Bright Smile is a block theme for dental offices, orthodontists and small medical practices. This guide takes you from a fresh install to a finished practice website. You never need to write code: everything is edited in the WordPress block editor.
See it live: dental.webintegrate.com
Download: Bright Smile 1.0.2 (zip, free)
Requirements: WordPress 6.6 or later, PHP 7.4 or later.
1. Install Bright Smile
- Download Bright Smile 1.0.2. Keep the zip file as it is; don't unzip it.
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance → Themes → Add Theme, then click Upload Theme.
- Choose the zip file, click Install Now, then Activate.
Updating later: when a new version is released, download it here and upload it the same way. WordPress asks whether to replace the installed version: choose Replace active with uploaded (or Replace installed with uploaded if Bright Smile is not your active theme). Your pages, menus and settings are kept.
Bright Smile is also on its way to the WordPress.org theme directory. Once it is listed there, you can install it by searching for Bright Smile under Add Theme and get updates automatically.
2. Edit your home page
Your home page is ready the moment you activate Bright Smile. It shows a complete practice home page: welcome hero, services, meet the doctor, your first visit, patient reviews, FAQ, appointment booking and latest news. You don't need to create a page or change any settings.
The home page comes from the Front Page template, so you edit it in the Site Editor:
- Go to Appearance → Editor → Templates and open Front Page.
- Replace the sample text and photos with your own. Click any text to edit it, and click an image to replace it.
- Click Save in the top right. Your changes appear on the home page right away.
Made a mistake? In Appearance → Editor → Templates, open the ⋮ menu next to Front Page and choose Reset to go back to the original design.
Updating from Bright Smile 1.0.0? Version 1.0.1 added the Front Page template, and it now shows on your home page instead of the Home page you built. To keep your page, open the Front Page template, delete its sections and add a Content block in their place. Your Home page then shows there again.
3. Set up the menu bar
The header holds your logo or practice name, the main menu and a Book Appointment button.
Edit the menu: go to Appearance → Editor → Navigation, or click the menu in the header while editing. Add links, drag them into order and rename them.
The home page sections have built-in link targets, so menu links can jump straight to them:
| Section | Link |
|---|---|
| Services | /#services |
| Meet the doctor | /#about |
| FAQ | /#faq |
| Book an appointment | /#appointment |
To add one, click + in the menu, type the link (for example /#services) into the link box and press Enter. Then click the new menu item to rename it.
Menu shows every page? If your menu lists all your pages instead of the links you want, WordPress created it automatically. Open Appearance → Editor → Navigation, delete the page list and add your own links.
Book Appointment button: it jumps to the appointment section. To send patients to your online booking system instead, click the button in the header and change its link.
4. Add your logo and practice name
- Name: go to Settings → General and change Site Title. It appears in the header and footer.
- Logo: go to Appearance → Editor, open the header, click the logo placeholder next to the name and upload your logo.
5. Use the patterns
Patterns are ready-made sections. Insert them on any page: click +, open Patterns and choose Bright Smile: Practice.
| Pattern | What it is |
|---|---|
| Hero – Welcome | Full-width teal banner with a welcome tag, headline, two buttons, practice stats and a floating "accepting new patients" card |
| Services grid | Six service cards with icons in three columns |
| Meet the doctor | Photo with a name plate, a short bio, a checklist of credentials and a button |
| Your first visit (steps) | Three numbered steps that explain what new patients can expect |
| Patient reviews | Three reviews in cards |
| Frequently asked questions | Common patient questions that open and close when clicked |
| Book an appointment | Call-to-action band with office hours, phone number and booking button |
| From the journal | Your three latest posts, updated automatically |
| Dental practice home page | All of the above as one page (under Bright Smile: Full pages) |
Add more pages
To build another page from the same sections, for example a Services or New Patients page:
- Go to Pages → Add Page and give the page a name.
- A Choose a pattern window opens. Pick Dental practice home page to start from every section, or close the window and add single sections from + → Patterns → Bright Smile: Practice.
- In the right sidebar, open the Page tab. Under Template, choose Wide page (landing) so the sections run edge to edge, then click Publish.
6. Edit the practice sections
These sections are on your home page, so edit them in Appearance → Editor → Templates → Front Page. If you added them to another page, edit them on that page instead.
Welcome hero
Change the headline, the stats (years of care, patients welcomed, days open) and the "Accepting New Patients" card. The Book an Appointment button jumps to the appointment section and Our Services jumps to the services grid, so you usually don't need to change their links.
Services grid
Each card has an icon, a service name and a short description. Click a card's icon to replace it with your own image. To add a service, select a card, click ⋮ in the toolbar and choose Duplicate.
Meet the doctor
Replace the photo, name, title and bio. The credentials are a checklist: press Enter at the end of a line to add a new item.
Your first visit
Edit the three steps to match how your office welcomes new patients.
