Do Negative Online Reviews Really Matter To Dentists?

While the idea of a negative online review strikes fear into the hearts of many dentists, others feel a good number of the negative reviews are bogus.

That’s because some dentists asked negative reviewers to contact them to discuss the matter, and heard nothing — or the dentist knew the alleged incident did not occur in their office.

The Wealthy Dentist decided to conduct a survey to ask dentists if they have experienced a negative online review and how they handled the situation. 64% of dentists responded that they have received a negative online review, with 31% saying they received more than one. Only 36% have not (yet) experienced a negative online review.

The slight majority (33%) received just one negative online review.

Here are some dentist comments:

• “A staff member was able to find out who posted the review and they weren’t a patient. It was just someone posting negative things about businesses randomly.” (California dentist)
• “I was listed on Yelp and I tried contacting the patients but they were fictitious or non-responsive.” (Massachusetts dentist)
• “Not quite sure what to do- the patient hasn’t been to our office in 3-4 years and must have gotten some itch to slam us online.” (Michigan dentist)
• “These reviews appear to be bogus. I have a small practice and many of the negative items mentioned do not even apply to me. Could be my ex-partner . . . I also wonder if it could be the reputation police.” (General dentist)
• “Had to respond twice. We suspect the X-wife of my boyfriend! Just replied and asked other patients to do positive testimonials to counteract the negative one. Legal action was too expensive.” (California dentist)
• “It was not a patient of record and the complaint made no sense, but it was taken down after 2 or 3 years.” (Oral Surgeon)
• “It was on a neighborhood website. I contacted an attorney and then emailed the web admin and threatened to sue. They took the comments away immediately. I was surprised they did. The comments were completely ridiculous and it wasn’t like I could post photos of the patients’ cavities in retaliation due to HIPAA. I haven’t had any bad reviews on true internet sites like Yelp or Angie’s List or any of the others that I am aware of. I think it essentially gives the 10% (who are never satisfied) the megaphone.” (Georgia dentist)
• “We tried to contact reviewer — to no avail.” (Florida Dentist)

Read more: Dentists Respond To Negative Online Reviews