentistry) — No general anaesthesia or deep sedation documented The clinic’s own sedation page: “Intravenous sedation is a form of ‘conscious sedation’ as, unlike general anaesthesia, the aim is not to bring about a complete loss of consciousness … General anaesthesia can now only be administered in a hospital setting.” The price list offers oral sedation from $93 and IV sedation from $467 — both conscious. [s4] [s5]
Summary
Three-branch North Shore/Auckland practice (Northcote, Mairangi Bay, Otahuhu); this card covers the Northcote flagship, home of “gentle dentist” Dr Wendy Wang and an Invisalign Platinum Preferred Provider offering; conscious IV sedation with midazolam is available but does not meet the methodology’s deep-sedation/GA bar.
Strengths
- Information Transparency: 20 of 20 points.
- Price Transparency: 15 of 15 points.
- AI & Search Visibility: 8 of 10 points.
- No red flags identified in public sources.
Weaknesses
No category fell below the weakness threshold (50% of verifiable points).
Score Breakdown
Every criterion below is scored from public sources. ✓ verified yes · ✗ verified no / not found · ◐ partial · ? unverified (scores 0, not a negative finding).
Information Transparency
Whether basic facts about the clinic - its team, premises, services, and location - are publicly verifiable.
| ✓ | Has a working website [s1] | 4/4 |
| ✓ | Dentist names listed Named on-site: Dr Wendy Wang and Dr Darshini Ratnaraj (individual bio pages linked from the main nav). [s1] [s2] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Dentist specializations listed Each dentist’s own profile page states a qualification and an area of focus — Dr AJ Salman “BDS Otago, Dip PCD (RCSI), FICCDE”, with dental surgery, cosmetics, orthodontics and a certificate in intravenous sedation; Dr Celine “BDS Otago”, area of focus general dentistry. [s10] [s11] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Real clinic photos The gallery’s Northcote tab publishes thirteen photographs of this branch: the building exterior with its own signage, treatment rooms, the OPG room, the practice’s own business cards and named staff in Northmed-branded uniforms. [s9] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Service list published Emergency dental service, All-on-4 implants, Invisalign (Platinum Preferred Provider), teeth whitening, IV sedation. [s1] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Clear contact details Two of the practice’s own channels disagree on the Northcote number and the card follows the website: 09 884 8262 appears in the site-wide header and footer of every page, on the Northcote branch page, on the sedation page and inside the site’s own schema.org markup, which binds that number to this exact Google place record; the Google Business profile carries 09 884 8620, a transposition of the same digits. Read in a browser on 2026-09-10. [s1] [s8] [gmp1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | English website version [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Address and map published [s1] [gmp1] | 2/2 |
Price Transparency
Whether patients can estimate costs before visiting. Published price ranges count; exact prices are not required.
| ✓ | Prices or price ranges published Permanent, itemised “Our Pricing” page covering examinations/x-rays, hygiene, fillings, dentures, root canal, extractions, sedation, crowns/inlays/veneers, implants, bridges and orthodontics — far more than three services. Missed on the first pass, which never opened /pricing/. [s5] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Cleaning price listed Hygiene: standard $147, moderate $187, heavy $215; periodontal treatment from $250. [s5] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Filling price listed Small (1 surface) $247; medium (2 surface) $345; large (3+ surface) $402; complex build-up $473–660. [s5] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Crown price listed PFM and Ceramic/Porcelain/Emax $1,597; gold $2,145. [s5] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Implant price listed Dental implant with crown from $4,378; full implant-supported replacement from $9,798.90. [s5] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Consultation price listed New Patient Consultation $59; orthodontic initial consult free. [s5] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | X-ray / imaging price listed Intraoral x-rays (bitewing/peri-apical) $30 each; extraoral (panex/OPG) $85 each. [s5] | 2/2 |
Reputation & Reviews
Public review signals. The Google rating is adjusted with a Bayesian prior (rating 4.0, weight 25) so a 5.0 from a handful of reviews does not outrank a 4.8 from hundreds.