Patient reviews
Replace the sample reviews with real ones from your patients, with their permission.
Frequently asked questions
Each question is a Details block: the question is always visible and the answer opens when clicked. To add a question, select one, click ⋮ and choose Duplicate, then change both the question and the answer.
Book an appointment
Update the office hours and the text. Two buttons need your details:
- Request an Appointment: click it and paste the link to your online booking system or to a page with an appointment request form.
- Call (555) 123-4567: change the text to your number, then click the button and change its link after
tel:, for exampletel:+17135550142. On phones, tapping it starts a call.
From the journal
This section shows your three latest posts automatically. Write posts under Posts → Add Post for dental tips and office news.
7. Edit the footer
The footer shows your practice name, a short welcome message, office hours and contact details.
- Go to Appearance → Editor → Patterns and click Footer. You can also click the footer while editing any template.
- Click the text to change the hours, address and phone number.
8. Colors, fonts and the Modern Sans style
Go to Appearance → Editor → Styles.
- Modern Sans: click Browse styles. Under Typography, click the second Aa tile to preview headings in a clean, bold sans-serif instead of the elegant serif. To keep it, click Review 1 change… at the bottom left, then Save. To switch back, click the first Aa tile and save again.
- Colors: open Colors → Palette to change any theme color. Every section that uses it updates at once.
- Fonts: open Typography to change the fonts and sizes for text, headings, links and buttons.
The Bright Smile palette
| Color | Hex | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| White | #ffffff |
Page background and cards |
| Mist | #f8fafb |
Soft background for alternating sections |
| Mint | #e8f5f3 |
Icon tiles and checkmark circles |
| Cloud | #e2e8ed |
Borders |
| Slate | #5a6a7a |
Captions and secondary text |
| Teal | #2a7d6f |
Buttons, links and labels |
| Deep Teal | #1f5e54 |
Buttons and links when hovered |
| Amber | #f4a340 |
Review stars and highlights |
| Navy | #1a2332 |
Headings and main text |
Fonts: Playfair Display for headings and Inter for text and buttons. The fonts are included in the theme, so your site does not load them from Google or any other outside service.
Block styles. Bright Smile adds extra looks to some blocks. Select a block and open Styles in the right sidebar to use them:
| Style | Block | Look |
|---|---|---|
| Eyebrow label | Paragraph | Small, spaced-out teal capitals above a heading |
| Pill tag | Paragraph | Text in a rounded pill |
| Card | Group | White card with a border and rounded corners that lifts slightly on hover |
| Glass panel | Group | See-through panel for use on colored backgrounds |
| Floating card | Group | Rounded card with a strong shadow |
| Icon tile | Image | Icon on a soft mint tile |
| Checklist | List | Each item with a teal checkmark |
| FAQ card | Details | Question in a bordered card; the question turns teal when open |
9. Templates
Bright Smile includes templates for every kind of page. Choose a page's template in the Page tab of the editor sidebar. Edit templates under Appearance → Editor → Templates.
| Template | Used for |
|---|---|
| Front Page | Your home page, with all the practice sections |
| Pages | Standard pages with a title |
| Page without title | Pages where you design the top yourself |
| Wide page (landing) | Full-width landing pages built from patterns |
| Blog Home | Your posts page |
| Single Posts | Individual posts |
| All Archives | Category, tag and date archives |
| Search Results | Search results |
| Page: 404 | "Page not found" |
| Index | Fallback for anything without its own template |
Set up a news page: create two empty pages called Home and News. Go to Settings → Reading, choose A static page, select Home as the Homepage and News as the Posts page, and click Save Changes. Your home page keeps showing the Front Page template, and your posts appear at /news/.
Frequently asked questions
Does Bright Smile include an appointment form?
No. Forms are plugin territory, so Bright Smile keeps appointments as a button. Link it to your online booking system, or add a form block from an appointment or contact form plugin.
I set a static home page in Settings → Reading, but my home page did not change. Why?
The Front Page template always shows on your home page, whatever you choose in Settings → Reading. Edit your home page in Appearance → Editor → Templates → Front Page. If you would rather build your home page as a regular page, open the Front Page template, delete its sections and add a Content block in their place. The page you chose as your homepage then shows there.
Can I collect patient health information on my website?
Be careful. A regular contact or appointment form sends its contents by email, which is usually not a secure way to handle health information. Ask only for what you need to schedule a visit (name, contact details, preferred time), and handle medical details in your practice software or in person. Check the privacy rules that apply to your practice.
Can I use Bright Smile for an orthodontist or another kind of clinic?
Yes. Change the sample text and icons, and remove or reorder any section. Every pattern works on its own.
Is Bright Smile translation-ready?
Yes. All theme text can be translated, and it works with translation plugins.
Where do I get help?
Contact us with your WordPress version, a link to your site and a short description of the issue. Once Bright Smile is listed on WordPress.org, you can also post in its support forum there.