Dental & Implantology Unit (St James Hospital)
According to our open methodology, this clinic scored 50.6/100 for transparency, reputation, service accessibility, and digital visibility.
Overall rank: #9 of 20 ranked clinics · Last checked: 17 September 2026
Positions by Rating Profile
- Overall Transparency & Trust#950.6/100
- Best for Expats#946.3/100
- Best for Dental Implants#946/100
- Best for Emergency Dental Carenot ranked
- Best Price Transparency#934.4/100
- Best English-speaking Clinics#1049.3/100
- Best for Families / Children#951.1/100
- Sleep Dentistry (GA / deep sedation)#450.6/100
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) — General anaesthesia / deep sedation documented Site explicitly offers IV sedation, oral sedation and general anaesthesia for phobic patients. [site]
Summary
Dental and implantology unit inside St James Hospital in Sliema, founded in 1999 by Mark and Susanna Diacono, with a second location in St Paul's Bay. Offers implants, restorative and oral surgery, phobic-patient sedation/general anaesthesia and orthodontics; reviews frequently name Dr Mark Diacono for implant work.
Strengths
- Information Transparency: 18 of 20 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)
- Communication & Service: 3.5 of 8.5 verifiable points (missing: whatsApp / LINE available; pre-visit consultation possible; convenient opening hours)
- AI & Search Visibility: 4.5 of 10 verifiable points (missing: mentioned for: best dentist Malta; mentioned for: English speaking dentist Malta; mentioned for: emergency dentist Malta; mentioned for: Malta dental clinic for expats; structured data on website)
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 [site] | 4/4 |
| ✓ | Dentist names listed [site] | 3/3 |
| ✗ | Dentist specializations listed [site] | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Real clinic photos Site’s own team page shows genuine staff portraits in branded scrubs [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Service list published [site] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Clear contact details [site] [maps] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | English website version [site] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Address and map published [maps] | 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 [site] | 0/3 |
| ✗ | Cleaning price listed FAQs and all service pages read; no price page in the site’s nav [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-2] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Filling price listed No filling price found; site has no fee page [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-3] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Crown price listed No crown price found [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-9] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Implant price listed No implant price found [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-4] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | Consultation price listed No consultation fee found [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-10] | 0/2 |
| ✗ | X-ray / imaging price listed No X-ray price found [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-11] | 0/2 |
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) as of 2026-08-27 [maps] | 3/6 |
| ◐ | Google review volume [maps] | 0.5/3 |
| ◐ | Review recency as of 2026-09-17 [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-12] | 1.5/3 |
| ✓ | Clinic responds to reviews The owner replies to reviews on Google: 7 of the 8 reviews read carry an owner reply, 3 of them to reviews from the last 12 months; the latest reply is dated 2026-06-04 (to a review of 2026-04-14). [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-19] [maps] [gm-replies] | 2/2 |
| ? | No recurring complaints 1–2★ are 15.8 % of 19 Google reviews (1★ 2 / 2★ 1 / 3★ 0 / 4★ 0 / 5★ 16), but fewer than three of the lowest-rated reviews carry text, so no common theme can be read. [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-19] | 0/2 |
| ✓ | No suspicious review patterns Not a 100% 5★ histogram; dates spread; reviewers with history [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-13] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Active Facebook presence Site links to its Facebook page [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-14] | 1/1 |
| ✗ | TripAdvisor presence No TripAdvisor listing found [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-6] | 0/0.5 |
| ✗ | Other review platforms Not in WhatClinic's Malta directory and no TripAdvisor listing; no review-platform link on the clinic's own channels [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-15] [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-16] [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-7] | 0/0.5 |
Medical Infrastructure
The range of publicly documented equipment and services. This measures documented availability, not clinical quality.
