📍  Welcome back to No Silver Spoons. I am your host, Sara Beth Herman, and honestly, this may be one of the most important episodes I have recorded for dental offices in a really long time. And even though I'm saying dental offices, it applies to any business who gets Google reviews. So if there was anything you wanna dial into today and any episode you were looking for, I promise this is it.

And before I go any further, I want you to go send this episode to three of your favorite business besties so that they can get in on this information. This is applicable if you have recently seen Google reviews disappear, you've watched review counts suddenly drop, you've seen people panicking on different dental Facebook groups like, "Hey, what's going on with my reviews?"

Maybe you've wondered why reviews are being deleted. Maybe you've questioned whether Google changed something and you didn't know about it. Or maybe you've been noticing weird things happening with your Google business profiles, or you felt nervous about how dependent dentistry has actually become on reviews.

This is definitely the episode that you wanna listen to. Seriously. If any of that has been on your radar lately, stay with me, because we're gonna unpack all of that today, and not from a fear perspective. I don't speak from fear, and if you've listened to any of my episodes, you know that I'm all about changing our mindset, seeing things positively, finding a new lens to discover something to learn from.

So we're going to not really look at this from the sky is falling perspective, but rather from a real business owner perspective, a real operator perspective, even a real dentistry or dental industry perspective. Because what's happening right now with Google Reviews is bigger than just reviews. It's about trust, marketing, visibility, ethics, patient behavior, SEO, AI, online reputation, and honestly, the future of how dental practices are growing.

And I really think this conversation is going to help a lot of offices breathe again, because I'm watching so many practices spiral emotionally right now over reviews, and I get it. I really, really do. I've been in dentistry for nearly twenty-five years, and I've built multiple companies. I'm a five-time CEO, and I've worked alongside practices through those growth seasons, those hard seasons, the staffing issues, the economic shifts, the technology changes, the marketing changes, all of it.

And one thing that I can tell you is this: The offices that survive long term are never the ones that are chasing every single trend. They are the ones that are building real foundations for their practices. And honestly, I think dentistry is being pushed into a massive reset right now, a healthy reset, a needed reset, if you will.

Because for years, dental practices were taught that Google Reviews were almost the entire game. Get more reviews, get more stars, get more rankings, get more visibility. And suddenly this year, especially over the last several months, practices started seeing some shifts, some changes. They're seeing reviews are disappearing, reviews are getting filtered, profiles are getting flagged, review activity is pausing, rankings are fluctuating, and stricter Google moderation.

And if you are one of those that have been sitting here wondering what in the world is happening right now, no, you're not crazy. Google did change some things, and today we're gonna talk about several different bullet points I have here on my pad of paper.

My list says what Google has recently updated, why reviews are disappearing, what the April twenty twenty-six Google update really meant, why the FTC changed the review conversation, why some old marketing strategies are becoming risky, why I think dentistry became too emotionally dependent on Google Reviews, and lastly, why I believe some of the best growth opportunities for practices moving forward have absolutely nothing to do with Google Reviews at all.

And honestly, I know that this might sound rebellious to say in dentistry, but I really mean it. There is more beyond Google Reviews, and I think practices need to hear that right now.   Today's episode is sponsored by Dentistry Support, and this conversation is exactly why Dentistry Support exists.

We help dental practices grow with real strategy systems, leadership, marketing, dental SEO, operational support, office systems, patient communication, and sustainable long-term growth plans. Not just panic every time an algorithm changes. And by the end of this episode, I want you walking away understanding what's actually happening, what matters, what doesn't matter, where your energy should go, and how to build stronger practices moving forward without feeling emotionally controlled by Big Mom Google.

So buckle up a little bit, I guess, because this one's gonna be good and honestly, this may end up being one of the biggest conversations dentistry has this year. You've probably already seen this. I wanna start this episode by saying something I know many of you have already noticed.

If you are in any dental Facebook groups right now, owner groups, consultant groups, office manager groups, front desk groups, I guarantee you, you have seen people posting things like, "Did anybody else lose reviews this week?" " Our Google reviews are disappearing overnight."

