Patients are more likely to read online reviews before choosing a dentist than before choosing almost any other local service. The stakes feel higher — dental care is personal, involves some anxiety for most people, and requires trust. A dental practice with 200 reviews and a 4.9 rating will consistently outbook a practice with 25 reviews and a 4.5 rating, even if the care is comparable.
The practices generating 50+ reviews per year are not doing anything ethically questionable. They have built a system — and running that system takes less than 20 minutes per week.
Why Most Dental Practices Get Fewer Reviews Than They Deserve
Most practices generate excellent patient experiences. The problem is the ask. Asking for a review in person after an appointment is awkward — the patient may have their mouth numb, they are thinking about getting to their car, and the receptionist asking "Can you leave us a Google review?" feels like a sales pitch at the worst possible moment.
The solution is to move the ask out of the office entirely and into an automated sequence that triggers after the patient has had time to process their experience.
The 3-Step Dental Review System
Step 1: Text First, 2 Hours After the Appointment
The first touchpoint should be a simple, warm message from the practice — not a marketing blast. Something like:
"Hi [Name], this is [Practice Name] checking in. We hope your appointment went smoothly today! If you have a moment, a quick Google review would mean the world to our team — it helps other families in [City] find us. Here's the link: [direct Google review URL]. Thank you!"
Text response rates for this type of message are typically 20–35%. Most dental scheduling software (Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Open Dental) has automation features that can trigger this text automatically.
Step 2: Email Follow-Up at 48 Hours (For Non-Responders)
If the patient did not click the review link within 48 hours, send a brief email follow-up. Keep it short. One or two sentences, a direct link, and a genuine sign-off. Patients who did not respond to the text often respond to the email — different channels reach different people.
Step 3: Respond to Every Review Within 24 Hours
Review responses are a multiplier. Patients who see that your team reads and responds to every review are more likely to leave one themselves — the effort feels noticed rather than dropped into a void. For positive reviews, personalize the response with something specific. For negative reviews, respond with empathy and move the conversation offline.
What About Patients Who Had a Negative Experience?
This is a real concern. You cannot control who sees your review request. The best protection against negative reviews is not to avoid asking — it is to provide excellent care and follow up proactively if anything went wrong during the appointment.
A patient who felt their concern was heard and addressed is far less likely to leave a negative review than one who felt dismissed. If your front desk team notices a patient was unhappy, flag that appointment and have someone call before the automated review request goes out.
Specialty Considerations
For specialist practices (orthodontists, periodontists, oral surgeons), the review cadence looks slightly different. Orthodontic patients have longer treatment timelines — the ideal moment to ask for a review is at the mid-point of treatment when they are excited about progress, and again at completion. Oral surgery and periodontal patients often feel significant anxiety during treatment; the review request should be timed to when recovery is going well, typically 5–7 days post-procedure.
How Do You Compare to the Competition?
Run a search for "dentist [your city]" in an incognito window. Look at the review counts and ratings for the practices that appear in the Map Pack. That is your benchmark.
Our free Storefront Audit shows you exactly where your dental practice's review profile stands relative to the practices outranking you — and what volume and velocity you need to close the gap.
Get your free dental practice audit and see your review score in five minutes.