A consistent dental review collection and response process

Disclosure. This site is published by the company behind Dental Mastery, which works with UK private and mixed practices on local search, paid advertising, AI-assisted enquiry handling and enquiry follow-up. This guide is about review operations, not clinical care, and it is not legal advice.

Most practices collect reviews in bursts: a keen receptionist, a quiet month, a sudden push after a bad review. The result is a profile that reflects who happened to be asked, not how the practice actually treats people. A written process fixes that, and it is also what keeps you inside the platform rules and UK law.

Why consistency is the whole point

Google does not allow businesses to discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or to selectively solicit positive ones ^[1]. It does allow businesses to encourage reviews that reflect a genuine experience, provided they offer no incentive and do not try to influence the rating or the content ^[1]. Google's own advice to businesses is to value all reviews, noting that a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy ^[2].

So the test for any review process is simple: would it look the same if you had no idea how each patient felt? If the answer is yes, you are asking fairly.

Asking every patient the same way

Write down four things and do not vary them by patient:

• Who is asked. A rule based on the appointment, not the person: for example, every patient after a completed course of treatment, or after every hygiene visit. Exclude only patients who have asked not to be contacted.
• When. One fixed point, such as the day after the appointment, so the request does not depend on how the visit seemed to go.
• How. One channel and one message. Google suggests asking customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code ^[2].
• What it says. Short, neutral and free of clinical detail. Patient information, including what treatment someone is having, must be kept confidential ^[8], so the message names the practice and gives the link, nothing more.

A neutral request reads like this: "Thank you for visiting [Practice]. If you would like to leave a review, you can do so here: [link]. It is entirely up to you."

What the process must never include

• Gating. A satisfaction question first, with the review link sent only to people who answer positively. That is selective solicitation ^[1].
• Incentives. Google prohibits offering payment, discounts or free goods or services in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing a negative one ^[1]. The CMA tells businesses not to offer money or gifts to customers for positive reviews ^[6].
• Pressure on the premises. Google says businesses should not require or pressure people to review while on the premises, and should not set staff a number of reviews to collect or ask for content that names a staff member ^[1].
• Fake or conflicted reviews. In the UK, submitting or commissioning a fake consumer review is listed in Schedule 20 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, among commercial practices considered unfair in all circumstances ^[5]. The CMA warns that if you use a marketing or SEO agency, you must make sure it follows the same rules ^[6]. Google also removes reviews based on a conflict of interest, such as current or former employment ^[1].
• Cherry-picking on your own website. The same Schedule treats publishing reviews in a misleading way as unfair, and gives as an example publishing positive reviews while failing to publish negative ones ^[5]. If you publish reviews, the CMA says you should have a published policy that clearly prohibits fake reviews ^[7].

Who does what

A reply on Google is posted publicly under the review and appears as the business, and the reviewer is notified ^[3]. That is why one person should own replies, with a deputy for holidays, and why nobody should reply from a personal account.

Replies and response times

Google advises keeping replies short, clear and polite, and replying in a timely manner ^[2]. Turn that into a target of your own, write it down and check it every week. A target you always hit, such as two working days, is better than an ambitious one you miss.

The rule that matters most in a dental practice is confidentiality. The GDC says you must not post any information or comments about patients on social networking or blogging sites ^[8]. A public review reply should never confirm that the reviewer is a patient, or mention a visit, a treatment or a cost. The guide to replying without disclosing patient information has template replies for each situation.

Handling negative reviews

1. Do not reply in the heat of the moment. Read it, share it with the practice manager, then reply.
2. Reply briefly, without confirming anything, and give a direct contact so the reviewer can raise it with you privately. Google suggests inviting the reviewer to contact you to resolve the issue ^[2].
3. If they get in touch, handle it under your complaints procedure. The GDC expects a written procedure that is followed, responses within its time limits, and regular updates, at least every 10 days, when a complaint takes longer than usual ^[9].
4. Report a review only if you believe it breaks Google's policies. Google says not to report a review just because you disagree with it ^[4].
5. Never offer anything in return for the review being changed or removed ^[1].

The GDC describes complaints as an opportunity to improve, and asks you to analyse them and share lessons with the team ^[9]. Treat negative reviews the same way in the monthly review.

Measuring it

Keep a simple monthly log from your own records:

• Eligible appointments, and requests actually sent. If these numbers differ, find out why.
• New reviews received, by rating.
• Replies posted, and how many were within your target.
• Concerns invited offline, and how many became complaints under your procedure.
• Recurring themes, positive and negative, and what you changed because of them.

The first line is the one I care about most. It is your evidence that every patient is asked the same way. The reputation workflow checklist turns all of this into a weekly and monthly routine, and the review operations audit worksheet shows where your current process has gaps.

A better profile tends to mean more calls and enquiries, and those are lost quickly if nobody answers. See how Dental Mastery handles enquiry follow-up.