" Why are reviews being deleted?" " Did Google update something?" " Is anyone else seeing this happen?" " Google paused their reviews." " What is going on right now?" And honestly, those offices are not imagining things. This is happening, and Google publicly confirmed major changes recently. On April sixteenth, Google announced new protections for businesses on Google Maps and Google Business profiles.

This was very recent. This wasn't some quiet, old update from years ago. It is current. And Google specifically announced they are now using stronger AI systems and Gemini-powered technology to detect suspicious review behavior, fake engagement, manipulated edits, scam patterns, and spam activity faster than before.

And the next part is what matters a lot for dental offices. Google said that when suspicious review spikes or spam behavior are detected, they may remove reviews, temporarily pause new reviews, alert the business owner, and even place warning banners on profiles explaining why contributions are paused.

This is a massive shift. Google Also shared last year in twenty twenty-five that over two hundred and ninety-two million policy-violating reviews were removed or blocked, and over 79 million suspicious edits were blocked, and over 13 million fake business profiles were removed

So when practices say something feels different this year, they're right. The review landscape has changed. And honestly, I think one of the reasons this feels so emotional for dental offices is because for years in dentistry, everyone was taught that Google reviews were almost the entire game. And now suddenly practices are realizing, "Wait, we built a huge amount of our visibility on something that we don't actually own.

And we hired so many third-party companies that promised they would get the reviews for us and figure out a way to make them happen." And it's scary, especially when teams worked really hard for those reviews. So let's talk honestly about how we got here, and then I'm gonna transition into teaching you guys a bit of a lesson.

Stick with me in this podcast episode. I know it's longer, but it's worth the listen. Over the last decade, dental practices became deeply dependent on Google reviews, and honestly, it made sense. When someone searches "dentist near me," "best cosmetic dentist," "emergency dentist," "Invisalign dentist," "dental implants near me," what do they see first?

Google Maps, star ratings, review counts, photos, business hours, rankings. So naturally, practices started focusing heavily on reviews. Then the marketing world amplified it. Practices were told, "You need more reviews. You need five-star reviews. You need review automation. You need review software. You need reputation management.

You need text campaigns, QR codes, and you need your team asking every single patient every single time." So dental offices hired third-party companies. They built systems around reviews. They automated follow-ups. They trained front office teams. They trained hygienists, assistants. They made reviews part of their every culture.

And I wanna say this carefully because I love this industry so deeply. Asking real patients for honest feedback is not wrong. Wanting your community to know your office is trustworthy is not wrong. But somewhere along the way, the industry drifted. It became less about authentic patient experiences and more about review volume, less about trust and more about rankings, less about connection and more about competition.

And honestly, I think dentistry became too emotionally dependent on Google reviews. Google reviews were supposed to support trust, not become the entire emotional stability of a dental practice. That's really important. This is not only about Google, though. The FTC changed the conversation too. The FTC's fake review rule became effective on October twenty-first, two thousand and twenty-four.

I don't know if you know about that, but now you do. And it specifically addressed things like fake reviews, purchased reviews, review suppression, deceptive testimonials, undisclosed insider reviews, and manipulative review practices. So this is no longer just a marketing conversation. This is an ethics conversation, a compliance conversation, and a trust conversation.

And honestly, I think it's good for dentistry. Dentistry should not have to fake trust. Good dental offices already have trust. They just need a better system to communicate it. Now, I'm going to say something that honestly may sound controversial in dentistry. There is more beyond Google Reviews.

And I know that almost sounds like a cardinal sin to say in the dental marketing world, because for years, practices were taught that reviews are everything. Google is everything. Star ratings are everything. And listen, I'm not saying that reviews don't matter. They absolutely matter. Bright Local's twenty twenty-six survey found that ninety-seven percent of consumers read reviews for local businesses.

