Gambelas Smile Clinic
According to our open methodology, this clinic scored 48.4/100 for transparency, reputation, service accessibility, and digital visibility.
Overall rank: #3 of 26 ranked clinics · Last checked: 18 August 2026
Positions by Rating Profile
- Overall Transparency & Trust#348.4/100
- Best for Expats#349.5/100
- Best for Dental Implants#348/100
- Best for Emergency Dental Care#157/100
- Best Price Transparency#529.1/100
- Best English-speaking Clinics#152.7/100
- Best for Families / Children#155.7/100
Summary
Gambelas Smile Clinic is a multi-specialty dental clinic in the Gambelas district of Faro, founded in 2010 and operating in partnership with Hospital Particular do Algarve. The clinical team includes dentists with UK experience and covers implantology, orthodontics, endodontics, prosthodontics, pediatric dentistry, oral surgery, and conscious sedation. The clinic holds ERS registration E113926 and operating licence 2330/2011. Clinical Director Dr. Luis Bacalhau holds OMD registration 5103 and a Master's in Oral Implantology from the University of Seville. Staff communicate in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French.
Address cited as both 'nº 7' and 'nº 9' across sources; the clinic's own website uses 'nº 9' and this is taken as authoritative. WhatClinic lists 1 verified review (3.5/5) but qanomed.com shows 42 reviews at 4.8/5 — qanomed likely aggregates Google data. DocDental mirror shows Google rating 4.9/79 reviews. ERS registration E113926 and licence 2330/2011 are published on the clinic's own website. OMD number 5103 for Dr. Bacalhau found via LinkedIn and third-party source referencing his OMD registration.
Strengths
- Information Transparency: 16 of 20 points.
- Medical Infrastructure: 13 of 15 points.
Weaknesses
- Price Transparency: 0 of 3 verifiable points (missing: prices or price ranges published)
- AI & Search Visibility: 3 of 7 verifiable points (missing: mentioned for: best dentist portugal; mentioned for: english speaking dentist portugal; mentioned for: dental implants portugal; mentioned for: emergency dentist portugal)
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 Dr. Luis Bacalhau (Clinical Director, oral surgery/implants), Dr. Carina Brito (orthodontics), Dr. João Machado (prosthodontics), Dr. Cecília Miranda (pediatric dentistry), Dr. Abílio Martins (endodontics), Dr. Andreia Azinheira (endodontics) — sourced from WhatClinic listing [s2] [s3] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Dentist specializations listed each named dentist has a documented specialty [s2] [s3] | 2/2 |
| ? | Real clinic photos | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Service list published implantology, orthodontics, oral surgery, endodontics, prosthodontics, veneers, crowns, whitening, radiology, sedation, pediatric dentistry, periodontics [s1] | 3/3 |
| ✓ | Clear contact details landline, mobile, email, WhatsApp all published on website and afpop directory [s1] [s4] | 2/2 |
| ✗ | English website version website is in Portuguese only; staff speak English per afpop listing [s1] | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Address and map published full address published on website [s1] | 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 no prices found on the official website [s1] | 0/3 |
| ? | Cleaning price listed | 0/2 |
| ? | Filling price listed | 0/2 |
| ? | Crown price listed | 0/2 |
| ? | Implant price listed | 0/2 |
| ? | Consultation price listed | 0/2 |
| ? | X-ray / imaging price listed | 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) 4.9 from 79 Google reviews per docdental.pt mirror accessed 2026-08-18 [s5] | 5/6 |
| ◐ | Google review volume [s5] | 1.5/3 |
| ? | Review recency review dates not accessible via mirrors used | 0/3 |
| ? | Clinic responds to reviews | 0/2 |
| ✓ | No recurring complaints WhatClinic review positive; patient testimonials on qanomed and afpop show no recurring complaint pattern [s2] [s6] | 2/2 |
| ? | No suspicious review patterns | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Active Facebook presence [s1] | 1/1 |
| ? | TripAdvisor presence | 0/0.5 |
| ✓ | Other review platforms listed on WhatClinic, qanomed, afpop, clinicbooking.com, fadadodente.pt [s2] [s6] | 0.5/0.5 |
Medical Infrastructure
The range of publicly documented equipment and services. This measures documented availability, not clinical quality.
| ✓ | On-site X-ray oral radiology listed as a service [s1] | 2/2 |
| ? | CBCT (3D imaging) CBCT/3D imaging not specifically documented | 0/2 |
| ✓ | Implantology [s1] [s2] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Orthodontics Dr. Carina Brito is orthodontist on staff [s1] [s2] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Oral surgery oral surgery listed; Dr. Bacalhau specializes in oral surgery [s1] [s2] | 2/2 |
| ✓ | Pediatric dentistry Dr. Cecília Miranda covers pediatric dentistry [s1] [s2] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Emergency care WhatClinic listing documents emergency care; one review describes acceptance of an emergency appointment [s2] | 1.5/1.5 |
| ✓ | Works with international patients listed in afpop (expat association) directory with 10% member discount; staff speak English, Spanish, French [s4] | 2/2 |
Communication & Service
How easy it is to contact the clinic, get answers, and book - especially for international patients.