| ✓ | Google rating (Bayesian-adjusted) Google place page read in a browser on 2026-09-10: 4.9 across 398 reviews; star histogram 1★ 8 / 2★ 2 / 3★ 1 / 4★ 8 / 5★ 379 = 398, whose weighted mean is 4.88. [gmp1] | 6/6 |
| ◐ | Google review volume Read today from the clinic’s own Google place record (the first pass returned no count); supersedes the site’s self-published “over 100 5 star reviews”. [gmp1] [gmp2] | 2.5/3 |
| ✓ | Review recency The newest star-rated review rendered on the clinic’s Google place page on 2026-09-10 is two months old; the eight reviews shown span two months to a year. [gmp2] | 3/3 |
| ✗ | Clinic responds to reviews Only one of the eight star-rated reviews rendered on the clinic’s Google place page carries a response from the owner; the other seven, including recent ones, are unanswered. [gmp2] | 0/2 |
| ? | No recurring complaints | 0/2 |
| ? | No suspicious review patterns | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Active Facebook presence [s1] | 1/1 |
| ? | TripAdvisor presence | 0/0.5 |
| ✗ | Other review platforms No profile found on WhatClinic, Dental Departures, Bookimed, Trustpilot or RateMDs (checked 2026-10-02). [northmed-dental-northcote-auckland-oop] [northmed-dental-northcote-auckland-oop-2] [northmed-dental-northcote-auckland-oop-3] [northmed-dental-northcote-auckland-oop-4] [northmed-dental-northcote-auckland-oop-5] | 0/0.5 |
Medical Infrastructure
The range of publicly documented equipment and services. This measures documented availability, not clinical quality.
| ✓ | On-site X-ray Intraoral and extraoral (OPG) x-rays are priced as in-house services. [s5] | 2/2 |
| ? | CBCT (3D imaging) | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Implantology All-on-4 Implants Auckland page. [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Orthodontics Invisalign Platinum Preferred Provider. [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Oral surgery Oral surgeon page; price list carries “Surgical extractions (including wisdom teeth) $385–1100”. [s5] [s6] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Pediatric dentistry Dedicated paediatric dentistry page. [s7] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Emergency care “Our emergency dental service quickly gets you out of pain”. [s1] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ? | Works with international patients | 0/2 |
Communication & Service
How easy it is to contact the clinic, get answers, and book - especially for international patients.
| ? | WhatsApp / LINE available | 0/2 |
| ? | Response speed | 0/1.5 |
| ✓ | English spoken [s1] | 2.5/2.5 |
| ? | Pre-visit consultation possible | 0/1.5 |
| ? | Clear service explanations | 0/1 |
| ✓ | Convenient opening hours Branch page hours: Mon–Fri 9:00–19:00, Saturday (Northcote only) 9:00–16:00, Sunday (Northcote only) 9:00–16:30 — evening close at 19:00 plus weekend opening. [s8] | 1.5/1.5 |
AI & Search Visibility
Whether the clinic is discoverable when patients search - including via AI assistants. Checked with fixed queries: "best dentist New Zealand", "English speaking dentist New Zealand", "dental implants New Zealand", "emergency dentist New Zealand", "New Zealand dental clinic for expats".
| ✗ | Mentioned for: best dentist New Zealand [av1] | 0/1 |
| ✓ | Mentioned for: English speaking dentist New Zealand Ranked #1 (own domain, /dr-wendy-wang/) for “English speaking dentist Auckland”. [av2] | 1/1 |
| ✓ | Mentioned for: dental implants New Zealand Ranked #8 (own domain, /all-on-4-implants/) for “dental implants Auckland”. [av3] | 1/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: emergency dentist New Zealand [av4] | 0/1 |
| ✓ | Mentioned for: New Zealand dental clinic for expats Named (with a service description) in smilejet.app’s Auckland listing, rank 10 of the SERP for “Auckland dental clinic for expats”. [av5] | 1/1 |
| ✓ | Structured data on website Schema.org Service/@id block referencing /sedation/#service found in the page source. [s4] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Google indexing quality [av2] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Dedicated service pages [s1] | 1.5/1.5 |
Ranking leaders in AI answers
The queries above are this index's own check. The three leading clinics have also been measured in full: how often ChatGPT and Gemini name them when a patient asks them to recommend a dentist.
