How to Get More Google Reviews for Dentistsby Sean Hodel

Somebody in your town just searched "dentist near me." Google showed them three practices on a map, and they picked the one with more reviews and a better star rating before they ever looked at a website.

That is how most new patients find a dentist now. If your review count is stuck at 40 while the practice down the street has 400, you are losing patients you never even knew were looking. The good news is that getting more Google reviews is not about luck. It is a habit you build into the front desk.

Why Google reviews matter more for dentists than almost anyone

Choosing a dentist is personal. People are trusting you with their mouth, their kids and sometimes a lot of money. They are nervous before they ever call. So they read reviews harder than they would for a pizza place.

Reviews do three jobs for a dental practice at the same time:

1. They help you show up. Review count, rating and how recently you got reviews are part of how Google decides who lands in the map results. A practice with steady new reviews looks alive. A practice whose last review was eight months ago looks like it might have closed.
2. They win the click. When someone is comparing three practices on a map, the stars and the number next to them are often the whole decision.
3. They answer the fear. A new patient is not reading reviews to learn whether you can do a cleaning. They are looking for words like "gentle," "didn't judge me," "great with my kids," and "explained everything." Those words calm people down.

Why most practices are stuck

Every dental office knows reviews matter. Almost none have a system.

The front desk is supposed to ask, but checkout is busy, the phone is ringing, and the next patient is waiting. Asking for a review feels awkward, so it gets skipped. The only people who leave reviews on their own are the ones who are thrilled or the ones who are angry, and angry people are more motivated.

So the review profile ends up as a small, random sample. A handful of five stars from years ago and a couple of fresh one star rants about billing. That is not an accurate picture of your practice. It is just what happens when you leave it to chance.

How to get more Google reviews for your dental practice

Ask at the right moment

The best time to ask is when the patient is feeling good about you, and that is usually right at the end of the visit. The cleaning is done, the hygienist was kind, the kid got a prize from the treasure chest. That is the moment.

The worst time is a week later, after they have gotten the bill.

Ask in person first

A text out of nowhere is easy to ignore. A real person saying "it would mean a lot to us" is not. The ask should come from whoever the patient connected with most, often the hygienist or the front desk person who checked them in.

Keep it short and human. Something like: tell them you are glad they came in, mention that reviews are how new families find the practice, and let them know you are sending a link so it only takes a minute.

Make it one tap

Every extra step loses people. Do not tell a patient to "search for us on Google and find the review button." Send them a direct link that opens the review box. Google gives you this link inside your Business Profile.

Text it to them before they walk out to the car. Text beats email by a mile here, because people actually open texts.

Follow up once, then let it go

If they do not leave one, a single friendly reminder a day or two later is fine. After that, stop. One reminder is helpful. Three is annoying, and annoyed patients do not leave five stars.

Make it somebody's job

This is the part that decides whether any of the above happens. If reviews are everybody's job, they are nobody's job. Pick one person who owns it, give them a simple daily target, and look at the number together once a week. I talked about the same idea for phone calls in my speed to lead post. The rule is the same: one name on it.

The rules you cannot break

There are a few lines here, and crossing them can get reviews removed or get you in real trouble. I am not your lawyer, so check with yours on anything HIPAA related, but here is the general picture.

Do not pay for reviews

No gift cards, no discounts, no entry into a drawing in exchange for a review. Google's rules do not allow incentives, and the FTC has gone after businesses for buying and faking reviews. It is not worth it.

Do not only ask the happy ones

Some systems send a quick "how did we do?" survey first and only push the happy patients to Google, while the unhappy ones get routed to a private form. That is called review gating, and Google's policies prohibit it. Ask everyone. Your rating will hold up better than you think, and the occasional critical review makes the good ones more believable.

Never confirm someone is a patient in a reply

This one is specific to healthcare, and it is the one I see practices get wrong most. When you reply to a review, you cannot confirm that the person is your patient, and you cannot mention anything about their visit, their treatment or their bill. Even if they posted all of it themselves. Federal regulators have fined dental practices for exactly this.

That changes how you reply to everything, good and bad.

How to reply to dental reviews without breaking HIPAA

Reply to every review. It shows the next person reading that a real human runs the place. Just keep your replies general.

For a positive review: thank them warmly without confirming anything about their care. "Thank you for the kind words! Our team loves hearing this" is great. "We are so glad your crown fit well, see you at your six month cleaning" is not, because it confirms they are a patient and reveals treatment.

For a negative review: stay calm, do not argue, and take it offline. Something like "We take every concern seriously and would like to talk with you directly. Please give our office manager a call." Do not explain your side, do not mention their appointment, do not mention their balance. The reply is not for the angry reviewer. It is for the hundred people who will read it later, and they are watching how you handle pressure.

Get reviews that actually sell

Volume matters, but what the reviews say matters too. Five hundred reviews that just say "great" do less work than fifty that describe the experience.

You cannot tell patients what to write, and you should not try. But you can make it easier for them to say something real. When you ask, mention what you hope new patients learn: "a lot of people are nervous about the dentist, so it really helps when patients share how the visit felt." That one sentence nudges people to write about the things nervous patients search for.

Reviews that mention a specific service, like implants, Invisalign or kids' dentistry, also help the right people find you for the right search.

And once you have great reviews, use them. Put a few on your website, read them at team meetings, and if a patient is happy to go on camera, a short video testimonial is worth a stack of written ones. This ties into the bigger picture of how SEO, your website, organic social and paid ads work together. Reviews feed all four.

The dental review checklist

• Your Google Business Profile is claimed, complete and has your direct review link saved.
• One named person owns reviews, with a daily target.
• Every patient gets asked in person at the end of the visit.
• The review link goes out by text before they reach the car.
• One friendly reminder, then stop.
• No incentives of any kind, and no gating. Ask everyone.
• Every review gets a reply within a few days.
• Replies never confirm someone is a patient or mention their care.
• Negative reviews get a calm reply that moves the conversation offline.
• You check your review count and rating once a week as a team.

Frequently asked questions

How many Google reviews does a dental practice need?

There is no magic number. What matters is how you compare to the practices showing up next to you on the map, and whether you keep getting new ones. Look at the top three dentists in your area and aim to pass them, then keep a steady pace every month. A burst of 50 reviews followed by silence does less for you than a few every week.

Can I offer a discount or prize for leaving a review?

No. Google does not allow incentives for reviews, and the FTC treats paid reviews as deceptive. Asking nicely and making it easy works better anyway.

Should I respond to reviews that are only a star rating with no text?

Yes, a short general thank you is fine. It shows you pay attention, and it keeps your profile looking active. Same HIPAA rule applies: thank them without confirming they are a patient.

What do I do about a one star review that is unfair?

Wait a few hours, then reply calmly and invite them to call the office. Do not argue in public and do not share details about their visit. If it violates Google's policies, flag it. Then go get ten more honest reviews from happy patients, because the best answer to one bad review is a lot of good ones.

Start with tomorrow's patients

You do not need software or a big project to fix this. Tomorrow, pick one person, save your review link, and ask every patient who leaves happy. Do it for a month and look at the difference.

If you want the whole patient acquisition side built for your practice, from ads to follow-up to reviews, that is what we do at Local Klicks. You can also grab the book for the full strategy, or read a little more about me.