Reply templates · Dentists & medical practices
How to reply to an unfair 1-star review of your dental practice
Dental replies have a rule the other industries don't: you may not confirm that the reviewer was ever your patient, let alone discuss their treatment — patient confidentiality survives a bad review. Every reply below is written to work without acknowledging a clinical relationship.
Most dental 1-stars are actually billing reviews: medical aid didn't cover what the patient expected. Address process, never the person's mouth.
Reply 1 · Confidentiality-safe, warm
Thank you for the feedback. Patient confidentiality means we can't discuss any individual's care here, but we'd genuinely like to understand and resolve this — please phone the practice and ask for [Practice Manager] directly. — [Practice]
Reply 2 · Billing/medical aid dispute
We're sorry to read this. Medical aid cover is confusing and we hate surprise gaps as much as our patients do — it's why we quote codes upfront. Please contact our accounts team on [number]; if something wasn't communicated clearly, we'll put it right. — [Practice]
Reply 3 · Suspected non-patient / fake
Thank you for the alert this review provides — however we have no record matching it, and confidentiality prevents guessing in public. If you believe you've reviewed the correct practice, please contact us directly so we can investigate; otherwise we'd appreciate its removal. — [Practice]
Before you hit reply
- Never confirm or deny that someone is a patient — even 'after your appointment on Tuesday' is a breach
- Move billing disputes to the accounts line; itemised codes solve most of them
- Report reviews that disclose another patient's details — Google removes those
- Have one partner own review replies so the tone stays consistent and compliant
Want the reply written for you, about your actual review?
Paste the real review into our free AI generator for a tailored draft — or let PeakReviews draft one automatically for every review your business gets.