| ✓ | WhatsApp / LINE available WhatsApp +351 964 240 330 [s1] | 2/2 |
| ? | Response speed | 0/1.5 |
| ✓ | English spoken afpop listing states English, Spanish, French spoken [s4] | 2.5/2.5 |
| ? | Pre-visit consultation possible | 0/1.5 |
| ✓ | Clear service explanations [s1] | 1/1 |
| ✓ | Convenient opening hours Mon-Fri 09:00-19:30, Sat 09:00-16:00 [s1] | 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 Portugal", "English speaking dentist Portugal", "dental implants Portugal", "emergency dentist Portugal", "Portugal dental clinic for expats".
| ✗ | Mentioned for: best dentist Portugal not prominently surfaced in top results for the five canonical city queries [s7] | 0/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: English speaking dentist Portugal [s7] | 0/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: dental implants Portugal [s7] | 0/1 |
| ✗ | Mentioned for: emergency dentist Portugal [s7] | 0/1 |
| ✓ | Mentioned for: Portugal dental clinic for expats mentioned in at least one expat-focused Algarve dental result [s7] | 1/1 |
| ? | Structured data on website | 0/1.5 |
| ✓ | Google indexing quality clinic name returns clinic website and directory listings prominently [s7] | 2/2 |
| ? | Dedicated service pages | 0/1.5 |
Licensing & Credentials
Whether the clinic publishes its operating licence and the dentists working there together with their professional licence numbers. Missing items are penalised.
Clinic operating licence: not published on the clinic’s website — penalty applied
Dentists & professional licences
| Dentist | Specialization | Licence No. |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Luis Bacalhau [s3] | Oral Surgery / Implantology | OMD 5103 |
| Dr. Carina Brito [s2] | Orthodontics | not published |
| Dr. João Machado [s2] | Prosthodontics / Aesthetic Dentistry | not published |
| Dr. Cecília Miranda [s2] | Pediatric Dentistry | not published |
| Dr. Abílio Martins [s2] | Endodontics | not published |
| Dr. Andreia Azinheira [s2] | Endodontics | not published |
Red Flags
- medium Clinic operating licence not published (-4 pts) — The clinic does not publish its operating licence or registration number (derived from data).
- low Opaque or bait pricing (-2 pts) — No prices or price ranges published (derived from data).
Red-flag penalty applied: -6 points (capped at -20).
Data We Could Not Verify
- Information Transparency: Real clinic photos
- Price Transparency: Cleaning price listed
- Price Transparency: Filling price listed
- Price Transparency: Crown price listed
- Price Transparency: Implant price listed
- Price Transparency: Consultation price listed
- Price Transparency: X-ray / imaging price listed
- Reputation & Reviews: Review recency
- Reputation & Reviews: Clinic responds to reviews
- Reputation & Reviews: No suspicious review patterns
- Reputation & Reviews: TripAdvisor presence
- Medical Infrastructure: CBCT (3D imaging)
- Communication & Service: Response speed
- Communication & Service: Pre-visit consultation possible
- AI & Search Visibility: Structured data on website
- AI & Search Visibility: Dedicated service pages
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://www.gambelassmileclinic.com/pt/ |
|---|---|
| Phone | +351 289 805 505 |
| +351 964 240 330 | |
| https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063485442636 | |
| Address | Rua Maria Cavaco Azevedo, 9, 8005-226 Faro, Portugal |
Contact details are provided for identification only and may change; verify with the clinic directly.
Sources
| ID | Source | What it supports | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| s1 | https://www.gambelassmileclinic.com/pt/ | official website: address, phones, email, WhatsApp, hours Mon-Fri 09:00-19:30/Sat 09:00-16:00, service list, ERS registration E113926, licence 2330/2011, Facebook link | 2026-08-18 |
| s2 | https://www.whatclinic.com/dentists/portugal/faro/gambelas-smile-cl… | independent directory: team (Dr. Luis Bacalhau BDS Lisbon 2005 / implantology, Dr. Carina Brito orthodontist, Dr. João Machado, Dr. Cecília Miranda, Dr. Abílio Martins, Dr. Andreia Azinheira), services including emergency care, hours Mon-Thu 9:30-19:30/Fri 9:30-19:00/Sat 9:30-16:00, 1 verified review 3.5/5 dated 2021-08-03 | 2026-08-18 |
| s3 | https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-bacalhau-24243414b/ | Dr. Luis Bacalhau: Clinical Director at Gambelas Smile Clinic, OMD registration 5103, Master in Oral Implantology University of Seville, 20+ years experience | 2026-08-18 |
| s4 | https://connect.afpop.com/gambelas-smile-clinic/ | afpop expat association directory listing: English/Spanish/French spoken, 10% discount for members, partnership with Hospital Particular do Algarve, address, phones, email | 2026-08-18 |
| s5 | https://docdental.pt/clinicas-dentais/faro/ | Google rating mirror: Gambelas Smile Clinic 4.9/5 from 79 reviews | 2026-08-18 |
| s6 | https://qanomed.com/clinic/gambelas-smile-clinic | third-party platform: 4.8/5 from 42 reviews; staff rating 5.0, competence 5.0; services list; confirms address | 2026-08-18 |
| s7 | search:the five canonical city queries | AI/search visibility checks 2026-08-18: clinic appears in expats-focused results; not in top answers for best/English/implants/emergency queries | 2026-08-18 |
Change History
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-18 |
A question or a correction?
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