Essential Reputation Management Small Business Tips for Dentists

Tere Jimenez 9 minutes read

One scathing review can erase years of patient goodwill — or can it?

Your dental practice's reputation lives and dies in thousands of digital spaces — from Google Reviews to Facebook comments, from Yelp ratings to neighborhood Facebook groups.

If you focus on perfect margins while ignoring your marketing through online reputation, you might not see the results you want in your practice.

Here are some reputation management small business practices to help you establish trust with potential patients.

Note: it’s great to get on as many reputation management platforms as possible! Google is a great first step, as people typically Googling businesses to find them.

Reputation Management Small Business: Dental Practice Review Platforms

Recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of each platform allows you to prioritize where to invest your time and effort.

Encourage your patients to leave dental practice online reviews on the ones that best boost your practice’s visibility.

Ideally, you’ll have an account on all of these platforms, and know how to leverage each of them to your advantage.

Making the Most of Your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing potential patients see. If nothing else, start with this platform.

After claiming and verifying your listing, keep your hours, services, and contact details up-to-date. Share regular updates and clear photos of your practice - think of it as your digital welcome mat.

Ask satisfied patients to share their experiences here, as these reviews often help others choose your practice and come up first when they type your business name in Google.

Related: How to Remove Google Reviews

Don’t forget to share engaging content through posts and showcase your practice with high-quality photos as a big part of your reputation management small business strategies.

Think of this as your digital storefront; the more inviting and informative it is, the more likely patients are to choose your practice.

Encourage satisfied patients to leave reviews there. Their voices add credibility and can significantly sway potential patients' decisions.

Yelp Reviews

Yelp is one of many local dental marketing strategies for attracting new patients. What’s even more important about this is how you respond to reviews.

Use the patient's name and mention specific details about their visit when replying. Thank patients who leave positive feedback and invite them back. For negative reviews, address concerns directly and explain how you'll make improvements.

Related: How to Respond to Negative Reviews for Your Dental Practice

While having response templates saves time, make each reply personal and friendly and makes for great dental office reputation strategies on Yelp specifically.

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HealthGrades Listing Management Best Practices

HealthGrades helps you highlight your expertise alongside patient reviews.

First things first: ensure all your information is accurate. A well-maintained listing can significantly influence potential patients’ first impressions.

Highlight any awards, additional qualifications, or unique services your practice offers. This adds depth and instills confidence in prospective patients who might be comparing multiple practices.

Given that many patients research health providers before making appointments, positive reviews on HealthGrades can play a pivotal role in their decision-making process.

Connecting Reviews with Social Media

In an era where social media can influence all facets of life, it’s important to leverage these platforms for dental practice community engagement and review generation through dental practice testimonials via graphics and carousel posts.

Facebook and Instagram can be powerful tools for building your reputation and when it comes to building your dental office social media presence.

Regularly posting dental office customer feedback can help encourage your current customers to review and, of course, attracting new ones!

How to Get More Reviews From Your Patients

Getting reviews is all about asking at the right time and making it easy for patients. Here's how to encourage more feedback naturally.

When to Ask for Reviews

The best time to ask for a review is right after a successful treatment when patients are feeling good about their experience. Include a simple request in your regular follow-up message, whether that's a text or email. Keep it friendly and low-pressure.

Creating Effective Email Requests

Use email to thank patients and invite their feedback. Write templates that sound personal and genuine, and include direct links to where they can leave reviews.

Send these emails soon after visits while the experience is fresh in their minds. Keep the message short and make the next steps clear.

Using QR Codes for Easy Reviews

Make leaving reviews quick and simple with QR codes that link directly to your review pages. Put these codes in convenient spots like:

  • Appointment reminder cards

  • Thank you notes

  • Reception area displays

  • Patient care instructions

Teaching Staff to Ask for Reviews

Help your team feel comfortable asking for reviews by giving them clear guidelines and practice opportunities. Train them to spot natural moments to ask, like when patients express happiness with their treatment. Give them simple scripts to follow and let them practice with each other until it feels natural.

