Business phone system for dental offices in Wisconsin
1,902 dental offices operated in Wisconsin in 2023. Where they are, how big their teams are, and what phone service costs them.
- Establishments
- 1,902CBP 2023
- Employees
- 18,368mid-March 2023
- Per 100k residents
- 31.9U.S. 39.9
- State rank
- 21st of 51by count
Dental offices in Wisconsin by the numbers
County Business Patterns counts 1,902 establishments in Wisconsin classified as Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210) for 2023. They employed 18,368 people in mid-March and reported $1.3 billion in annual payroll. That is the 21st highest count among the 51 states and DC with published figures. Dental offices make up 1.3% of the 144,774 business establishments in the state.
Per 100,000 residents (2024 estimate) Wisconsin has 31.9 dental offices, 20.0% below the national rate of 39.9. The average establishment has 9.7 employees against 7.6 nationally. Payroll per employee is $72,380, 19.2% above the U.S. figure of $60,718.
| Measure | Wisconsin | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Establishments | 1,902 | 135,665 |
| Mid-March employees | 18,368 | 1,028,889 |
| Annual payroll | $1,329,470,000 | $62,471,602,000 |
| Employees per establishment | 9.7 | 7.6 |
| Payroll per employee | $72,380 | $60,718 |
| Establishments per 100,000 residents | 31.9 | 39.9 |
Census County Business Patterns 2023 (mid-March employment; annual payroll). Employees and payroll flagged high-noise are shown but not used in the text. Residents: Census Vintage 2024 estimates.
Dental offices by metro area in Wisconsin
Census published dental office counts for 29 metro or micropolitan areas that include part of Wisconsin. The largest is Minneapolis, MN-WI, with 1,276 establishments (a multi-state area; its count covers every state it spans). Single-state metro and micropolitan areas account for 86% of the statewide total; the rest are outside any published area or in areas Census suppressed.
| Area | Establishments | Employees | Per 100k residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis, MN-WI | 1,276 | 11,761 | 34.0 |
| Milwaukee, WI | 654 | 5,631 | 41.5 |
| Madison, WI | 203 | 2,320 | 28.7 |
| Green Bay, WI | 107 | 1,219 | 32.0 |
| Duluth, MN-WI | 88 | 828 | 31.2 |
| Appleton, WI | 84 | 972 | 33.7 |
| Racine, WI | 68 | 587 | 34.2 |
| La Crosse, WI-MN | 65 | 673 | 38.1 |
| Kenosha, WI | 53 | 438 | 31.4 |
| Oshkosh, WI | 50 | 539 | 28.9 |
| Wausau, WI | 49 | 507 | 35.2 |
| Janesville, WI | 48 | 487 | 29.0 |
| Eau Claire, WI | 46 | 589 | 26.1 |
| Sheboygan, WI | 44 | 385 | 37.2 |
| Watertown, WI | 27 | 289 | 31.3 |
| Fond du Lac, WI | 26 | 323 | 24.9 |
| Stevens Point, WI | 24 | 208 | 33.3 |
| Whitewater, WI | 23 | 192 | 21.7 |
| Baraboo, WI | 20 | 181 | 30.1 |
| Wisconsin Rapids, WI | 19 | 229 | 25.7 |
| Marinette, WI-MI | 19 | 158 | 29.1 |
| Beaver Dam, WI | 18 | 139 | 20.3 |
| Manitowoc, WI | 18 | 198 | 22.1 |
| Platteville, WI | 16 | — | 30.6 |
| Rice Lake, WI | 13 | 139 | 27.8 |
Top 25 of 29 areas by establishments. Source: Census CBP 2023.
Team sizes at dental offices in Wisconsin
28.1% of Wisconsin's dental offices with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023, compared with 37.7% nationally. 62.6% had fewer than ten. That is the size of team where a missed call usually means nobody was free, not that nobody was on staff.
| Employment size | Establishments | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–4 employees | 534 | 28.1% | 37.7% |
| 5–9 employees | 656 | 34.5% | 35.4% |
| 10–19 employees | 536 | 28.2% | 22.0% |
| 20–49 employees | 155 | 8.1% | 4.5% |
| 50 or more employees | 21 | 1.1% | 0.4% |
Employment-size classes count establishments by mid-March 2023 employment. Establishments with no March employees are excluded from the size classes, so shares are of establishments with employees. Source: Census County Business Patterns 2023.
