When was the last time you chose a restaurant without checking the reviews? Your patients do the same thing when choosing a dentist. Online reviews have become one of the primary ways prospective patients evaluate dental practices, and for many Ontario dentists, their review profile is either an untapped asset or an unmanaged liability.
Understanding how reviews work — and developing a thoughtful approach to them — is one of the most effective things you can do for your practice's growth.
Why Reviews Matter More Than You Think
The numbers are compelling. Research consistently shows that over 80% of patients read online reviews before choosing a new healthcare provider[1]. For dental practices specifically, Google reviews are the single most influential factor after location and insurance acceptance.
Reviews affect your practice in three direct ways:
- Patient decisions — Prospective patients use reviews to assess quality of care, staff friendliness, wait times, and overall experience. A practice with 40 reviews averaging 4.7 stars will consistently attract more new patients than a practice with 5 reviews averaging 5.0 stars. Volume and recency matter as much as the rating itself.
- Search visibility — Google uses review signals (quantity, quality, recency, and response rate) as a significant factor in local search rankings. More reviews, with more recent dates, actively improve your visibility in "dentist near me" searches.
- Trust building — Reviews provide social proof that no amount of marketing copy can replicate. When a real patient describes their positive experience, it carries more weight than anything your website says about your practice.
Where Reviews Matter Most
For dental practices in Ontario, the platforms that matter most are, in order of importance:
- Google Business Profile — This is by far the most important review platform. Google reviews appear directly in search results and on Google Maps. They influence your local search ranking and are the first reviews most patients see.
- Facebook — While less influential for search ranking, Facebook recommendations still carry weight with patients who use the platform to research local businesses.
- RateMDs — A Canadian healthcare-specific review platform. Less traffic than Google, but patients who find you here are specifically evaluating healthcare providers.
Focus your energy on Google. If you can only manage one review platform well, this is the one that has the greatest impact on both search visibility and patient decisions.
How to Earn More Reviews
The most effective way to get more reviews is straightforward: ask. Most satisfied patients are happy to leave a review — they simply don't think to do it unless prompted. Here are approaches that work well for dental practices:
- Ask at checkout — Train your front desk to mention reviews after a positive appointment. A simple "We're glad you had a good experience — if you have a moment, a Google review really helps us" is all it takes.
- Follow-up email — If your practice management software sends appointment follow-ups, include a direct link to your Google review page. Make it as easy as one click.
- Printed cards — A small card with a QR code linking to your Google review page, handed to patients at checkout, provides a tangible reminder.
- After positive interactions — When a patient specifically compliments your care, your staff, or your office, that's the moment to mention that a review would be appreciated.
What you should never do: offer incentives for reviews (this violates Google's policies[2] and can result in your reviews being removed), buy fake reviews (obvious to both platforms and patients), or pressure patients in any way. The goal is to make it easy for genuinely satisfied patients to share their experience.
Related: Your Google Business Profile is where most patients encounter your reviews first. Read our Google Business Profile guide.
Responding to Positive Reviews
Every positive review deserves a response. It doesn't need to be elaborate — a brief thank-you that acknowledges the specific feedback shows that you value patient input and are actively engaged with your online presence.
A good response is personal, brief, and genuine. Something like: "Thank you, Sarah — we're glad to hear that your cleaning went smoothly. We look forward to seeing you at your next appointment." Avoid generic copy-paste responses. Patients notice when every reply is identical.
One important note for dental professionals: be mindful of patient privacy in your responses. Never confirm treatment details, diagnoses, or appointment information in a public reply, even if the patient mentioned them in their review. A general acknowledgment is sufficient.
Handling Negative Reviews
Negative reviews happen to every practice. A single negative review among many positive ones won't damage your reputation — how you respond to it might.
The principles for responding to negative reviews:
- Respond promptly — Within 24 to 48 hours. A delayed response looks like indifference.
- Stay professional — Never argue, be defensive, or dismiss the patient's experience. Even if the complaint feels unfair, your response is being read by every prospective patient who views that review.
- Acknowledge the concern — Show that you take the feedback seriously. "We're sorry to hear about your experience" is a reasonable starting point.
- Move the conversation offline — Invite the reviewer to contact your office directly to discuss their concerns. This shows willingness to resolve the issue while keeping details private.
- Protect patient privacy — Never disclose any clinical information in a public response, regardless of what the reviewer has shared. This is both a professional obligation and a regulatory requirement under Ontario's health privacy legislation (PHIPA)[3].
A thoughtful response to a negative review often impresses prospective patients more than the negative review itself. It demonstrates professionalism, accountability, and genuine concern for patient experience.
Your website should showcase your reputation. We build dental websites with testimonial sections and review schema built in. See our web design services.
Building Reviews Into Your Practice Operations
The practices that maintain strong review profiles don't treat reviews as a marketing task. They treat them as part of their regular operations. Review management should be someone's specific responsibility — typically the office manager or a designated front desk team member.
Set up Google alerts for your practice name so you know when new reviews appear. Check your Google Business Profile weekly. Respond to every review, positive and negative, within a few days. Track your review count and average rating as practice metrics, just like you track patient volume and revenue. Building a review strategy should be part of your ongoing practice operations, not a one-time effort — and it works hand-in-hand with local SEO to improve your search visibility.
Reviews and Your Website
Your website and your reviews should work together. Featuring selected patient testimonials on your website — with permission — reinforces the social proof that new visitors find on Google. A link to your Google reviews from your website also makes it easy for happy patients to add their voice.
A professional website with embedded testimonials and structured data markup can go a step further: by implementing AggregateRating schema, your practice can display review snippets — including star ratings — directly in Google search results. These rich results stand out visually and consistently earn higher click-through rates than plain listings. A note of caution, however: Google's guidelines are strict about self-serving review markup. AggregateRating schema works best when the reviews it references come from a legitimate external source rather than testimonials you've selected and published yourself. Practices should review Google's structured data policies[4] before implementing this markup to ensure compliance and avoid penalties. Combined with a strong dental website that covers all the essentials, your reviews become a powerful conversion tool both on and off your site.
If you're looking to strengthen your practice's online presence — from your review strategy to your website design — we'd be glad to help. All our sites are built and hosted on Canadian servers — your patients' data never leaves the country. Learn more about our web design services or reach out directly to discuss what would work best for your practice.
Sources
- BrightLocal, "Local Consumer Review Survey" (2024)
- Google, "Google Business Profile Help" (2024)
- Government of Ontario, "Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA)" (2004)
- Google Search Central, "Introduction to Structured Data" (2024)