| ✓ | On-site X-ray [site] | 2/2 |
| ? | CBCT (3D imaging) | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Implantology [site] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Orthodontics [site] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Oral surgery [site] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Pediatric dentistry [site] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✗ | Emergency care Contact, services and FAQ pages read; no emergency/same-day service mentioned [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-8] | 0/1.5 |
| ? | 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 Contact page lists phone/email only, no WhatsApp link [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-17] | 0/2 |
| ? | Response speed | 0/1.5 |
| ✓ | English spoken [site] | 2.5/2.5 |
| ✗ | Pre-visit consultation possible Contact page has no online form at all, only phone/email per location [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-5] | 0/1.5 |
| ✓ | Clear service explanations [site] | 1/1 |
| ✗ | Convenient opening hours Mon/Tue/Thu 09:00-18:00, Wed 09:00-17:00, Fri 09:00-13:00; no weekend hours published. [site] | 0/1.5 |
AI & Search Visibility
Whether the clinic is discoverable when patients search - including via AI assistants. Checked with fixed queries: "best dentist Malta", "English speaking dentist Malta", "dental implants Malta", "emergency dentist Malta", "Malta dental clinic for expats".
| ✗ | Mentioned for: best dentist Malta [s_ai] | 0/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: English speaking dentist Malta [s_ai] | 0/1 |
| ✓ | Mentioned for: dental implants Malta [ai-implants] | 1/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: emergency dentist Malta [s_ai] | 0/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: Malta dental clinic for expats [s_ai] | 0/1 |
| ✗ | Structured data on website No JSON-LD found on any of the 18 pages read [dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-18] | 0/1.5 |
| ✓ | Google indexing quality [ai-implants] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Dedicated service pages [site] | 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.
- #1ForteDent Dental Clinic41.8 of 100View report →
- #2Regional Dental Centre43 of 100View report →
- #3Apex Dental39.7 of 100View report →
Measured by Ansmeter, 7 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. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Diacono [site] [lic1] | Oral Surgery | MCM 0205 | Registration number on the Medical Council of Malta’s register of dental surgeons (Principal List), with the specialisation Oral Surgery. |
| Susanna Kristina Diacono [site] [lic2] | Founder / Dentist | MCM 0229 | Registration number on the Medical Council of Malta’s register of dental surgeons (Principal List). |
Red Flags
No red flags identified in the public sources we reviewed.
Data We Could Not Verify
- Reputation & Reviews: No recurring complaints
- 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://dentalunitmalta.com/ |
|---|---|
| Phone | +356 2329 1029 |
| Google Maps | Map listing |
| Address | St. James Hospital, George Borg Olivier Street, Tas-Sliema SLM 1807, Malta |
Contact details are provided for identification only and may change; verify with the clinic directly.
Sources
| ID | Source | What it supports | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| site | https://dentalunitmalta.com/ | founders, services (implants, restorative, phobic sedation/GA, oral surgery, orthodontics, X-ray), contacts (Sliema and St Paul's Bay), hours, no prices published | 2026-09-17 |
| maps | https://www.google.com/maps/place/Dental+%26+Implantology+Unit+Slie… | address, phone, Google rating 4.4 (19 reviews) as of 2026-08-27, owner replies visible, reviews naming Dr Mark Diacono | 2026-08-27 |
| lic1 | https://mcmregistration.gov.mt/Search/Index | Medical Council of Malta Health Professional Search, surname Diacono → Diacono Mark, Reg. No. 0205, Oral Surgery, registered 02/10/1995 | 2026-08-27 |
| lic2 | https://mcmregistration.gov.mt/Search/Index | Medical Council of Malta Health Professional Search, surname Diacono → Diacono Susanna Kristina, Reg. No. 0229, registered 23/02/2005 | 2026-08-27 |
| ai-implants | https://www.google.com/search?q=dental+implants+Malta&hl=en&gl=us&p… | dentalunitmalta.com ranks directly in organic results for "dental implants Malta" | 2026-08-27 |
| s_ai | search:best dentist Malta / English speaking dentist Malta / dental implants Malta / emergency dentist Malta / Malta dental clinic for expats | AI/search visibility scout 2026-08-28 | 2026-08-28 |
