How to Get More Google Reviews as a Dentist
If you've ever finished a appointment and forgotten to ask, this is for you. A short, honest guide to filling your Google profile with real reviews — without it feeling weird.
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Why More Reviews = More Work for Dentists
Before the how, here's the why. Dental anxiety is real and widespread. Patients choosing a new dentist read reviews obsessively. Reviews about gentle treatment, clear explanations, and a calm environment are what nervous patients need to see before booking. Every extra review past your current count earns you a slightly better position in local search, which means slightly more phone calls — and the maths compounds fast.
"dentist near me"
Google shows the top three results for this search based heavily on review count, rating, and recency. Most clicks go to those three.
Trust signal
For a dental practice, reviews are the first social proof potential patients see — long before they ever talk to you.
Permanent asset
Reviews are an owned, permanent asset — unlike paid leads that stop the moment you stop paying.
Why It's So Hard to Get Reviews as a Dentist
The barrier isn't your work — it's the moment. Reviews happen when the asking is easy and the timing is right, and for most dentists both of those things are working against you.
Patients are anxious about dentistry — choosing a new dentist is stressful
NHS practices have long waiting lists — private practices need to attract patients
Patients visit twice a year but rarely leave reviews
Corporate dental chains are expanding and competing with independent practices
Top-ranking dental practices typically have 50-200 Google reviews.
The 5-Step System to Get More Reviews
This is the playbook we've watched work across hundreds of dental practice owners. None of it is clever — it's just consistent.
- 1
Ask within 24-48 hours of finishing the appointment
Response rates roughly halve after a week. The fresher the experience, the more likely they post.
- 2
Send by SMS, not email
SMS gets opened in minutes. Email gets opened, maybe, on Sunday night. SMS wins for dentists every time.
- 3
Personalise the message
Use the patient's name and reference the actual appointment. Generic templates underperform personalised messages by 2-3x.
- 4
Give them a direct link to your Google review form
Don't make them search for your business. One tap from SMS to review form is the gold standard.
- 5
Filter out unhappy patients first
Send a low-friction "how was it?" question first. Only patients who rate you highly should be funnelled to Google. The rest give you private feedback.
Or Let It Run Itself
The five steps above work. The problem is keeping them up when you're knee-deep in a appointment. Grow Our Reviews automates step 1 through step 4 — you just finish the job.
Finish a appointment
Wrap up the work the same way you always have. Nothing changes in how you operate.
Add the patient
Drop their name and mobile into the app — fifteen seconds, from your phone.
Reviews land
Happy patients post directly to Google. Unhappy ones give you private feedback first.
Examples From a Working Dentist's Week
Picture a typical week — a check-up and clean, a filling, maybe a crown. Each one is a potential review. Here's how the asking fits each.
check-up and clean
A patient who's just had a check-up and clean from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
filling
A patient who's just had a filling from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
crown
A patient who's just had a crown from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
teeth whitening
A patient who's just had a teeth whitening from you is the easiest review you'll ever ask for — when the moment is right. The system catches that moment.
What It Costs (For a Dentist)
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Lite
Enough credits for around 30 appointments a month.
- Up to 30 message credits per month
- SMS review requests
- Automatic follow-up nudges (can enable/disable)
- Sentiment gate (review filtering)
- Analytics dashboard
- Email support
Starter
Enough credits for around 150 appointments a month.
- Up to 150 message credits per month
- SMS review requests
- Automatic follow-up nudges (can enable/disable)
- Sentiment gate (review filtering)
- Analytics dashboard
- Email support
Growth
Enough credits for around 300 appointments a month.
- Up to 300 message credits per month
- Everything in Starter
- Priority support
Quick Answers
When is the best time to ask a patient for a review?+
Within 24-48 hours of finishing the appointment, while the experience is fresh. Wait a week and the response rate drops by more than half — we've measured it.
What's the highest-converting message to send?+
Short, polite, and personal. Mention the patient's name, what you did, and a direct link to your Google review page. The fewer clicks between SMS and review form, the higher the conversion.
Is it OK to offer an incentive?+
No. Google's policy explicitly bans incentivised reviews and they'll strip them — sometimes along with your whole rating. Don't risk it.
How many requests should I send per month as a dentist?+
Send one to every patient you've genuinely served. The "right number" is whatever your real job volume is — the goal is steady, not bulk.
Ready to get your first wave of new reviews?
The guide above is what works. The fastest way to actually do it is to let the system ask for you — after every appointment, automatically.
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Other Health & Wellness we work with
The same approach works for adjacent health & wellness — same automation, different defaults.
More for dentists
Same topic, different angles — useful if you're researching how reviews fit into your wider dental business.
Further reading
Articles from the blog that go deeper into the topics on this page.