The short answer
Ask every patient for feedback in two or three simple ways (a question at checkout, a short survey after the visit, and a named contact for concerns), measure it with one consistent question such as the Net Promoter Score, review the comments monthly, fix what repeats, and tell patients and staff what changed. Keep the feedback survey separate from your Google review request: everyone gets the same review request, whatever their survey answer.
Why feedback is worth collecting
Patients notice things the team stops seeing: how long they sat in the waiting room, whether a cost was explained before treatment, whether the phone was answered on the first try. Most of them will not mention it unless someone asks.
Regular feedback gives you that view early, while a problem is still small and private. It also tells you which parts of the visit patients value, which is useful when you write your website and marketing copy.
Ways to collect feedback
Pick two or three methods you can keep up every week, rather than many you will drop.
- •A question at checkout: "Was there anything today we could have done better?" Write down what you hear in a simple internal log.
- •A short post-visit survey: sent by email or text to every patient within a day of the visit, with one score question, two or three specific questions (wait time, explanation of costs, how welcome they felt) and a free-text box.
- •A named contact: the office manager's direct line or email on receipts, the website contact page and post-visit messages, so concerns have somewhere to go.
- •A check-in call after longer visits: a short "How are you feeling? Any questions?" call the next day shows care and surfaces concerns early.
- •Public reviews: read new reviews on Google and other sites you appear on each week. They are feedback too, even though you reply to them differently.
Keep the survey and the review request apart. Google's policy does not allow discouraging negative reviews, selectively asking happy customers, or pressuring people to leave a review while they are on the premises. So a survey score must never decide who receives your review link. Our guide to building a review generation system shows how to send one request to everyone.
Measuring with Net Promoter Score
Net Promoter Score (NPS), developed at Bain & Company, uses one question: "How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?" answered on a 0 to 10 scale.
- •9 or 10: promoters.
- •7 or 8: passives.
- •0 to 6: detractors.
NPS is the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors, so it runs from -100 to 100. For example (illustrative numbers only), if 60 of 100 responses are 9 or 10 and 15 are 0 to 6, the score is 60 minus 15, or 45.
There is no dependable public benchmark for dental practices, so compare the score with your own past results. Ask the same question at the same point after the visit each time, and read the comments: the number tells you whether things are moving, the comments tell you why.
Acting on what you hear
Feedback only helps if someone owns it. Name one person, usually the office manager, who reads new responses every business day and replies personally to anyone who raised a problem, the same day where possible. Our guide to handling negative patient feedback covers that conversation step by step.
Once a month, sort the comments by topic and look for what repeats:
- •Wait times: check where the schedule usually slips and whether appointment lengths match the work booked.
- •Cost surprises: give written estimates before treatment and explain what insurance may not cover.
- •Feeling rushed or unheard: agree a habit for the chair, such as asking "What questions do you have?" before the patient leaves.
- •Phone and booking: look at missed calls and hold times, and coach the specific moments patients mention.
Closing the loop
When a patient's comment leads to a change, tell them privately: "Thank you for mentioning the wait at check-in. We have changed how we book new-patient visits." People are more willing to give feedback again when they see it was used.
Public reviews need more care. Reply in calm, general terms, do not confirm that the reviewer is a patient or mention any visit details, and invite them to call so the matter can be handled privately. Google lets reviewers see your reply and change their review whenever they choose; never offer anything in return for a review being changed or removed. Our guide to responding to negative reviews has sample wording.
Tracking whether changes worked
Keep a short monthly record with a few numbers you can collect the same way every time:
- •Survey responses received and your NPS for the month.
- •The top three complaint topics and how many times each came up.
- •Concerns resolved at follow-up, out of those raised.
- •What you changed this month, so you can see its effect over the next few.
Share the record with the team. When a topic shows up less often after a change, say so; it shows staff that the feedback leads somewhere.
Using feedback in marketing
Feedback can make your marketing more accurate, as long as patient privacy comes first.
- •Questions become content: if patients keep asking the same thing, answer it on your website as a visible FAQ or a short page. That is the kind of plain answer search and AI engines can quote.
- •Praise shows what to say: if comments often mention a calm team or clear cost explanations, lead with that in your copy, in your own words.
- •Quotes need permission: use a patient's words only with their written permission through a consent process your own advisor has approved, without treatment details, and never in exchange for anything.
- •Changes can be shared: "You asked for earlier appointments, so we now open at 7am on Tuesdays" is a good post, as long as it is true and names no one.
Our reputation management service can help you track private feedback and public reviews in one place.
Sources
Policies change, so check them for current wording.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many questions should a patient feedback survey have?
Keep it short enough to finish in a minute or two: one rating or likelihood-to-recommend question, two or three specific questions about the visit, and one free-text box. Short surveys get more answers, and the free-text box is usually where the useful detail is.
What is a good Net Promoter Score for a dental practice?
There is no reliable public benchmark for dental practices, so compare yourself with your own history. Track the score monthly or quarterly with the same question, the same timing and the same patient group, and watch the trend and the comments behind it rather than a single number.
Can we send our Google review link only to patients who rate us highly?
No. Google's policy does not allow selectively asking for positive reviews or discouraging negative ones. Send the same review request to every patient on the same schedule, and treat the feedback survey as a separate, private channel.
Should feedback surveys be anonymous?
Offer both. An anonymous option tends to get more candid comments, while a named option lets you follow up on a specific problem. Make it clear which one the patient is filling in, and keep clinical details out of marketing and operations tools.
Can we use patient comments in our marketing?
Only with the patient's written permission, using the consent process your own advisor has approved. Quote their words as given, without adding treatment details, and never offer anything in exchange for a testimonial or a review.