How Dental Practices Can Get More Google Reviews, Compliantly

20 August 2026·6 min read

Quick answer: The best time to ask a dental patient for a Google review is right after a genuinely positive, low-anxiety appointment — think a routine check-up or a completed cosmetic case — not immediately after anything involving pain, sedation, or a clinical outcome still settling. Ask for a general review of their experience, never a testimonial about specific treatment results, and make it a two-tap process from your Google Business Profile link. Train front desk staff on the exact wording so the ask feels natural, not scripted or pressured. Done consistently, this builds a steady flow of genuine reviews without ever crossing into AHPRA-restricted testimonial territory. ✨

Please note: general information, not health advice — check current official guidance before relying on it.

Most dental practices we talk to have hundreds of happy patients and about eleven Google reviews. 💖 It is not because patients do not want to leave one — it is because nobody ever actually asked, or the one time someone did, it felt so awkward that reception stopped doing it altogether. The AHPRA compliance conversation gets tangled up here too, because practices confuse 'asking for a general review' with 'collecting testimonials', and those are genuinely different things. Get the distinction right and reviews become one of the easiest, lowest-cost marketing wins available to a dental practice — no ad spend required.

What most dental practices get wrong

The most common mistake is asking every patient, at every visit, with the same generic line — usually right at the counter while they are still numb, mid-transaction, card in hand. It feels transactional because it is transactional. The second mistake is going quiet altogether out of compliance nerves, assuming any review request is risky, which leaves genuinely five-star practices sitting on a handful of reviews from years ago. The third, more subtle mistake is what happens after someone does leave a review — practices lift glowing lines out of them ('best root canal I've ever had, painless!') and paste them onto the website as a testimonial. That is exactly the AHPRA line reviews are meant to help you avoid crossing, not walk you straight into.

The asset: a compliant review-ask script for reception

The 3-question filter + the ask (copy this for your front desk)

Before asking, run a quick mental filter. Only ask if the answer to all three is yes:

Was this a routine or elective appointment (check-up, clean, cosmetic, general treatment) rather than an emergency or highly sensitive procedure?
Did the patient seem relaxed and positive when leaving, based on how the appointment actually went?
Is this a patient you have not asked in the last six months?

The script (said at the front desk, or via a follow-up SMS/email):

'It was great seeing you today. If you have a spare minute, we'd really appreciate a quick Google review about your experience with us — it genuinely helps other people in [suburb] find the practice. No pressure at all, and thank you either way!'

Follow-up SMS/email version (send within 2 hours of the appointment):

Subject: Thanks for coming in today
Hi [Name], thanks for coming in today. If you have a moment, we'd love a quick Google review — here's the link: [link]. It really helps other people in the area find us. Thanks again, [Practice Name].

Note what is deliberately missing: no mention of the specific procedure, no request to describe the clinical outcome, and no offer or incentive of any kind for leaving a review.

Real practices, real timing

A well-established practice with 15 years of happy patients but only 9 Google reviews: The team had simply never built asking into the appointment flow. They added the script above as a standard step after every routine check-up and clean (the lowest-anxiety appointment type), delivered by whichever staff member did the checkout. Within a few months reviews had grown substantially, without a single mention of clinical outcomes in any of them.

A practice that had stopped asking altogether after a compliance scare at a conference: The principal dentist had heard a horror story about a testimonial breach and told the whole team to stop asking for reviews entirely. Once the distinction was clarified — general experience reviews are fine, curated clinical testimonials are not — the practice reinstated the ask using the filtered script above, and briefed the team specifically on what never to say ('tell them how good the results were').

A five-chair practice wanting reviews that reflected each dentist's individual reputation: Rather than asking patients to name-check specific treatment results, the practice simply personalised the ask ('it was lovely having you in with Dr Chen today, we'd appreciate a review of your visit') so patients naturally mentioned the dentist by name if they chose to, without staff ever prompting a description of the clinical work itself.

How to actually build this into your practice

Pick one appointment type to start with — routine check-ups and cleans are the easiest, lowest-risk entry point. Add the ask as a standard step in your checkout process or your existing appointment-confirmation SMS/email sequence, so it happens consistently rather than depending on someone remembering. Make the link genuinely easy to use — a direct Google review link (found in your Google Business Profile dashboard under 'Get more reviews') takes one tap to open the review box, rather than sending patients to search for you. Track weekly, not appointment-by-appointment — a simple tally of reviews received each week is enough to see whether the habit is sticking. And brief every team member, from reception to dental assistants, on the same script and the same filter, so the ask stays consistent regardless of who is on the front desk that day.

💡 The ask matters less than the timing. The exact wording of a review request barely moves the needle — what determines whether someone follows through is whether they were asked at a genuinely positive moment, with a link that takes ten seconds to use. Fix the timing and the mechanics before you fuss over the perfect sentence.

Mistakes to avoid

Asking straight after emergency or pain-related appointments, when patients are least likely to feel positive yet
Offering any incentive, discount or reward for leaving a review — this breaches Google's policies as well as AHPRA guidance
Copying glowing lines out of reviews and republishing them as testimonials on your website
Asking the same patient repeatedly within a short window
Using a generic 'leave us a review' link instead of the direct one-tap Google link
Letting only one enthusiastic staff member handle the ask, so it disappears when they are not rostered on

Frequently asked questions

Is it against AHPRA guidelines to ask patients for Google reviews?

No — asking for a general review of a patient's experience is generally fine. What crosses the line is soliciting, curating or publishing specific testimonials about clinical treatment or outcomes. The distinction matters, so keep the ask general.

What if a patient leaves a review describing their actual treatment result?

You cannot control what a patient writes, and a genuine, unprompted review is different to a solicited testimonial. That said, avoid then republishing or promoting that specific review elsewhere (like pulling a quote onto your homepage), since that action shifts it back into testimonial territory.

How many reviews should a dental practice aim for?

There is no magic number, but practices with a large, steady base of recent, genuine reviews tend to out-convert practices with a handful — both in local search rankings and in patient trust once someone lands on the profile. Consistency over time matters more than a short burst.

Should we respond to every review?

Yes, briefly and professionally — but never confirm, deny or discuss any specific clinical detail in a public reply, even a positive one. A simple thank you is usually the safest and most appropriate response.