Keep everything straightforward and focused on making the review process as easy as possible for both your team and your patients.

Having this solid reputation management small business approach will help you navigate the complexities of online feedback and empower your staff to be ambassadors for your practice.

Related: Building a Patient Referral Program That Grows Your Practice

Handling Negative Reviews

Negative reviews can feel like a dagger to your practice’s heart, but how you respond can either mitigate damage or exacerbate it. Here's how to respond effectively and protect your reputation.

Respond Within 24 Hours

Quick responses when managing dental reviews online show you care about patient concerns. Set up a simple system for your team to spot and respond to negative reviews within 24 hours.

This helps prevent issues from getting worse and shows other readers you take feedback seriously.

Stay Within Legal Bounds

Be careful what your team shares in your responses to avoid breaking patient privacy laws. Some key points:

  • Never confirm someone is your patient

  • Don't discuss specific treatments

  • Keep responses general

  • When in doubt, check with a legal expert before responding.

Use Clear Response Guidelines

Create simple response templates that help your team:

  • Acknowledge the concern

  • Apologize when appropriate

  • Offer to make things right

  • Invite offline discussion

Here’s an example of this in action:

"Thank you for your feedback about [general topic]. We're sorry to hear about [general concern]. We'd like to learn more and make this right. Please contact our office at [phone number] or [email] to discuss this further."

❌ Don't write: "We have your records here and see that on Tuesday you came in for a root canal..."

✅ Instead write: "We take all feedback seriously and would like to learn more about your experience."

When to Request Review Removal

Sometimes you may need to ask platforms to remove unfair or inappropriate reviews. Know what qualifies for removal, such as:

  • False or misleading information

  • Harassing content

  • Reviews from non-patients

  • Private medical information

Follow each platform's rules when requesting removals and keep your requests professional and fact-based.

Making the Most of Patient Feedback for Reputation Management for Small Business

Understanding the pulse of your practice requires a systematic approach to analyzing reviews. Regularly monitoring feedback allows for informed decision-making and continual improvement.

Monthly Review Check-Ins

Set aside time each month to review what patients are saying about your practice.

Look for patterns in their feedback - whether they're consistently praising certain services, mentioning specific staff members, or raising common concerns.

These regular check-ins help you spot trends that might otherwise go unnoticed. When you find patterns, like patients loving your Saturday hours but struggling with parking, you can make targeted improvements that really matter.

Learning from Other Practices

Don't just focus on your own reviews - there's valuable insight to be gained from what patients say about other dental practices in your area!

Study their feedback to understand what patients value most, identify service gaps you could fill, and learn from successful approaches other offices are using. This research helps you stay competitive and meet changing patient expectations.

Tracking Patient Satisfaction

While online reviews are important, they're just one piece of the puzzle. Create a complete picture of patient satisfaction by using simple surveys, feedback forms after visits, and follow-up calls for complex procedures.

Having comment cards in the office gives patients an immediate way to share their thoughts. This proactive approach helps you catch and address concerns before they become negative reviews.

Boost patient satisfaction scores with Wonderful Dental's dye-free, great-tasting prophy paste.

Making Improvements Based on Feedback

Most importantly, put all this feedback to work.

Promote the services that patients consistently praise, address common complaints quickly, and use patient comments to guide staff training.

When you make changes based on feedback, let your patients know. This transparency shows you're listening and helps build trust. Remember, every piece of feedback is an opportunity to make your practice better and strengthen relationships with your patients.

Build Your Reputation with Quality Products and Care

Your practice's reputation starts with the quality of care you provide.

Wonderful Dental's premium products help maintain your stellar reputation by ensuring patient satisfaction at every visit.

Our superior-tasting fluoride varnish and smooth prophy paste, created with taste in mind, contribute to positive reviews and patient referrals.

Order your free samples today and enhance your practice's reputation through exceptional patient care.

 

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