Dental reputation management is the work of earning a steady flow of honest reviews and answering them well. For most practices that means asking every patient for a Google review, making it easy to leave one, replying to each review without revealing anything about the person’s care, and staying clear of the shortcuts Google and the FTC ban.
Marketing for Dental is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work.
Why reviews matter on Google
Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity. Reviews are part of how people judge a practice once they see it on Maps, and dental Google reviews are often the first thing a new patient reads after the address. Google does not publish how many reviews help, so no honest plan promises a number. What a practice controls is asking consistently and answering with care.
What Google and the FTC ban
The rules are clear, and they apply to the practice and to anyone it hires. Google’s Maps policy does not allow reviews that have been paid for directly or in kind, content posted from several accounts at one person’s request, or incentives such as payment, discounts or free services in exchange for a review. It also bans discouraging negative reviews or asking only happy patients.
The FTC’s rule on consumer reviews, 16 CFR Part 465, went into effect on October 21, 2024. It bans writing, buying or selling reviews that misrepresent the reviewer or their experience, offering anything in exchange for reviews of a particular sentiment, posting reviews by insiders without disclosing the relationship, and suppressing reviews through threats. Courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations.
| Practice | Allowed? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Asking every patient for an honest review | Yes | No sentiment required, nothing offered |
| A gift card for a Google review | No | Google bans incentives for reviews |
| Asking only the patients who seemed happy | No | Google bans selectively soliciting positive reviews |
| Staff reviewing their own practice | No, unless disclosed and genuine | FTC 465.5 on insiders; Google bans fake engagement |
| Threatening a reviewer to take a review down | No | FTC 465.7 bans review suppression by threats |
| Replying politely to every review | Yes | Keep patient details out of every reply |
Review gating, and why it is out
Some tools ask patients first whether they were happy, then send only the happy ones to Google and the rest to a private form. That is selective solicitation, which Google’s policy bans. The fix is simple: send every patient the same request, with the same link, at the same point after the visit. Feedback forms are fine for hearing from patients, as long as they are not a filter in front of the public review link.
The one-line rule
Ask everyone, offer nothing, and accept whatever they choose to write.
How to ask so patients actually leave a review
- Ask in person at check-out, in a friendly sentence, while the visit is fresh.
- Send a short text or email soon after the visit with the direct link to the practice’s Google review form.
- Keep the message to two lines and make it the same for every patient.
- Put the link on the practice website and in appointment reminders.
- Thank every reviewer, whatever the stars.
Practices with several dentists can point each patient to the right profile. Google treats dentists as individual practitioners: each public-facing dentist can have a profile of their own, alongside the office’s profile. The local SEO for dentists page explains how practitioner and practice listings sit together.
Want a review routine your front desk can run every day? Get a proposal.
Replying without revealing anything
A reply to a review is public. Confirming that a reviewer is a patient, mentioning a treatment or quoting from a record can reveal health information. Plan the practice’s reply wording with its privacy officer or compliance advisor, and keep every reply general: thank the person, say the practice wants to hear more, and invite them to call the office directly.
- For a kind review: thank them by first name only if they used it, and say the team looks forward to the next visit, without naming any treatment.
- For a critical review: stay calm, avoid any detail about the visit, and offer a private conversation with the office manager.
- Never: argue in public, share appointment details, or ask the reviewer to change their review in exchange for anything.
What an agency should and should not do
The FTC says advertising agencies, reputation management companies and review brokers may be liable for endorsements they know or should know are deceptive. A sound agency sets up the request routine, drafts reply templates for the practice to approve, watches the profiles and reports what came in. It never writes reviews, never posts from extra accounts, and never offers anything to reviewers on the practice’s behalf.
Reputation is also how the rest of the marketing lands. People who see a social ad or a search ad usually check the reviews before they book. The dental advertising, dental social media marketing and dental branding pages show how reviews fit the wider plan, and HIPAA and dental marketing covers the privacy side in depth.
Questions to ask an agency
- Will every patient get the same review request?
- Do you use any tool that filters unhappy patients away from Google?
- Who writes and approves the replies?
- How do you keep patient details out of public replies?
- Will the Google profiles stay in the practice’s name?
Tell us how you ask for reviews today and an independent agency can propose a better routine. Get a proposal.
Questions practices ask
Can we offer a discount for a Google review?
No. Google’s Maps policy bans incentives such as payment, discounts or free services in exchange for posting a review.
Can we ask only happy patients for reviews?
No. Google bans selectively soliciting positive reviews. Ask every patient the same way.
Can we reply to a review and explain what happened at the visit?
Avoid it. A public reply that confirms someone is a patient or mentions their care can reveal health information. Keep replies general and plan the wording with your compliance advisor.
Can a negative review be removed?
Google removes content that breaks its policies, such as fake engagement. A genuine critical review stays; a calm, general reply and an invitation to talk privately is the response.
How many reviews does a practice need?
Google does not publish a number. A steady flow of honest reviews from real patients, asked for consistently, is what a practice controls.
Does Marketing for Dental manage reviews?
No. Marketing for Dental is an independent referral service. An independent marketing agency prepares any proposal and does any work.