How to Get More Google Reviews for a Dental Practice, Within the Law
Ask every patient, at the right moment, with a two-tap link, and offer nothing in return. Here's how to get more patient reviews without breaking Google's rules or UK consumer law.
How to get more Google reviews for a dental practice: ask every patient, the same way
The practices with the most Google reviews aren't doing anything clever. They ask every patient, at the right moment, with a link that takes two taps, and they never offer anything in return. If you want to know how to get more Google reviews for a dental practice without breaking the law or Google's rules, that's the whole method.
The detail is in the "every" and the "never". Since April 2025, picking only your happy patients or rewarding people for reviews can put a practice on the wrong side of consumer law, not just Google's terms. This guide covers what's allowed, what isn't, and the routine that works inside those lines.
What changed in April 2025, and why dental practices are in scope
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 added fake reviews to the list of banned commercial practices. Paragraph 13 of Schedule 20 bans submitting or commissioning a fake review, and commissioning a review without disclosing that it was incentivised. It also bans publishing reviews in a misleading way, which includes favouring positive reviews over negative ones.
The Competition and Markets Authority can now enforce this itself and fine a business up to 10% of its global turnover. It isn't sitting on the powers either. In 2026 it opened investigations into several businesses over their reviews, including claims that staff were asked to write positive reviews and that customers were offered undisclosed discounts for five-star ones.
None of those businesses was a dental practice. But the rules apply to any trader, and a practice manager asking the team to "get some reviews up" is exactly the kind of instruction the CMA's fake reviews guidance describes.
The one rule that catches most practices: no cherry-picking
The CMA guidance says cherry-picking can happen in two ways: suppressing negative reviews, or "encouraging just those who are satisfied to leave reviews". That second one is the common habit in dental practices.
It usually looks harmless. A receptionist asks the patient who was all smiles at the desk and skips the one who waited forty minutes. A text system sends a "How did we do?" message first and only passes people who tap five stars through to Google. That second set-up is known as review gating, and it's the one to remove first.
The fix is a process, not a judgement call. Every patient who completes a course of treatment, or every patient seen in a given week, gets the same request. Nobody at the front desk decides who is worth asking.
Google's rules are stricter than the law
The law allows an incentivised review as long as the incentive is disclosed and the review is genuine. Google doesn't. Its policy on fake engagement bans offering "payment, discounts, free goods and/or services" in exchange for a review, and bans selectively asking for positive reviews.
Google also says businesses shouldn't require or pressure people to leave a review while on the premises, or ask staff to collect a set number of reviews. Reviews from current or former staff count as a conflict of interest. So a monthly target for the reception team, or the associate dentist reviewing the practice, breaks the policy even if every word is true.
Google can remove reviews that break these rules. The safe line is simple: ask everyone, offer nothing, and don't tell people what to write.
| Practice | Google policy | UK consumer law |
|---|---|---|
| Asking every patient for an honest review | Allowed | Allowed |
| Only asking patients who seem happy | Not allowed | Can be a misleading practice |
| Filtering with a "rate us first" screen | Not allowed | Can be a misleading practice |
| Offering a discount or prize for a review | Not allowed | Allowed only if disclosed, and the review is genuine |
| Staff reviewing the practice they work at | Not allowed | Banned unless the connection is disclosed |
| Asking patients to mention a treatment or name | Not allowed | Risky if it shapes the content |
When to ask, and who should do it
Timing matters more than wording. Ask too early and the patient hasn't had the result yet. Ask a week later and the moment has gone.
For most dental work, the right moment is the end of the appointment that finishes something: the hygiene visit, the fit of a crown, the final aligner check, the review after an extraction. The patient knows how it went and is still thinking about you. For longer courses such as orthodontics, ask at the end rather than halfway through.
Who asks matters too. A dentist saying "If you've been happy with how this went, a review really helps us" lands better than a card handed over with the receipt. Keep it to one sentence. Don't stand over the patient while they write it, and don't ask them to do it in the chair.
