How to Leave a Review for Your Dentist That Actually Helps Other Patients
A useful dental review says what you went in for, what happened and what you'd tell a friend. Here's what to include, a worked example and what to leave out.
The short answer: describe the visit, not just the mood
To leave a review for a dentist that helps other patients, say what you went in for, what happened, and what you'd tell a friend who was thinking of booking. Specific facts beat adjectives every time: "seen ten minutes late, options and costs explained before anything started" tells the next patient far more than "great dentist, highly recommend".
Most dental reviews online are one line long. They say the staff were lovely, or that the wait was awful, and stop there. That's fine as far as it goes, but it doesn't help someone with a cracked molar decide whether this is the practice to trust with it.
This guide covers how to leave a review for a dentist on Rated Clinics, what a useful one includes, a worked example, and the few things you should keep out of it.
How to leave a review for a dentist on Rated Clinics
The process takes a couple of minutes. Here's what it involves on the site today:
- Find the practice. Go to the write a review page and search by practice name, town or postcode. You can also open the profile from the clinic directory.
- Sign in. You need a free account with a confirmed email address. Clinic accounts can't write reviews at all.
- Write your review on the practice's profile. Give your rating and describe your experience.
- Add proof if you have it. A receipt, booking confirmation or appointment letter is optional. It's used only to check the visit, it's never published, and it earns your review a "Verified visit" badge.
- Wait for moderation. A person reads every review before it goes live, usually within 24 hours.
You get one review per practice. You can edit it for 24 hours after posting and delete it whenever you like. The full rules are in our review policy, which is short and worth a look before you start.
If the practice you used isn't listed, you can suggest it and leave your review when you do.
What a useful dental review covers
A good review answers the questions the next patient is too nervous, or too busy, to ask on the phone. You don't need to cover all of these. Pick the ones that applied to you.
- What you went in for. A check-up, a filling, an emergency appointment, a course of hygiene visits. "Routine check-up" and "root canal on a back tooth" are very different tests of a practice.
- NHS or private. Say which, since the experience can differ even at the same practice. Don't quote what you paid. Prices change and they aren't what the next reader needs from you.
- How easy it was to get seen. How long you waited for an appointment, and whether they ran on time once you were there.
- How the options were explained. Whether you were told what was wrong, what the choices were, and what each would cost before treatment began. Few things in a review help the next patient more.
- How you were treated if you were anxious. Nervous patients read reviews more carefully than anyone. If the dentist stopped when you raised a hand, say so.
- What happened afterwards. Whether the filling held, whether they called back when they said they would, whether a follow-up problem was sorted.
- Who saw you, if you want to say. Naming the dentist or hygienist helps at a large practice. Keep it to their role and your experience of them.
Timing matters too. A review written the day after a check-up is fine. For longer treatment, a crown or a course of gum treatment, a review written a few weeks later can say whether the work lasted, which is the part people actually want to know.
A worked example: the same visit, written two ways
Below is an example we wrote ourselves to show the difference. It isn't a real review and the details are illustrative.
| Unhelpful version | Useful version | |
|---|---|---|
| What it says | "Brilliant dentist, really friendly, would recommend to anyone." | Says what the visit was for, how long the wait was, how the options were explained and how it went afterwards. |
| What the next patient learns | That you liked it. | Whether this practice handles the thing they need, and what to expect. |
| Can a moderator tell it's about a real visit? | Hard to tell. | Yes, it describes a specific appointment. |
| Useful in a year's time? | Not really. | Yes, it records what was done and whether it lasted. |
And here is what the useful version might look like in full:
I booked an emergency appointment for a broken back tooth and was seen the next morning, about fifteen minutes late. The dentist showed me the X-ray, explained that the tooth could be filled or crowned, and gave me the cost of each in writing before doing anything. I'm a nervous patient and she agreed a signal for me to stop her, which she stuck to. I went for the filling. Six weeks on it's fine. The only downside was getting through on the phone, which took three tries.
That's under a hundred words. It has a criticism in it, which makes the praise more believable, not less. Anyone reading it knows what the practice was like for a real appointment, on a real day.
What to leave out, and why
Some things will stop a review being published. Others won't, but they'll make it less useful or cause you problems later.
- Other people's details. Don't mention another patient, or anyone else's health. Our policy won't publish anything that identifies another patient.
- Medical detail you'd regret. Your own health is yours to share, but a review is public. "A broken back tooth" is enough. You don't need to list medications or conditions.
- Accusations of crime. Say what happened and how it affected you. Don't claim a named person committed a crime. The policy won't publish it, and the law of defamation treats a factual allegation very differently from an opinion.
- Prices. They date quickly and vary by treatment. Say whether costs were explained clearly, which is the part that lasts.
- Anything you were given to write it. If a practice offered you a discount, a gift or a prize draw entry in return for a review, don't write one on those terms. We won't publish it, and since April 2025 the law has banned reviews that hide an incentive.
- Someone else's experience. Write about your own visit. Reviews on behalf of a parent or partner, or based on what you've heard, aren't accepted. If you're the parent who took a child, write about what you saw.
Writing a review when the treatment went wrong
A negative review is just as welcome as a positive one, and it's published on the same terms. The useful ones are calm, specific and stick to what you experienced.
Separate the facts from your verdict. "The crown came loose after two weeks and I was told the next appointment was a month away" is a fact. "I wouldn't go back" is your opinion, and you're entitled to it. Under section 3 of the Defamation Act 2013, an honestly held opinion that indicates what it's based on has a defence, which is one reason specifics protect you as well as help the reader.
If the problem is serious, a review isn't the only thing you should do. Raise it with the practice first, since that's the first step in every complaints route. Our guide on how to complain about a dentist sets out the NHS, private and GDC routes. You can still write your review. It's often more useful once you know how the practice responded.
Clinics can reply publicly to any review. They can't have it removed because they dislike it, and their replies mustn't reveal anything about your treatment that you haven't already shared. Replies are moderated like reviews.
Why your review carries more weight than you'd think
Plenty of practices have a handful of reviews, and some have none. On Rated Clinics, many profiles built from the CQC register start empty. One detailed review can be the only first-hand account a nervous patient finds before they ring.
It also matters because fake reviews are a real problem. Since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has banned fake consumer reviews and reviews that hide an incentive, and it requires sites that publish reviews to take reasonable steps to stop them. The CMA's fake reviews guidance explains what that means for businesses.
Genuine, detailed reviews make the fake ones easier to spot. They're hard to imitate, and readers learn to tell the difference. Our guide to finding trustworthy reviews shows what patients look for, and a review written the way this guide suggests is exactly that.
FAQ
Can I review my dentist anonymously?
You need a free account with a confirmed email address, so reviews aren't fully anonymous to us. What's published is public, though, so leave out details that would identify you if you'd rather not be recognised.
Do I need proof that I was a patient?
No, proof is optional. If you add a receipt, booking confirmation or appointment letter, it's used only to check the visit and is never published. Your review then shows a "Verified visit" badge.
How long does it take for my review to appear?
A person reads every review before it goes live, usually within 24 hours. If yours isn't published, you can contact support and we'll tell you which part of the review policy applied.
Can I change my review later?
You can edit it for 24 hours after posting. After that window closes, you can still delete it at any time.
Will the practice know it was me?
It might. The practice can read every review and reply publicly, and if you mention your appointment date or treatment, a small practice may work out who you are. Write only what you're comfortable with them reading.
Should I mention the dentist by name?
You can, and at a large practice it helps other patients. Stick to your own experience of them and avoid accusations you can't back up.
Write a review of a dentist you've used