- #1Wellington Dentists50.4 of 100View report →
- #2Greenhithe Dental Boutique19.1 of 100View report →
- #2Christchurch Boutique Dental53.8 of 100View report →
Measured by Ansmeter, 8 October 2026 – 9 October 2026. Ansmeter is an affiliated service. Its figure is not part of this rating and does not affect positions — scores change only when public data changes.
Licensing & Credentials
Whether the clinic publishes its operating licence and the dentists working there together with their professional licence numbers. A verified “not published” is recorded as a red flag; data we have not checked yet is shown as unverified and carries no penalty.
Clinic operating licence: not checked against public sources yet — unverified, no penalty
Dentists & professional licences
| Dentist | Specialization | Licence No. |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Wendy Wang [reg0] | General/“gentle” dentistry | not verified |
| Dr Darshini Ratnaraj [reg0] | — | not verified |
| Dr AJ Salman [reg0] [s10] | Dental surgery, cosmetic dentistry and orthodontics; certificate in intravenous sedation (BDS Otago, Dip PCD (RCSI), FICCDE); member, New Zealand Sedation Society | not verified |
| Dr Celine [reg0] [s11] | General dentistry (BDS, University of Otago) | not verified |
Dentists are named; their licence numbers have not been checked against public sources yet — unverified, no penalty.
Red Flags
No red flags identified in the public sources we reviewed.
Data We Could Not Verify
- Reputation & Reviews: No recurring complaints
- Reputation & Reviews: No suspicious review patterns
- Reputation & Reviews: TripAdvisor presence
- Medical Infrastructure: CBCT (3D imaging)
- Medical Infrastructure: Works with international patients
- Communication & Service: WhatsApp / LINE available
- Communication & Service: Response speed
- Communication & Service: Pre-visit consultation possible
- Communication & Service: Clear service explanations
Unverified items score 0 points but are not treated as negative findings. If you can document any of them, please send a correction.
Contact Information
| Website | https://northmeddental.co.nz/ |
|---|---|
| Phone | +64 9 884 8262 |
| https://www.facebook.com/northmeddental | |
| Google Maps | Map listing |
| Address | 12/3 Akoranga Drive, Northcote, Auckland 0627, New Zealand |
Contact details are provided for identification only and may change; verify with the clinic directly.
Sources
| ID | Source | What it supports | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| s1 | https://northmeddental.co.nz/ | Clinic homepage: three-branch footer (Northcote/Mairangi Bay/Otahuhu), nav, Facebook link | 2026-09-10 |
| s2 | https://northmeddental.co.nz/dr-wendy-wang/ | Named dentist bio page | 2026-09-10 |
| s4 | https://northmeddental.co.nz/sedation/ | Sedation service page (IV midazolam, conscious) | 2026-09-10 |
| gmp1 | https://www.google.com/search?tbm=map&hl=en&gl=nz&q=Northmed%20Dent… | Google Maps automated lookup: rating, geo, address, phone (Northcote branch specifically) | 2026-09-10 |
| reg0 | https://dcnz.org.nz/practitioners | DCNZ statutory register (reCAPTCHA-gated) and HealthCERT scope (our registry research) | 2026-09-10 |
| av1 | search:best dentist Auckland New Zealand | (the five canonical city queries) | 2026-09-10 |
| av2 | search:English speaking dentist Auckland | (the five canonical city queries) | 2026-09-10 |
| av3 | search:dental implants Auckland | (the five canonical city queries) | 2026-09-10 |
| av4 | search:emergency dentist Auckland | (the five canonical city queries) | 2026-09-10 |
| av5 | search:Auckland dental clinic for expats | (the five canonical city queries) | 2026-09-10 |
| s5 | https://northmeddental.co.nz/pricing/ | Full itemised price list (exams/x-rays, hygiene, fillings, dentures, root canal, extractions, sedation, crowns, implants, bridges, orthodontics) | 2026-09-10 |
