New Google reviews per month by location
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Dental practices · Review and referral requests
Turn good appointments into Google reviews and new patient referrals
Most new patients check Google reviews before they call a dentist, and many choose between two or three practices near home or work. A practice with years of excellent care can still look thin online if reviews depend on the front desk remembering to ask. Meanwhile, the patients most likely to refer friends are rarely asked when they are happiest, such as after a smile makeover or a painless crown.
How it often works today
- Review requests go out only when staff remember, so the review count grows slowly and unevenly between locations or providers.
- Some practices send a request after every single appointment, which annoys regular patients and lands badly after a long procedure.
- Unhappy patients sometimes post a public review before the office manager even hears that there was a problem.
- Referral source is captured inconsistently at intake, so the practice cannot thank referring patients or see which efforts work.
Review and referral requests for a dental practice means sending a short, HIPAA-conscious request after routine visits, routing any concern to the office manager quickly, and tracking where new patients come from. It also means replying to public reviews carefully, because confirming that someone is a patient in a reply can itself be a privacy problem.
The improved workflow
Pick sensible moments
Send requests after hygiene visits and completed treatment rather than after emergency visits, and limit how often any one patient is asked in a year.
Ask everyone eligible, listen first
A short post-visit message asks how the visit went and offers a Google review link to every eligible patient. Anyone who reports a problem is also routed to the office manager for a call.
Capture referral source properly
Make referral source a required field on new patient intake in Dentrix, Eaglesoft or Open Dental, with the referring patient named where applicable.
Thank referring patients
When a referred new patient completes a first visit, a personal thank-you note from the dentist or team is prompted automatically.
Reply to reviews safely
Replies to reviews are drafted for the office manager to approve, never confirming that the reviewer is a patient or mentioning any treatment.
How we deliver this: AI automation for small business or fractional CTO leadership, scoped in writing and run over 90 days. See pricing or the sample scope.
What we would measure
Average rating trend
Shows whether service problems are being caught and fixed.
New patients by referral source
Tells you which sources bring patients and whom to thank.
Reported concerns followed up within one day
Measures whether private feedback actually leads to a call.
Where people stay in control
- Public review replies never confirm that the reviewer is a patient or reference treatment, consistent with HIPAA; the office manager approves each one.
- Review and survey tools have a business associate agreement where they receive patient information, and messages include only the practice name and a link.
- Any referral reward is reviewed with the practice's advisors first, especially where government payers such as Medicaid are involved.
Example
A second location catching up
Illustrative example: a two-location practice has 400 Google reviews at its original office and 40 at the newer one. After setting up post-visit messages for hygiene and completed treatment, both offices ask every eligible patient, with a review link and a way to share concerns privately. The office manager calls the few who report problems within a day. Over three months the newer location adds reviews steadily, and the practice tracks rating, review count and new patients from Google at each office.
Tools typically involved
What the first 30 days look like
We would review your Google profiles, current review requests and how referral source is captured at intake, then check what your communication tool already supports. In the first month we set up post-visit messages for one appointment type, write reply guidelines with the office manager and fix referral tracking.
Common questions
Can we ask only happy patients for reviews?
Google's policies discourage selectively soliciting positive reviews, sometimes called review gating, and the FTC has addressed review practices too. A safer approach is asking all eligible patients while also offering an easy private way to raise concerns. We would design the flow around current platform policies, and your advisors can confirm the details.
How should we respond to a negative review?
Calmly, briefly and without confirming the person is a patient or discussing treatment, which could breach HIPAA. A typical reply thanks them, says the practice takes feedback seriously and invites them to call the office manager. Drafted replies save time, but the office manager should approve each one before it is posted.
Do review tools need a business associate agreement?
If the tool receives patient names, phone numbers and appointment information from your practice management system, it is handling protected health information, so a business associate agreement is generally expected. Most dental-focused tools offer one. We would confirm the agreement and exactly what data the tool receives before connecting it.
The business case
Does it pay for itself?
Illustrative defaults for a dental practice. Replace them with your numbers.
What this workflow costs today
a month in staff time, before any lost sales
Monthly fee + assumed tools +
Break-even: new clients a month (at first-year value)
Or: staff hours recovered and redeployed
Break-even additional revenue
Value of +1 point of win rate
First 90 days, service fee
Worth a closer lookTest the assumptions
Illustration only, not a forecast or guarantee. Recovered staff time becomes a cash saving only if spending actually declines or the time goes into paid work. Tool costs are an assumption; we replace every number here with yours before recommending a scope.
Review and referral requests in other industries
Auto repair shopsEvent and catering companiesHome remodeling companiesHVAC companiesInsurance agenciesLandscaping companiesPhysical therapy clinicsPlumbing companies
Review and referral requests: full guide
Related guides
Zapier for small businessHow to get more reviews ethically, within the FTC's 2024 ruleReferral programs for service businesses: a practical design
Terms used here
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