So yes, reviews matter. But here's what I think dentistry needs to mature past. We have put so much emotional energy, business energy, team energy, and marketing energy into Google Reviews that many practices have forgotten that there are entire categories of patients who do not come from Google Reviews at all.

And that's the conversation I really want practices to start having. There are patients that come from referrals, community relationships, social media, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, educational videos, SEO content, email marketing, physician referrals, moms groups, local events, sponsorships, church communities, direct mail, reactivation systems, and honestly, sometimes just because your office answered the phone with kindness.

Not every patient is sitting at home reading four hundred Google reviews before scheduling. Some people are scared. Some people are embarrassed. Some people are in pain, and some people just need someone who is really kind. And honestly, I think some practices accidentally ignored huge growth opportunities because they became too dependent on review-based marketing.

Some of your best patients may never leave a review. Some of your highest value cases may come from referrals. Some of your most loyal families may come from community trust. Some of your best treatment acceptance may come through educational marketing.

Those patients matter too And the marketing channels that bring those patients are worthy of an investment in. As a business owner, I never want a company emotionally or financially dependent on one traffic source. That's not stability. That's vulnerability. And I think dentistry is waking up to that right now.

Google does matter. SEO matters. Reviews matter, but Google is not your business. The patient relationship is your business. If Google reviews are becoming more unpredictable and more heavily moderated, practices need to invest more energy into the things they actually own. Your website is one of those things, and honestly, many dental websites are not doing enough, and they look far too similar to too many other dental offices.

A strong dental website should feel warm, load fast, answer patient fears, explain services clearly, help anxious patients, explain financing, build trust, and make scheduling easy. And Please hear this. A great dental website should sound human, not robotic, not corporate, not keyword-stuffed.

Patients are looking for safety, trust, clarity, reassurance, comfort. Modern dental SEO is no longer about gaming Google. It's about becoming genuinely helpful. Years ago, SEO was treated like a trick. Stuff keywords everywhere. Build thin pages. Repeat the words "dentist near me" endlessly.

That era is fading. Modern SEO rewards expertise, usefulness, clarity, authority, patient education, and trust. The best dental SEO today answers real patient questions. " What happens during a root canal? Can I go to the dentist if I have anxiety? How much do dental implants cost?

What if I haven't been to the dentist in years? Does whitening hurt?" Now, these aren't just keywords. These are emotional questions.

And the practices that answer those questions well will continue winning long term. Patients are not just using Google anymore.  They're searching Reddit, asking ChatGPT, watching TikTok, checking Instagram, asking Facebook groups. They're watching YouTube. People want education, transparency, personality, reassurance, that human connection that everyone craves.

Simple educational content matters. Videos matter. Authenticity, it matters, and people want to feel safe before they make that call. I also think dentistry unnecessarily demonized advertising for years.

Advertising is not bad. Bad advertising is bad. Manipulative advertising is bad. But strategic advertising, that can be incredibly healthy. Again, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, YouTube Ads, retargeting, community sponsorships. These can work beautifully when connected to strong systems, good branding, good patient experience and a strong website.

 Advertising gives you something reviews cannot always give you. Advertising gives you control, and that's what matters. That's what I'm trying to get at. . Honestly, this entire training is one of the reasons we launch a free training every single week through Dentistry Support on Thursdays.

I realize that there are so many dental offices right now that are exhausted, overwhelmed, confused about marketing, and honestly scared that if Google changes one thing, their growth disappears. And I just want you, the dental office team, to understand that you have more options than you think.

So we created a free training that we want you to check out. You can head to our website, dentristrysupport.com Click on free training and look at the top ten marketing priorities for dental practices that have nothing to do with Google Reviews. Because yes, reviews matter, but they are not the entire business.

Inside this training, I'm talking about patient retention, website conversion, SEO content, referral systems, reactivation, educational marketing, video content, branding, advertising, and patient communication. And for those listening to the podcast, we also have created a free downloadable checklist that goes along with the training.

