Google reviews and your dental practice: what the code of ethics really says

A colleague tells you Google reviews are forbidden. A salesperson tells you they are essential. A third person advises you never to reply. The result: many practices do nothing, for fear of getting it wrong.

This article goes through the texts one by one. It says what they forbid, what they don't say, and the line we follow. It complements our page on the Google Business Profile for dentists, which covers the groundwork on the profile itself.

What the texts really say

The dentists' code of ethics is part of the French Public Health Code. Since the decree of December 22, 2020, it allows informing the public and still forbids advertising. We have detailed this dividing line in the guide what the Dental Council allows on a dentist website, then lever by lever in the article the advertising ban for dentists: what is allowed.

On reviews, the key text is article R.4127-215-1. It says your communication must be fair and honest. It adds that it must not rely on third-party testimonials, or on comparisons with other dentists, or encourage unnecessary treatment.

Read the subject of that sentence carefully: your communication. The text governs what you, the dentist, put out. It says nothing about what a patient writes on their own initiative on a platform you do not control.

What about asking for reviews? No article of the code says "it is forbidden to ask for a review". But that silence is not permission. In 2025, the French Dental Council (Ordre national des chirurgiens-dentistes) asked for reviews of dentists to be removed. Its position is clear, even though it does not carry the force of law. A practice that organizes review collection is therefore going against its Dental Council's position, on ground where the text remains vague.

Copying a review onto your website: that is forbidden

The confusion often starts here. Google reviews live on the practice's profile. They are written by internet users and hosted by Google. That profile is a third-party platform. The reviews on it are not your communication.

Everything changes the moment you reuse them. A review copied onto your website's home page becomes a third-party testimonial in your communication. It falls under article R.4127-215-1. All of these formats raise the same problem:

• a widget showing the latest Google reviews on the practice website;
• a banner with your Google rating and number of reviews;
• a screenshot of a review posted on Instagram or Facebook;
• a patient quote used in a brochure or in the front window.

An anonymous review changes nothing: the text makes no distinction. The same rule applies on a practice's social account, and we have listed what you can post on a dental practice's Instagram. If you are building or redoing your website, this question is settled from the start. Our page on the dental practice website shows what a home page can contain instead: treatments, the team, directions, fees.

The cautious line we follow

Between "no text forbids asking" and "the Dental Council wants reviews removed", you have to choose a line of conduct. Ours comes down to a few rules, and we apply them to every practice.

First, we never organize review collection. That means: no campaign, no QR code to scan at the front desk, no message sent after the appointment, no "leave us a review" link in an email signature. No text targets a single isolated request, but organized collection looks like advertising, and it goes against the Dental Council's position.

Next, we reply to existing reviews neutrally, or not at all. A neutral reply is short, courteous and general. It thanks or it takes note. It does not argue.

Finally, two limits we never cross, whatever the review:

• we never confirm that someone is a patient of the practice, because medical confidentiality also applies in a Google reply, and a simple "during your appointment" is enough to confirm they were seen;
• we never justify ourselves about a treatment, a treatment estimate or a diagnosis, because the place for that is the practice or a letter, never a public page.

These rules apply to positive reviews as much as negative ones. A "thank you for the care, doctor" calls at most for a "thank you for your message". Never a "so glad your implant is going well".

A fictional practice, two replies to the same review

Take a fictional practice, the Fontaine Dental Practice. It receives this review, with the lowest rating: "Long wait, nobody to let us know, and a treatment estimate much higher than what I was told on the phone. I won't be back."

The reply to avoid. "Ma'am, you came in on Tuesday for your crown and you were late yourself. The estimate matches the work requested, and it was explained to you. There is nothing more we can do."

This reply makes every possible mistake. It confirms that the person is a patient, and the day of the visit. It names the treatment. It justifies a treatment estimate. It contradicts the author in public. And anyone can read it: a future patient, a colleague, a Dental Council representative.

The neutral reply. "Hello, thank you for your message. We pay close attention to waiting times and to the information given over the phone, and we have taken note of your comment. Our front desk is available if you would like to discuss it."

This reply says neither yes nor no. It confirms nothing, explains nothing, promises nothing. It shows anyone reading the profile that the practice responds calmly. That is all a public reply needs to do. And the other option remains open: not replying at all.

A fake or abusive review: what to do

A review may come from someone who was never seen at the practice, or from a competitor, or contain insults. The first rule is never to reply in the heat of the moment. A reply written in anger stays online, and it often does more harm than the review itself.

The second rule is to go through Google before anything else. Google publishes policies on review content and a reporting procedure. From the profile, you flag the review and state the reason: off-topic, conflict of interest, offensive content, fake review. Google reviews it and decides. A review that is simply negative but genuine will not be removed. Reporting targets what breaks Google's rules, not what you dislike.

If Google refuses and the review is defamatory or abusive, legal remedies exist. A lawyer can send a formal notice or take the matter to court. It is slower, more expensive, and best kept for serious cases. In every case, keep a record: a dated screenshot of the review and of each of your reports.

"The end of Google reviews for dentists": where do things stand?

The question comes up often, because in 2025 the Dental Council asked the French Ministry of Health to have reviews of dentists removed. As of this article's last update, nothing has changed for patients: a dental practice's Google Business Profile still shows its rating and reviews, and Google has announced no rule specific to health professions in France. What exists is a request, not a decision.

In practical terms, that gives three markers:

1. You cannot turn off reviews on your profile: Google does not offer that to anyone, and a profile without reviews is not a more compliant profile.
2. You can reply, report a fake review, and keep the profile up to date: none of that is in question.
3. If the Dental Council's request succeeds one day, it will apply to every practice at the same time. Your spot on the map will then rest even more on the profile, the website and consistent information, in other words on everything that does not depend on reviews.

We update this section as soon as a text changes.

Moving your profile forward without a single review

Reviews are not the only signal Google reads. Its public criteria for the map are relevance, distance and prominence. Distance cannot be changed. The other two can be worked on without touching reviews, and without asking anyone for anything. The article Google Maps: how Google picks the local pack details them.

What carries weight, and what you fully control:

• the exact primary category, "Dentist", not "Clinic" or "Doctor";
• accurate hours, including public holidays and vacation periods;
• photos of your premises: the storefront, the reception area, a treatment room;
• the list of treatments you provide, in patients' words;
• your website set as the official website, and a website that says the same thing as the profile;
• the same name, address, phone number and hours everywhere: website, profile, Doctolib (France's leading online booking platform), and the French national health insurance (Assurance Maladie) directory.

Each field is detailed on our Google Business Profile for dentists page. This work depends on no patient and requires no permission. When buying a dental practice, the profile is transferred along with its reviews: it is not recreated. When moving a dental practice, you likewise edit the profile's address, and Google keeps the reviews if the name does not change.

Reviews will remain a shifting topic. The Dental Council's position may evolve, and so may Google's rules. What does not change is the starting point: your communication is your website, your profile and your replies. That is where your dental SEO is built, and that is where we look first.

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