Google reviews: Your secret weapon for beating bigger dental practices

Picture this: two dental practices on the same street, both offering excellent care. One consistently has a packed schedule with new patients calling daily. The other struggles to fill appointment slots despite years of experience and advanced training. What's the difference?

The thriving practice has 500+ Google reviews. The struggling one has 47.

This isn't about fairness or who deserves more patients. It's about how search engines and patients make decisions in 2025. When someone searches for a dentist, Google doesn't care about your dental school GPA or your 20 years of experience. Google cares about one thing: which practice do real patients actually trust and recommend?

Those Google reviews aren't just nice social proof, they're rocket fuel for your search rankings.

Why Google reviews control who shows up first

When someone searches "dentist near me" or "emergency dental care," Google's algorithm immediately starts calculating trust signals. Your website design matters, but patient testimonials matter way more.

Think about it from Google's perspective. They want to send searchers to businesses that won't disappoint them. A practice with 200+ positive reviews signals reliability. A practice with 12 reviews (even if they're all five stars) signals... well, not much.

Here's how patients actually search: They type "best dentist in downtown Portland" and Google immediately starts calculating which practices deserve the top spots. A practice with 350 reviews and a 4.8 rating gets priority over one with 45 reviews and a 4.9 rating. Why? Volume creates trust at scale.

For every search, Google looks at your review count, average rating, and how recent reviews are to decide your ranking position.

The numbers that actually matter

Most dental practices struggle with these harsh realities. Consider this: 83% of Americans use online reviews to evaluate a dentist, according to research by Dentaly.org. That means more than 8 out of 10 potential patients are judging your practice based on what others say about you online.

Practices with more positive reviews can see up to 35% more clicks than those with fewer reviews, according to research by CXL Institute. Think about what that means for your monthly new patient numbers. If you're currently getting 20 new patients per month from online searches, hitting that higher review threshold could boost that to 27 new patients monthly. That's 84 additional patients per year.

A one-star increase in average rating can boost revenue by 5-9%, according to Harvard Business School research. For a practice generating $800,000 annually, that's potentially $40,000-$72,000 in additional revenue just from improving your star rating.

But here's the kicker: the top 3 Google results get 54.4% of all clicks, according to Backlinko's analysis of 4 million search results. Position #4 and below? You're fighting for scraps. And if you're on page 2 of Google? You might as well be invisible. Less than 1% of searchers ever make it to the second page, which means a page 2 ranking gets virtually zero traffic.

How review volume directly impacts your search position

Google's algorithm treats reviews as trust signals. Consider what happens when a practice goes from 35 reviews to 180 reviews over six months. That kind of growth typically results in jumping from page 2 of Google results to the #2 spot in the local map pack, with monthly new patient appointments often increasing from the high teens to over 30.

Local pack rankings: These are the top 3 results that show up with the map when someone searches for a dentist. A practice with 400+ reviews and a 4.7 rating will consistently hold top local pack positions, while competitors with similar websites but fewer reviews rank below.

Voice search optimization: When patients ask Siri, ChatGPT, or Gemini "find me a highly rated dentist nearby," review data heavily influences results. Practices with consistent 4.5+ star ratings get prioritized in these AI-powered voice search results.

What patients actually say in their searches

Understanding how patients think and search helps explain why reviews matter so much. A working mom in Phoenix searches "dentist with good reviews near Scottsdale" because she wants social proof before making an appointment. Someone recently relocated to Denver types "best rated family dentist downtown Denver" because they're nervous about finding quality care in a new city.

When potential patients search "is [practice name] a good dentist," they're not looking for your website, they're going straight to your Google reviews to see what other patients experienced.

Patients look for overall star ratings of at least 4.0 for serious consideration. They want to see a substantial number of reviews (more equals more trustworthy). Recent reviews prove you're still actively caring for patients, and specific mentions of services they need give them confidence you can handle their situation.

The automation solution: Turning reviews into a team sport

Here's where most practices get stuck: asking for reviews feels awkward, remembering to ask feels impossible, and doing it manually feels overwhelming.

Consider the typical manual approach. A dentist personally asks happy patients for reviews at the end of appointments. Some days they remember, other days they forget. After three months, they might gain only 8 new reviews. When the same practice switches to an automated system, they can gain 47 reviews in the next three months.

Why automation works: Every patient gets the same experience. The system sends review requests 15-30 minutes after appointments when patients are still feeling grateful. Follow-up happens automatically, and staff can focus on patient care instead of remembering scripts.

Team Care Dental has proven that team incentives dramatically improve results when the system does the heavy lifting. Your front desk ensures correct contact information. Your clinical team provides excellent care. The automation handles everything else.

The ROI: You set a $5 per review incentive. Your system collects 50 reviews monthly. That's $250 in incentives. Those 50 reviews bring in just three new patients. If each patient's lifetime value is $2,500, that's $7,500 in new revenue. That's a 3,000% ROI.

Your 90-day domination plan

Here's the realistic timeline for getting 100+ reviews in 90 days.

Month 1: Foundation building involves setting up automated review request systems and training your team on new processes. Practices typically generate 20-25 new reviews in their first month, compared to their previous average of 3-5 reviews monthly.

Month 2: Optimization means refining timing and messaging while adding team incentives. These same practices usually generate 30-35 reviews in month two as they learn which approaches work best with their patient base.

Month 3: Acceleration shows the full system running smoothly with motivated, consistent team participation. Practices often generate 45-50 reviews in month three, totaling 100+ new reviews over the 90-day period.

The typical result? Practices jump from position #6-8 in local search to position #2-3, and new patient appointments increase from the mid-teens monthly to approaching 30 monthly.

The long-term impact of review volume

Modern AI-powered review systems eliminate the guesswork with smart timing, personalized messaging, and automated follow-ups. But the real magic happens when you reach 200+ reviews.

High-volume reviews create a snowball effect. When a disgruntled patient leaves a harsh one-star review, it barely impacts a 4.6 overall rating built on 200+ positive reviews. Your staff feels increased pride when patients mention them by name, and those patients become more invested in your practice, leading to more referrals.

Making it happen without burning out your team

The biggest mistake practices make is treating review generation like another task to pile on already busy staff. Many practices learn this the hard way when they initially ask their team to manually request reviews from every patient. Within two weeks, staff becomes frustrated and the requests feel forced.

Instead, make it systematic. Automate the heavy lifting so staff just need to trigger the system by noting positive patient interactions. Celebrate successes so the team sees positive results. Some practices read standout reviews during Monday morning meetings to keep motivation high.

Address problems quickly so negative experiences don't become negative reviews. When patients mention concerns, handle them immediately rather than hoping they'll forget.

Make review generation part of excellent patient care, not a separate marketing task. When a patient mentions how comfortable they felt during their procedure, that's not just a nice moment, it's an opportunity to ensure other patients hear about your gentle approach through their review.

Your next steps

Getting more Google reviews isn't about begging patients or offering discounts for reviews (which violates Google's policies anyway). It's about creating systems that make it easy for satisfied patients to share their positive experiences.

Download the complete 500 Google Reviews guide to see exactly how top-performing dental practices dominate local search through strategic review generation.

The practices winning in local search aren't necessarily better dentists; they're just better at helping their happy patients share their experiences. And with the right systems and team approach, you can join them at the top of those search results.

Editor's note: This article originally appeared in The Bottom Line with Dental Economics, the newsletter that will elevate your inbox with practical and innovative practice management and clinical content from experts across the field. Subscribe here.