30 September 2026 · 5 min read · Oscar Markham
Reviews matter more in dentistry than anywhere else
Choosing a dentist is not like choosing a plumber. The patient is nervous, they cannot assess the clinical work, and they are making a decision about their own body. In that situation other people's experiences carry more weight than anything a practice says about itself, which makes reviews closer to essential here than in any other local trade.
Ask at the right moment
Not at reception while somebody is paying and wants to leave. The moment that works is just after a treatment has gone better than the patient feared — which in dentistry is most of the time.
A nervous patient who has just had something done painlessly is genuinely grateful, and that is the review that helps the next nervous patient.
Ask for the specific thing
'If you found it easier than you expected, it would really help if you said so' produces a review that speaks directly to the fear stopping the next person from booking.
A generic five stars says nothing. A sentence about not feeling a thing is worth more than a dozen of them.
The reply is read more than the review
Answer every one, briefly. On a negative review, never discuss the patient's treatment or even confirm they are a patient — that is a confidentiality issue as much as a marketing one.
A calm reply offering to deal with it privately reassures far more effectively than a defence, and prospective patients judge the practice on the tone of it.
Recency matters as much as volume
Ten reviews from the last six months read better than sixty that stop two years ago, to a patient and to Google both.
A steady trickle is the goal, which means asking regularly rather than running an occasional push.
Never incentivise them
It breaches Google's policy, it risks the profile, and in a regulated profession it invites a complaint.
It is also unnecessary. Dentistry generates genuine relief and gratitude more reliably than almost any other service; the only thing missing is the asking.
Written by Oscar Markham, founder of Dublin Growth Digital. We run lead generation for Irish estate agents and trades, reported every Friday in enquiries and booked work.