Smile-Hub
According to our open methodology, this clinic scored 60/100 for transparency, reputation, service accessibility, and digital visibility.
Overall rank: #13 of 26 ranked clinics · Last checked: 17 September 2026
60/100
Positions by Rating Profile
- Overall Transparency & Trust#1360/100
- Best for Expats#961.8/100
- Best for Dental Implants#855/100
- Best for Emergency Dental Care#764/100
- Best Price Transparency#1441.2/100
- Best English-speaking Clinics#967.3/100
- Best for Families / Children#862.8/100
- 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) — Not verified The /tiny-teeth/ page documents procedural sedation for children, performed by a named external sedationist (Dr Stewart Gibson, 30 years in procedural sedation). The page does not state whether this is general anaesthesia / deep sedation as the methodology requires, so the criterion is left unverified rather than credited.
Summary
General, paediatric and orthodontic practice in Korsten, Gqeberha, run by Dr Muhammed Essack, offering after-hours emergency services and paediatric treatment under sedation by a named external sedationist.
Strengths
- Information Transparency: 20 of 20 points.
- Communication & Service: 8.5 of 10 points.
- No red flags identified in public sources.
Weaknesses
- Price Transparency: 0 of 15 verifiable points (missing: prices or price ranges published; cleaning price listed; filling price listed; crown price listed; implant price listed; consultation price listed; x-ray / imaging price listed)
- Reputation & Reviews: 7 of 18 verifiable points (missing: google rating (Bayesian-adjusted); no recurring complaints; tripAdvisor presence; other review platforms)
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
20 / 20
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 Dr Muhammed Essack (owner) is named with a full biography on the site's own /about-us/ page, and Dr Stewart Gibson is named on the /tiny-teeth/ paediatric page as the practitioner performing sedation. [s2] [s3] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Dentist specializations listed Dr Essack's qualification is published: dental degree from Sefako Makgatho Health Science University with academic honours, plus courses at the Implant and Aesthetic Academy; the page also states HPCSA registration and SADA membership. [s2] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Real clinic photos [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Service list published [s1] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Clear contact details Phone and email (info@smile-hub.co.za) published. [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | English website version [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Address and map published [s1] | 2/2 |
Price Transparency
0 / 15
Whether patients can estimate costs before visiting. Published price ranges count; exact prices are not required.
| ✗ | Prices or price ranges published No prices published. [s1] | 0/3 |
| ✗ | Cleaning price listed Clean and Scale is a bookable option with no price [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-3] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Filling price listed Fillings is a bookable option with no price [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-4] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Crown price listed No crown price found anywhere on the site [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-5] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Implant price listed Dental Implants described with no price [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-6] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Consultation price listed No consultation price or free-consult statement anywhere [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-7] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | X-ray / imaging price listed X-rays mentioned as part of the general exam with no price [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-8] | 0/2 |
Reputation & Reviews
7 / 20
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) Star histogram read live on 2026-09-06: 19 five-star, 3 four-star, 0 three-star, 3 two-star, 19 one-star. The buckets sum to 44, matching the 44 in the place-page header exactly, and the weighted mean 3.000 reproduces the published 3. [gmp1] | 0/6 |
| ◐ | Google review volume Read live on 2026-09-06 from the place-page header; the star histogram sums to the same figure. [gmp1] | 1/3 |
| ✓ | Review recency Newest Google review is dated 2026-07-14 (listing read 2026-09-26). [smile-hub-gqeberha-gbp-2026-09-26] | 3/3 |
| ? | Clinic responds to reviews Only 8 reviews dated within the last 24 months were read, none with an owner reply; fewer than ten, so whether the owner answers reviews stays open. [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-22] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | No recurring complaints Two of the three reviews Google renders are one-star and both describe the same kind of failure - administration and front-desk handling rather than clinical work. An 8-month-old review describes making an appointment to have an aching tooth extracted and needing repeat appointments without the extraction being done; a 10-month-old review calls it the worst service received and says the receptionist was adamant that the patient's medical-aid benefits were depleted. The histogram makes the pattern unmistakable: 19 of the 44 ratings, 43 per cent, are one-star. No owner reply appears under any visible review. Sample: the 3 reviews Google Maps renders on the place page, in its own relevance order; a newest-first list was not available. [gmp1] | 0/2 |
| ✓ | No suspicious review patterns The 19/3/0/3/19 distribution is strongly bimodal and was examined deliberately, because an unusual histogram is the first thing this criterion looks at. It is not flagged: manipulation characteristically inflates the five-star bucket and leaves a thin negative tail, whereas this is the opposite shape - a genuinely divided review base with as many one-star as five-star ratings, individually worded on both sides and spread over months. The polarisation is recorded under recurringComplaints, where it belongs, rather than as a manipulation finding. Sample: the 3 reviews Google Maps renders on the place page, in its own relevance order; a newest-first list was not available. [gmp1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Active Facebook presence Facebook page linked from the homepage and footer [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-9] | 1/1 |
| ✗ | TripAdvisor presence No TripAdvisor listing; the clinic's own website has no TripAdvisor link [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-16] [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-17] | 0/0.5 |
| ✗ | Other review platforms No clinic profile found on WhatClinic, Hellopeter or Trustpilot; Dental Departures lists no clinics in South Africa (checked 2026-10-01). [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-18] [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-19] [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-20] [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-21] | 0/0.5 |
Medical Infrastructure
11 / 15
The range of publicly documented equipment and services. This measures documented availability, not clinical quality.
