Patients comparing dentists on Google see your rating and review count before they ever open your website. Dental reputation management is mostly a routine: ask every patient, reply to every review without revealing anything about anyone's care, and report the reviews that break Google's rules. "Dental reputation management" and "reputation management for dentists" each draw about 210 US searches a month at about $45.33 a click (Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026). You don't need software to do it well.
This guide is part of our dental marketing hub.
Why reviews decide which dentist gets the call
Google ranks local results on relevance, distance and prominence. On prominence, its help center says: "More reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking" (Google Business Profile Help (opens in a new tab)). Reviews therefore work twice: they move you up the map for "dentist near me," and they persuade the person comparing you with the group practice two streets away.
Recency matters to patients, too. A 4.8 rating built from reviews written three years ago reads like an office that stopped caring. The fix is a steady flow, which only comes from asking every patient. To see how your listing compares today, audit your Google listing with the free marketing audit; it scores your listing alongside your website, SEO, AI visibility, social and ads.
A simple routine for asking every patient
- Create your review link. Google lets you ask customers "to visit a Google link or scan a QR code" (Google Business Profile Help (opens in a new tab)). Generate both from your profile.
- Ask everyone at checkout, with the same words: "If you have a minute, a Google review helps other families find us." No screening for who looks happy.
- Follow up once with the link through the patient messaging tool your office already uses, with the patient's consent to be contacted that way.
- Keep the QR code at the front desk and on the checkout receipt.
- Leave staff and family out. Google treats reviews from current or former employees and relatives as a conflict of interest.
- Rotate the ask across the team so it doesn't depend on one person's habits.
Our guide to Google Business Profile for dentists covers the rest of the listing.
What Google and the FTC prohibit: gating, incentives, fake reviews
Google's Maps policy says businesses must not "discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers," must not offer incentives such as "payment, discounts, free goods and/or services" for reviews, and must not post content on a competitor's listing to undermine it (Google Maps policy (opens in a new tab)). The FTC's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule took effect on October 21, 2024, and the FTC says it lets courts impose civil penalties for knowing violations (FTC Q&A (opens in a new tab)).
| Practice | Google policy | FTC rule and guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Asking only happy patients (review gating) | Prohibited | Not specifically prohibited by the rule, but "could violate the FTC Act" |
| A reward for any review, regardless of rating | Prohibited | Not a violation of the rule when offered to everyone |
| A reward for a positive review | Prohibited | Prohibited |
| Reviews by staff or family | Prohibited as a conflict of interest | Allowed only with clear disclosure of the relationship |
| Buying or writing fake reviews | Prohibited | Prohibited |
| Threats or false accusations to suppress reviews | Prohibited (discouraging negative reviews) | Prohibited |
Rules as published on support.google.com and ftc.gov, checked October 2026.
Where the two differ, follow Google: it is the stricter of the two and can remove reviews from your listing. Our guide to review gating rules covers survey tools that filter unhappy patients away from review sites.
Replying to reviews without confirming someone is a patient
Google publishes approved replies under the review, notifies the reviewer, and checks replies against its content policies (Google Business Profile Help (opens in a new tab)). For a dental office, the reply itself is the risk. Confirming that someone is your patient, or repeating anything about their care, is a disclosure of protected health information. Google's own reply tips suggest you "acknowledge their specific feedback"; in a dental office, don't.
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has taken action against dental practices over exactly this:
| Year | Practice | What OCR found | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Elite Dental Associates (opens in a new tab), Dallas, Texas | Yelp replies disclosed a patient's last name, treatment plan, insurance and cost information, and other patients' details | $10,000 settlement and corrective action plan |
| 2022 | Dr. U. Phillip Igbinadolor, D.M.D. & Associates (opens in a new tab), North Carolina | A patient's information disclosed on a webpage responding to a negative online review | $50,000 civil money penalty |
| 2022 | New Vision Dental (opens in a new tab), California | Yelp replies sometimes gave full names where reviewers used nicknames, plus visit and insurance details | $23,000 settlement and corrective action plan |
Rules for every reply:
- Never say "your visit," "your crown," "we checked your chart" or "our records show."