| gm-replies | https://www.google.com/maps?cid=2921029961802489707&hl=en | Reviews read on the clinic's Google listing 2026-09-11: 5 of 5 carry a reply from the practice, newest 2026-06-04 | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen | https://dentalunitmalta.com/team | Team page photos filenamed "Dental-Unit-Team-photo-<name>" show each dentist in scrubs printed with "Dental & Implantology Unit"; verified by opening the Mark Diacono portrait | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-2 | https://dentalunitmalta.com/faqs | FAQ covers hygiene/whitening/implants/crowns/root canal topics with no pricing category and no € figures | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-3 | https://dentalunitmalta.com/services/restorative-dentistry | Restorative dentistry service page describes the treatment with no price | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-4 | https://dentalunitmalta.com/services/dental-implants | Dental implants service page explains single/multiple/full-mouth options with no price | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-5 | https://dentalunitmalta.com/contact | Contact page lists two clinic addresses with phone/email each; no booking form or online consultation tool | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-6 | https://www.tripadvisor.com/TypeAheadJson?action=API&query=Dental%2… | TripAdvisor’s own search returns unrelated "unit" place names, no listing for this clinic | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-7 | https://www.whatclinic.com/dentists/malta | WhatClinic's own Malta dentist directory and its Sliema listing, read 2026-09-17, do not include this practice | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-8 | https://dentalunitmalta.com/services | Full services page and contact page read; no mention of emergency or same-day appointments | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-9 | https://dentalunitmalta.com/faqs | FAQ "Crowns and bridges" section explains the procedure with no price | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-10 | https://dentalunitmalta.com/contact | Contact page lists two clinic addresses and phone numbers with no fee figures | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-11 | https://dentalunitmalta.com/faqs | FAQ does not have a radiography pricing section | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-12 | https://www.google.com/maps?cid=2921029961802489707&hl=en | Newest readable review dated 2026-04-14 | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-13 | https://www.google.com/maps?cid=2921029961802489707&hl=en | Sampled reviews dated Sep 2025-Apr 2026 from accounts with 3-21 prior reviews | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-14 | https://dentalunitmalta.com/contact | Contact page: "Follow us on Facebook" links to facebook.com/dentalunitmalta | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-15 | https://dentalunitmalta.com/contact | Contact, FAQ and services pages read; no WhatClinic, Trustpilot or Doctoralia link found | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-16 | https://www.tripadvisor.com/TypeAheadJson?action=API&query=Dental%2… | No TripAdvisor business match | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-17 | https://dentalunitmalta.com/contact | Contact page: two clinic phone numbers and an email address; no wa.me link | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-18 | https://dentalunitmalta.com/ | Home, services, contact, team, FAQ and testimonials pages carry no application/ld+json structured data | 2026-09-17 |
| dental-implantology-unit-sliema-deepen-19 | https://www.google.com/maps?cid=2921029961802489707&hl=en | Google listing "Dental & Implantology Unit Sliema" (Dentist, Hospital), read 2026-10-02 in two review orders (the five lowest-rated and the five newest): rated 4.4 from 19 reviews (1★ 2 / 2★ 1 / 3★ 0 / 4★ 0 / 5★ 16); 8 distinct reviews read, dated 2023-01-03 to 2026-06-04, 7 with an owner reply | 2026-10-02 |
Change History
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-17 | Re-read on 2026-09-17: the clinic's FAQs, services, implants, team and contact pages, plus its Google listing. Recorded: no fee page exists on the site, so no treatment price is published; a genuine team photo page with named staff portraits; a Facebook link; no WhatsApp contact and no online booking form; Google 4.4 from 19 reviews, newest 2026-04-14; no TripAdvisor or other aggregator listing; no structured business markup on the site. Still unverified: CBCT availability, whether the unit serves international patients, and whether the 15.8% share of low ratings reflects a recurring issue. |
| 2026-09-11 | Rechecked whether this practice answers its Google reviews by reading the reviews on its own Google listing on 2026-09-11: confirmed, 5 of the 5 reviews read carry a dated reply from the practice, the newest dated 2026-06-04. |
| 2026-08-27 | Initial verification: confirmed live website, address, phone and Google rating (4.4, 19 reviews); matched both founders to Medical Council of Malta registrations; recorded AI/search-visibility signal from a direct query. |
A question or a correction?
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