| ✓ | On-site X-ray X-rays documented as part of the general examination [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-10] | 2/2 |
| ? | CBCT (3D imaging) | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Implantology Dental Implants is a described, bookable service [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-11] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Orthodontics [s1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Oral surgery Extractions and wisdom teeth removal documented [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-12] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Pediatric dentistry Dedicated "Tiny Teeth" paediatric section. [s1] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Emergency care "We Also Offer Emergency, After-Hour Services." [s1] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ? | Works with international patients | 0/2 |
Communication & Service
8.5 / 10
How easy it is to contact the clinic, get answers, and book - especially for international patients.
| ✓ | WhatsApp / LINE available WP WhatsApp Chat plugin actively loaded on the site [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-2] | 2/2 |
| ? | Response speed | 0/1.5 |
| ✓ | English spoken [s1] | 2.5/2.5 |
| ✓ | Pre-visit consultation possible Dedicated appointment-booking form with service and date selection [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Clear service explanations Each service has a multi-sentence plain-language description [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-13] | 1/1 |
| ✓ | Convenient opening hours Saturday hours published on the contact page [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-14] | 1.5/1.5 |
AI & Search Visibility
7.5 / 10
Whether the clinic is discoverable when patients search - including via AI assistants. Checked with fixed queries: "best dentist South Africa", "English speaking dentist South Africa", "dental implants South Africa", "emergency dentist South Africa", "South Africa dental clinic for expats".
| ✗ | Mentioned for: best dentist South Africa Google first page for "best dentist Gqeberha" read in the browser on 2026-09-06 (method: browser SERP 2026-09-06, hl=en). The clinic does not appear in the organic results, local pack or AI overview. [bsq1] | 0/1 |
| ✓ | Mentioned for: English speaking dentist South Africa Google first page for "English speaking dentist Gqeberha" read in the browser on 2026-09-06 (method: browser SERP 2026-09-06, hl=en). The clinic appears in the organic results, local pack or AI overview. [bsq2] | 1/1 |
| ✓ | Mentioned for: dental implants South Africa Google first page for "dental implants Gqeberha" read in the browser on 2026-09-06 (method: browser SERP 2026-09-06, hl=en). The clinic appears in the organic results, local pack or AI overview. [bsq3] | 1/1 |
| ✓ | Mentioned for: emergency dentist South Africa Google first page for "emergency dentist Gqeberha" read in the browser on 2026-09-06 (method: browser SERP 2026-09-06, hl=en). The clinic appears in the organic results, local pack or AI overview. [bsq4] | 1/1 |
| ✓ | Mentioned for: South Africa dental clinic for expats Google first page for "Gqeberha dental clinic for expats" read in the browser on 2026-09-06 (method: browser SERP 2026-09-06, hl=en). The clinic appears in the organic results, local pack or AI overview. [bsq5] | 1/1 |
| ✗ | Structured data on website No schema.org JSON-LD found on the services page [smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-15] | 0/1.5 |
| ✓ | Google indexing quality own domain smile-hub.co.za takes the top result plus its contact and general-dentistry pages (3 of 12), ahead of Facebook, Instagram, Waze and a Medpages listing (web search 2026-09-07) [giq1] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Dedicated service pages Separate pages exist for the major treatment categories [s1] | 1.5/1.5 |
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. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muhammed Essack [s2] [reg1] [smile-hub-gqeberha-hpcsa-dp0110507] | Owner; general dentistry, implant and aesthetic dentistry (Implant and Aesthetic Academy courses) | DP 0110507 | Registration number with the HPCSA, South Africa’s statutory council for health professions; registration active on its public iRegister (checked 30 September 2026). |
| Stewart Gibson [s3] | Procedural sedation for paediatric treatment (external sedationist, per clinic) | 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: Clinic responds to reviews
- Medical Infrastructure: CBCT (3D imaging)
- Medical Infrastructure: Works with international patients
- Communication & Service: Response speed
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://smile-hub.co.za/ |
|---|---|
| Phone | 041 451 0692 |
| Google Maps | Map listing |
| Address | 5 Durban Road, Korsten, Gqeberha, 6020, South Africa |
Contact details are provided for identification only and may change; verify with the clinic directly.