- Don't repeat details the reviewer posted, even to correct them.
- Keep it short and move the conversation to the phone.
- Have one trained person approve replies to anything negative.
For the general method across platforms, see how to respond to Google reviews.
Negative reviews: reply templates that stay HIPAA-safe
These templates never confirm the reviewer is a patient or mention treatment. Swap in your own names and number.
Illustrative example: positive review. "Thank you for the kind words. Our team works hard to make every visit comfortable, and it means a lot to hear this. – The team at Brookside Dental"
Illustrative example: negative review. "We take every concern seriously and would like to understand what happened. Privacy rules mean we can't discuss anyone's care online. Please call Dana, our office manager, at (555) 010-0142 so we can talk directly."
Illustrative example: suspected fake review. "We take all feedback seriously and can't discuss anyone's care in a public forum. If you'd like to talk about your concern, please call Dana, our office manager, at (555) 010-0142."
Notice what the fake-review reply leaves out: "We have no record of you" or "This person was never a patient." Either statement tells the public something about who is or isn't a patient. Report the review instead, as below.
This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm how it applies to your practice with a qualified advisor.
Fake or competitor reviews: how to flag and escalate
- Report it. From your Business Profile, open reviews, choose Report and pick the policy it breaks: conflict of interest, fake engagement or off-topic content. Google warns: "Do not report a review just because you disagree with it."
- Track it in Google's Reviews Management Tool, which shows whether a decision is pending or the report was rejected (Google Business Profile Help (opens in a new tab)). Google says evaluation "typically takes several days."
- Appeal once if the report is rejected. The tool allows a one-time appeal of up to 10 reviews.
- Document a pattern. Several one-star reviews from new accounts in a single week, or reviews that describe a different office, are worth screenshotting with dates.
- Don't accuse anyone publicly. The FTC treats false accusations used to suppress reviews as prohibited, and a public accusation can backfire.
Our guide to dealing with fake reviews covers legal options when a pattern continues. The same reply rules apply to Facebook recommendations and Instagram comments; see dental social media.
Tracking rating, review volume and response time
Check four numbers on the first of each month:
- Rating, to one decimal place.
- New reviews this month, compared with the last three months.
- Reply rate: the share of new reviews with a reply.
- Reply time: days from review to reply. Aim for two business days.
Compare yourself with the three practices that show up next to you on the map for "dentist near me." If their review count is growing faster than yours, the asking routine has slipped.
Medfy does not send review requests or manage reviews; your team does that. The free audit scores your Google listing, and Medfy's base plan includes Google reporting that puts Business Profile data next to Search Console and Google Analytics, so the monthly check takes minutes. Patient information stays out of that reporting; see how Medfy protects patient data.
Frequently asked questions
How can a dental office get more Google reviews?
Ask every patient, the same way, at checkout. Create a review link or QR code in your Google Business Profile, keep the QR code at the front desk and send the link after visits through the patient messaging tool you already use. Don't offer anything in return and don't screen out unhappy patients first. A steady routine beats occasional review drives, and Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking.
Can a dentist respond to a negative review?
Yes, and a calm reply helps future patients judge you. The reply must not confirm that the reviewer is a patient or mention any treatment, visit, billing or insurance detail, even if the reviewer posted it first. Thank them, say you can't discuss anyone's care publicly, and invite them to call the office manager. OCR has penalized dental practices whose review replies disclosed patient information.
Is it legal to offer patients a reward for a review?
The FTC's rule bans rewards conditioned on a positive or negative review, and its guidance says a reward offered to everyone who posts a review is not a violation of the rule. Google's policy is stricter: it prohibits any incentive, such as payment, discounts or free services, in exchange for a review. Because Google is where most people searching for a dentist see your reviews, don't offer rewards at all.
How do I remove a fake review from my dental practice listing?
You can't delete it yourself. Report it from your Business Profile or through Google's Reviews Management Tool, choosing the policy it breaks, such as conflict of interest or fake engagement. Google says evaluation typically takes several days, and you get one appeal if the report is rejected. Meanwhile, post a short, neutral reply that doesn't accuse the reviewer or confirm whether they are a patient.