| s6 | https://northmeddental.co.nz/oral-surgeon/ | Oral surgery service page | 2026-09-10 |
| s7 | https://northmeddental.co.nz/paediatric-dentist/ | Paediatric dentistry service page | 2026-09-10 |
| s8 | https://northmeddental.co.nz/northcote/ | Northcote branch page: branch hours and branch phone number | 2026-09-10 |
| gmp2 | https://www.google.com/maps?cid=3172996532970704724 | Google Maps place page read again automatically on 2026-09-10 (two-step /maps?cid= → /maps/preview/place): name, address, phone, rating, review count, star histogram, review dates and owner responses | 2026-09-10 |
| s3 | https://northmeddental.co.nz/contact/ | Contact page: branch phone numbers and schema.org markup | 2026-09-10 |
| s9 | https://northmeddental.co.nz/gallery/ | Gallery, “Northcote” tab: photographs of the Northcote premises and team | 2026-09-10 |
| s10 | https://northmeddental.co.nz/dentist/ | Dr AJ Salman’s profile: qualifications and Northcote address | 2026-09-10 |
| s11 | https://northmeddental.co.nz/dr-celine/ | Dr Celine’s profile: qualification, area of focus and Northcote address | 2026-09-10 |
| northmed-dental-northcote-auckland-oop | https://www.whatclinic.com/dentists/new-zealand/auckland | WhatClinic, read 2026-10-02: its Auckland dentist listing (3 pages, 52 Auckland clinics shown), checked against its profile sitemaps (78 dentist profiles in New Zealand; the 10 Auckland and Christchurch profiles not shown in the city listings opened one by one) and the profile addresses built from the clinic's name (not found), has no profile for Northmed Dental and none at 12/3 Akoranga Drive, Northcote | 2026-10-02 |
| northmed-dental-northcote-auckland-oop-2 | https://www.dentaldepartures.com/ | Dental Departures, read 2026-10-02: its clinic search does not recognise New Zealand, Auckland, Christchurch or Wellington as a location and lists no clinic in New Zealand | 2026-10-02 |
| northmed-dental-northcote-auckland-oop-3 | https://bookimed.com/clinics/country=new-zealand/ | Bookimed, read 2026-10-02: its New Zealand clinic page has been removed (HTTP 410) | 2026-10-02 |
| northmed-dental-northcote-auckland-oop-4 | https://www.trustpilot.com/review/northmeddental.co.nz | Trustpilot, read 2026-10-02: no company page for northmeddental.co.nz | 2026-10-02 |
| northmed-dental-northcote-auckland-oop-5 | https://www.ratemds.com/best-doctors/?text=Ratnaraj&country=au | RateMDs (Australia and New Zealand), read 2026-10-02: searches for the practice's dentists (Wang, Ratnaraj, Salman, Celine) list none of them in New Zealand | 2026-10-02 |
Change History
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-02 | Review-platform presence checked on 2026-10-02: no profile found on the platforms checked. |
| 2026-09-10 | Checked by hand in a browser: branch phone resolved to the website number (header, branch page and schema.org against the Google Business field), Google place reputation block read live, Northcote gallery inspected, Dr Celine added and Dr Dima Al-Sheikh excluded as an Otahuhu clinician. |
| 2026-09-10 | The verification pass adversarial verification: every cited URL re-opened, clinic /about, /team, /fees, /services and /contact pages read, Google place record read again automatically (rating, review count, star histogram, review dates, owner responses), AI-visibility citations re-checked against the AI-visibility record and the listicles it ranks. |
| 2026-09-10 | Initial data collection: clinic website (home, Dr Wang bio, sedation), automated Google Maps lookup (Northcote-specific query to resolve the three-branch listing), DCNZ/HealthCERT registry conclusion applied, AI-visibility record canonical queries. |
A question or a correction?
Have a question, a suggestion, or a correction to this page? Get in touch — we read every message. Verified data corrections are reviewed against sources and applied with a public change-history entry.