Then follow up the same day with the link. A patient who has to search for your profile later often won't bother.
Make the link two taps away
Plenty of patients who mean to leave a review never get round to it because finding the right page is a faff. Remove every step you can.
- Use the direct review link. Your Google Business Profile has an "Ask for reviews" option that gives you a short link straight to the review box. Use that, not a link to your profile or a Maps search.
- Put a QR code at reception. A small printed code by the card machine is fine. It's there for anyone who wants it, which is different from asking people to do it on the spot.
- Send it by text. Send the link within an hour or two of the appointment, while the visit is still fresh.
- Add it to your website. A plain "Leave us a review" link on the contact page helps patients who come looking.
Check the link on a phone before you send it to anyone. A broken or wrong link wastes the one moment you get.
What to put in the text or email
Keep the message to the request. Something like: "Thanks for coming in today. If you'd like to share your experience, you can leave a review here: [link]. Reviews help other patients choose a practice." No offers, no "five stars appreciated", no line about a new treatment you're launching.
That last point matters for a second reason. Once a message promotes a service or an offer, it's likely to count as direct marketing, and the consent rules in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations apply. The Information Commissioner's Office publishes guidance on those rules. A plain feedback request with nothing to sell keeps you well clear.
Send one request and, at most, one reminder. Respect anyone who tells you they'd rather not be asked.
Replying to reviews without breaching confidentiality
Replies are part of getting more reviews. Patients reading your profile see whether you answer, and a calm reply to a poor review shows them how you'd treat them if something went wrong.
The trap for dental practices is confidentiality. The GDC's guidance on using social media says you must not post information about patients, or anything that could identify them, without their explicit consent. A patient naming themselves in a review isn't consent for you to discuss their treatment in reply.
So don't confirm they're a patient, don't mention their treatment, and don't argue the clinical detail in public. Thank them, say you take feedback seriously, and invite them to contact the practice manager directly. Keep the substance for that private conversation.
Don't rely on one platform
Google reviews matter for local search, but patients check more than one place before they book. Our guide to spotting fake clinic reviews explains why a profile with hundreds of identical five-star reviews and nothing else can put careful patients off rather than reassure them.
Rated Clinics only shows reviews posted directly on the site by signed-in patients, and every one goes through moderation before it appears. We don't import reviews from Google or anywhere else, and you can read how we check reviews in full. When you claim your free listing, you can reply publicly under each review and add a review widget to your own website.
The same rules apply here as on Google. Ask every patient, offer nothing, and let the reviews say what they say.
Frequently asked questions
Can a dental practice ask patients for Google reviews?
Yes. Google allows businesses to ask for reviews as long as they ask without offering anything and without trying to influence the rating or the content. Ask every patient in the same way rather than choosing who to ask.
Can we offer a prize draw or discount for leaving a review?
Google's policy bans any incentive for a review, including discounts and free services, so it will put your profile at risk. UK law allows a disclosed incentive, but that doesn't override Google's rules on Google's platform.
Can staff leave reviews for the practice they work at?
No. Google treats current and former staff reviews as a conflict of interest. Under UK law, a review commissioned from a member of staff without disclosing the connection is a banned practice.
Is review gating illegal in the UK?
Filtering out unhappy patients before they reach a review site breaks Google's policy. The CMA's guidance also says encouraging only satisfied customers to leave reviews can be a way of presenting reviews misleadingly, which consumer law bans.
How should we reply to a negative review?
Reply briefly and politely, without confirming the person is a patient or discussing any treatment. The GDC is clear that you must not share patient information online. Offer a direct contact so the conversation can continue privately.
Can we get a negative review removed?
You can flag a review that breaks the platform's rules, such as one that's fake, abusive or from someone who was never a patient. A review you simply disagree with will usually stay up, so a good reply is the better use of your time.
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