It's actionable, simple, powerful, and we're offering it free to the first ten offices that download it because honestly, I want practices to stop feeling trapped by one single platform.  So what should offices do moving forward? I want you to ask real patients for honest feedback. That's it. No manipulation, no pressure, no incentives, no filtering unhappy patients, just honesty.

Something simple like, "We're so glad you felt cared for today. If you ever feel comfortable sharing your honest feedback online, it really helps other patients who may be nervous about choosing a dentist."  That's warm, ethical and human, and notice the phrase "honest feedback," not "Please leave us a five-star review."

I would also, as soon as possible, move away from having QR codes or third-party systems that are transferring or texting your patients to the Google platform. Under Google's notes, anything that was a review where a patient scanned a QR code or they were redirected through a third party to get to Google, those are being filtered out, so I would move away from that as soon as possible.

I would also make sure you don't have patients doing reviews where it's geotagged at your location. If you look through the fine print on the releases that were updated from Google recently, you'll notice they're flagging those, they're blocking them, removing them, filtering them. They're updating and using AI to determine where reviews are coming from, how they came in, who wrote them.

If they're at your place of business, you're not getting that credit. And I don't wanna make this all about what to do and what not to do on Google, but I want you to know at least that bit of information. Next, I wanna say this really lovingly. Some practices are spending way too much emotional energy on refreshing Google, obsessing over competitors, spiraling over rankings, and panicking over reviews while ignoring growth opportunities already sitting inside the practice.

You, in your practice right now, I promise, have unscheduled treatment plans. Overdue hygiene patients, weak follow-up systems, missed calls, outdated websites, poor phone conversion, and maybe even no educational content strategy. Sometimes growth is not hiding in another Google review.

Sometimes growth is already sitting inside your systems. And maybe you have all of those things that I just listed dialed in, but are they perfect? Or are you missing just one of those that could be improved in your practice and could be growing your practice instead of obsessing over Google reviews?

What does it look like for you? I care about this because I care about dentistry. I have seen incredible clinicians become exhausted business owners. I've seen office managers carrying the emotional weight of the entire practice. I've seen teams blamed for system problems, and I've seen practices sold magic bullets over and over again, and I don't want that for this industry.

I want dentistry to be healthier, more sustainable, more strategic, more human, more honest. And honestly, I think this Google review shift may force practices to build stronger foundations, and I think that's probably healthy. All right, let's end this episode today with our That's Good moment. Here's what I want you to remember from this episode.

On April sixteenth, twenty twenty-six, Google announced major new protections for Google Maps and business profiles, including stronger AI moderation systems, suspicious review detection, temporary review pausing, spam enforcement, and fake engagement monitoring.  The FTC also changed the review landscape by making deceptive review practices much more serious legally.

So yes, practices need to pay attention. But this is not the end of reviews. I think this is the end of careless review strategies. And honestly, that's different, and different is good. Your practice is bigger than your star rating. Your mission is bigger than Google,  and your growth strategy should be bigger than one platform.

Build your website. Strengthen your SEO. Invest in patient experience. Create educational content. Use advertising wisely. Build referrals. Strengthen your systems.  Because patients are not just looking for five-star reviews. They are looking for someone they can trust. And if you build that from that place, your practice will always have a future.

Before we close today, I want to say thank you. Thank you to every dentist, office manager, hygienist, assistant, consultant, treatment coordinator, and team member who continues showing up every single day and doing the work while the industry keeps evolving around you., I also want to say thank you to a few organizations and publications that recently recognized our work at Dentistry Support.

 We were incredibly honored to receive the 2025 Torch Award for Ethics, which means so much to me because integrity matters deeply in how we serve our practices. And receiving this from the Better Business Bureau has been incredible. Personally, I was honored to be named the 2026 Healthcare Hero in Phoenix Magazine.

And thank you as well to Queen Creek City Lifestyle Magazine for featuring me in the ladies issue in May of 2026. Those recognitions mean a lot, but more than anything, they remind me why I care so much about helping businesses grow the 📍 right way. All right, I'll catch you guys in the next episode.