What dental offices in Wisconsin use the phone for
Dental appointments are booked, moved and confirmed by phone, and a new patient whose call goes unanswered can simply dial the next practice on the list. Front desks also juggle insurance questions and hygiene recalls while patients are standing at the counter.
Typical inbound and outbound calls for dental offices in Wisconsin:
- A patient with a cracked tooth calls first thing in the morning asking for a same-day visit.
- A specialist's office calls to coordinate a referral.
- The front desk calls a list of patients who are overdue for a cleaning.
When nobody can pick up
After-hours calls are often about dental pain or a lost filling, so a voicemail that is transcribed and flagged for urgency helps staff decide who to call back first in the morning.
Callata voicemail is transcribed and triaged for urgency, and business-hours routing decides where calls go once you close.
What a phone system costs a dental office in Wisconsin
Dental offices in Wisconsin average 9.7 employees, so the comparison uses a 10-person team. Priced per seat, 10 users would run $300.00 a month on RingCentral RingEX Core and $249.50 on Ooma Office Pro (month-to-month list prices, checked September 28, 2026). On Callata the same 10 people cost $199.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.
The annual difference against RingCentral's monthly list price comes to $1,212. Some vendors discount annual contracts; the table shows month-to-month prices.
| Provider (plan) | Pricing basis | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Callata (Callata Office) | $99 incl. 5 users, $20 per extra user | $199.00 | $2,388.00 |
| Quo (Starter) | $19.00 per user | $190.00 | $2,280.00 |
| Nextiva (Core) | $23.00 per user | $230.00 | $2,760.00 |
| Ooma (Office Pro) | $24.95 per user | $249.50 | $2,994.00 |
| Dialpad (Standard) | $27.00 per user | $270.00 | $3,240.00 |
| RingCentral (RingEX Core) | $30.00 per user | $300.00 | $3,600.00 |
Competitor prices are each vendor's published month-to-month list price per user for its lowest plan that includes business calling and texting, checked September 28, 2026: Quo Starter $19, Nextiva Core $23, Ooma Office Pro $24.95 (Essentials excludes texting; one-time $29.95 activation not included), Dialpad Standard $27, RingCentral RingEX Core $30 ($20 billed annually). Prices exclude taxes and fees and may change; annual contracts lower some competitors' prices.
Area codes in Wisconsin
Wisconsin has 8 geographic area codes in service according to NANPA. You can choose local numbers in the area codes your patients know, subject to carrier inventory, or port your current number for free.
| Area code | Exchanges | Time zone | In service since | Overlay with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 608 | 785 | Central | 1955 | 353 |
| 715 | 785 | Central | 1947 | 534 |
| 920 | 785 | Central | 1997 | 274 |
| 262 | 634 | Central | 1999 | none |
| 414 | 552 | Central | 1947 | none |
| 534 | 98 | Central | 2010 | 715 |
| 274 | 29 | Central | 2023 | 920 |
| 353 | 13 | Central | 2023 | 608 |
Exchanges are NANPA-assigned central office codes (NPA-NXX) in the rate centers matched to the area's named places. Source: NANPA utilized code and NPA reports.
How Callata works for dental offices in Wisconsin
Callata Office costs $99 per month for up to 5 people, and each additional user is $20 a month. That covers up to 3 local numbers, calling from a browser or your cell, transcribed voicemail, recorded calls with AI summaries, after-hours routing and E911 on each number.
If you already have a number in Wisconsin, porting it to Callata is free. Texting from a local number requires a one-time carrier registration (10DLC, $49), and the numbers available in any area code depend on carrier inventory when you choose them.
Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.
Practices that handle protected health information should review their own privacy obligations before recording calls, enabling AI summaries or texting appointment details, and keep clinical conversations out of text messages unless their policies allow it.
Frequently asked questions
How many dental offices are in Wisconsin?
1,902 in 2023, according to Census County Business Patterns. They employed 18,368 people in mid-March.
Which Wisconsin metro area has the most dental offices?
Minneapolis, MN-WI, with 1,276 establishments in 2023.
What does a phone system cost a 10-person dental office?
$300.00 a month on RingCentral RingEX Core or $249.50 on Ooma Office Pro at month-to-month list prices (checked September 28, 2026); $199.00 on Callata ($99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user).
Do I need to register to text customers from a Wisconsin number?
Yes. US carriers require business texting from local numbers to be registered (10DLC). On Callata the registration is a one-time $49 fee, and texting turns on once it is approved.