Sources
| ID | Source | What it supports | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| s1 | https://smile-hub.co.za/ | Distinct URLs for /smile-hub/ (general dentistry), /tiny-teeth/ (paediatric) and /ortho-dentist/ (orthodontics), each with its own detailed content, not one combined list | 2026-09-17 |
| s2 | https://smile-hub.co.za/about-us/ | Founder Dr Muhammed Essack named, with qualification (Sefako Makgatho Health Science University, academic honours), Implant and Aesthetic Academy courses, HPCSA registration and SADA membership | 2026-09-04 |
| s3 | https://smile-hub.co.za/tiny-teeth/ | Paediatric ("Tiny Teeth") page names Dr Stewart Gibson as the practitioner performing procedural sedation for children | 2026-09-04 |
| reg1 | https://hpcsaonline.custhelp.com/app/iregister_details/reg_number/D… | HPCSA iRegister entry for Muhammed Essack, DENTIST register, Port Elizabeth, ACTIVE | 2026-09-04 |
| gmp1 | https://www.google.com/maps/place/Smile-Hub+Dental+Surgery/@-33.935… | Live Google Maps place page: rating, review count, star histogram, review dates, owner replies, pin coordinates | 2026-09-06 |
| bsq1 | search:best dentist Gqeberha | Browser SERP visibility check - best dentist Gqeberha | 2026-09-06 |
| bsq2 | search:English speaking dentist Gqeberha | Browser SERP visibility check - English speaking dentist Gqeberha | 2026-09-06 |
| bsq3 | search:dental implants Gqeberha | Browser SERP visibility check - dental implants Gqeberha | 2026-09-06 |
| bsq4 | search:emergency dentist Gqeberha | Browser SERP visibility check - emergency dentist Gqeberha | 2026-09-06 |
| bsq5 | search:Gqeberha dental clinic for expats | Browser SERP visibility check - Gqeberha dental clinic for expats | 2026-09-06 |
| giq1 | search:"Smile-Hub" Gqeberha | own domain smile-hub.co.za takes the top result plus its contact and general-dentistry pages (3 of 12), ahead of Facebook, Instagram, Waze and a Medpages listing | 2026-09-07 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen | https://smile-hub.co.za/smile-hub/ | 'Book Your Visit At Smile-Hub: Select a service below and a date and submit the form' with a 'Select Service' dropdown (Clean and Scale, Root Canal, Fillings, Wisdom Teeth, Veneers, Teeth Whitening, etc.) | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-2 | https://smile-hub.co.za/contact-us/ | Page loads the 'wp-whatsapp' plugin script (njt-whatsapp.js) that renders a WhatsApp chat widget; the number itself is injected by the widget's script rather than shown in static HTML | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-3 | https://smile-hub.co.za/smile-hub/ | Booking form lists 'Clean and Scale' as a selectable service; no price anywhere on the page | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-4 | https://smile-hub.co.za/smile-hub/ | Booking form lists 'Fillings' as a selectable service; no price anywhere on the page | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-5 | https://smile-hub.co.za/smile-hub/ | Full services page read (extractions, wisdom teeth, implants, whitening, veneers); no crown price | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-6 | https://smile-hub.co.za/smile-hub/ | 'Dental Implants: A dental implant is a long-lasting procedure...' with no price figure | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-7 | https://smile-hub.co.za/contact-us/ | Contact page (address, phone, email, hours, booking form) has no consultation fee or free-consultation wording | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-8 | https://smile-hub.co.za/smile-hub/ | 'We offer a comprehensive general examination which includes two x-rays and a thorough oral examination' — no price given | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-9 | https://smile-hub.co.za/ | Homepage links to https://www.facebook.com/smilehubdentalsurgery/ | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-10 | https://smile-hub.co.za/smile-hub/ | 'We offer a comprehensive general examination which includes two x-rays and a thorough oral examination, to assess your dental needs.' | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-11 | https://smile-hub.co.za/smile-hub/ | 'Dental Implants: A dental implant is a long-lasting procedure used to replace any missing or lost teeth...' with its own 'Make a Booking' link | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-12 | https://smile-hub.co.za/smile-hub/ | 'Extractions: A tooth extraction is the complete removal of a tooth...' and 'Wisdom Teeth Removal: ...wisdom teeth are re[moved]...' | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-13 | https://smile-hub.co.za/smile-hub/ | E.g. Wisdom Teeth Removal: 'A third set of molars sets in between the ages of 17 to 25 and can sometimes become an issue. When necessary, wisdom teeth are re[moved]...' | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-14 | https://smile-hub.co.za/contact-us/ | 'Operating Hours: Monday - Friday: 08:00 - 17:00, Saturday: 08:00 - 14:00. After Hours for Emergency Cases' | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-15 | https://smile-hub.co.za/smile-hub/ | Page source contains no application/ld+json block | 2026-09-17 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-gbp-2026-09-26 | https://www.google.com/maps?cid=3903373187419638418&hl=en | Google listing read on 2026-09-26: rating 3 from 44 reviews; star histogram 1★ 19 / 2★ 3 / 3★ 0 / 4★ 3 / 5★ 19; newest review dated 2026-07-14. | 2026-09-26 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-16 | https://www.tripadvisor.com/TypeAheadJson?action=API&query=Smile-Hub | TripAdvisor autocomplete for the clinic's name: 12 results, none a Gqeberha dental practice | 2026-09-29 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-17 | https://smile-hub.co.za/ | Clinic website HTML (184,763 bytes) checked for a tripadvisor.com reference; none found | 2026-09-29 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-hpcsa-dp0110507 | https://hpcsaonline.custhelp.com/app/iregister_details/reg_number/D… | HPCSA iRegister record for registration number DP 0110507: Muhammed Essack, Port Elizabeth 6057; registration status ACTIVE; current practice category: independent practice general practitioner. | 2026-09-30 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-18 | https://www.whatclinic.com/dentists/south-africa | WhatClinic: every page of its South Africa dentist listing (149 profiles) and its profile sitemaps (193 South African dentists), read 2026-10-01: no profile in Gqeberha / Port Elizabeth, none for Smile-Hub | 2026-10-01 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-19 | https://www.hellopeter.com/search?searchTerm=Smile-Hub | Hellopeter: its business search for "Smile-Hub" returns no page for the clinic (checked 2026-10-01) | 2026-10-01 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-20 | https://www.trustpilot.com/review/smile-hub.co.za | Trustpilot: no company page for smile-hub.co.za (page not found, checked 2026-10-01) | 2026-10-01 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-21 | https://www.dentaldepartures.com/dentists/south-africa | Dental Departures: no clinic listing for South Africa, the country page returns not found (checked 2026-10-01) | 2026-10-01 |
| smile-hub-gqeberha-deepen-22 | https://www.google.com/maps?cid=3903373187419638418&hl=en | Google listing "Smile-Hub Dental Surgery" (Dentist; 5 Durban Rd, Schauderville, Gqeberha, 6060, South Africa), read 2026-10-05 in 6 review orders (lowest-rated first, newest first, most relevant first, highest-rated first, newest first, most relevant first, local-language interface): 3.0 from 46 reviews (1★ 20 / 2★ 3 / 3★ 0 / 4★ 3 / 5★ 20); 14 distinct reviews read, dated 2021-03-09 to 2026-10-01, 0 with an owner reply. | 2026-10-05 |
Change History
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-01 | Checked WhatClinic, Hellopeter, Trustpilot and Dental Departures on 2026-10-01: no profile of the clinic on any of them, so presence on other review platforms is recorded as absent. |
| 2026-09-29 | Checked TripAdvisor's own search and re-read the clinic's website: no TripAdvisor listing and no TripAdvisor link on the site. |
| 2026-09-29 | Corrected 2026-09-29: clinic responds to reviews now unverified: only 3 reviews were checked for owner replies; review recency within 3 months (newest review dated 2026-07-14). |
| 2026-09-17 | Re-read on 2026-09-17: the clinic's website (its main treatments page covering extractions, wisdom-teeth removal, implants and whitening, plus contact-us) and its Google listing. Recorded: a Facebook page, digital X-rays, extractions and wisdom-tooth removal, dental implants, an active WhatsApp chat plugin, a genuine appointment-booking form with service and date selection, Saturday hours, and three separate treatment-category pages (general, paediatric, orthodontics). No structured data exists, and cleaning, filling, crown, implant, consultation and X-ray prices are not published. Still unverified: TripAdvisor and other-platform presence, CBCT/3D imaging, and work with international patients. |
| 2026-09-06 | Checked by hand in a browser: Google Maps place page read live for rating, review count, star histogram, review recency, owner replies, complaint and manipulation reading and pin coordinates; clinic Facebook pages opened where needed; the five canonical visibility queries re-run as browser SERPs. |
| 2026-09-04 | Adversarial verification: the research pass read only the homepage and recorded "no dentist names published anywhere on its site". Refuted — the site's own /about-us/ page names and profiles Dr Muhammed Essack, and /tiny-teeth/ names Dr Stewart Gibson. dentistNamesListed and specializationsListed corrected false to true; Dr Essack matched to HPCSA DP 0110507 (Port Elizabeth, ACTIVE) against a full register download taken today. |
| 2026-09-04 | Initial data collection for the South Africa Dental Transparency & Trust Index (Gqeberha): verified via smile-hub.co.za. No dentist names published anywhere, so no HPCSA lookup was possible. AI-visibility queries and Google Maps fields not available — left for a manual browser check. |
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.