The Google Review Game in Dentistry: How Reputations Are Rigged Through Bought Reviews and Manipulative Amplification
How Solicitation, Review Automation, and Review Farms Can Distort Online Reputation —How Riverview Patients Can spot quickly offices that use them!
It has become increasingly common for dental practices to engage in aggressive reputation-building strategies that can significantly increase online review volume. These approaches may include frequent solicitation, automated or AI-driven review prompting systems, and third-party reputation services. While not all amplification involves fake accounts, the resulting review profiles no longer accurately reflect typical patient experience or voluntary feedback.
Dental offices use these tactics for search engine advantage over other practices doing it right to:
- cover up bad 1 star reviews
- increase 5 star ratings
- boost the review count
- influence the public
- increase their GOOGLE rank over other dentist
Interesting statistics for dental reviews!
- 95% of patients do not leave reviews.¹²
- Of the 5% that do leave reviews, dissatisfied patients are 21× more likely to post a 1‑star review than satisfied patients are to leave a 5‑star review.³
- On average, dental offices receive 1–2 reviews per month when patients post voluntarily and ethically.4,11,12
- When solicited (not organic but asked) of those that say they will only 65% follow through
11
Why is posting fake reviews on GOOGLE so important to dental offices? 
Google is the biggest search engine and holds 70-85% of the review market 1,2,3,4,5,6,15. It's also why it's the most abused when it comes to fake reviews. Conservative estimates of fake reviews are 10-20% 16. A stellar fake reputation will bring a lot of attention and new profitable business. 1,2,3,4,5,6,15
What's Wrong with just doing it naturally? Why cheat to build a reputation? Can I get caught?
The above statistics are real. I’ve practiced 29 years as of writing this article and know what a normal organic reputation looks like. However, rather than my words, I think it’s best to quote the vendors selling the review building software and fake reviews for the answers!
Examples and pricing referenced in this article are taken from publicly available marketing materials and advertisements from third-party reputation management vendors, not from any specific dental practice.
- “Buying Google reviews gives your business the credibility, visibility, and social proof it needs to grow fast.”
- "Too Slow: Organic reviews can take months—or years—to build."
- "Unpredictable Feedback: Not every customer leaves a positive review."
- "Quality Varies: Some reviews are vague, irrelevant, or unhelpful to future buyers."
- “paid reviews can help you rank higher, attract more customers, and take control of your brand’s reputation”
- “Increase your chances of showing up in the top 3 Google Maps listings—the “map pack” where most local clicks happen.”
- “A strong review profile helps your business appear in AI-generated summaries, improving exposure, authority, and customer engagement instantly.”
- “When you buy Google reviews or Google Maps reviews, you immediately elevate your brand’s reputation. A steady stream of 5-star feedback signals trust to new visitors and helps position your business as the top choice in your industry.”
- “Will I get banned if I buy Google reviews? Ans: No, you won’t get banned when you buy Google reviews from ReputationManage we use ethical strategies and real human profiles to ensure your reviews are safe, compliant, and indistinguishable from organic feedback. Every review is crafted to reflect natural customer sentiment and published from active local accounts to keep your profile secure. We’ve worked with thousands of businesses in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and beyond- helping them strengthen their reputation without compromising their Google listing. When you choose us, you’re not just buying reviews- you’re investing in trust, growth, and long term results.”
- “Gathering reviews from actual customers can be slow and inconsistent. By purchasing authentic Google reviews from verified profiles, you skip the hassle of follow-up emails and reminders—and get quality feedback without the wait.”
- “Need a fast reputation boost? Buying five-star Google reviews gives your business instant credibility and visibility online. It’s one of the quickest ways to build social proof and influence buying behavior at scale.”
- “Negative reviews can damage first impressions. By investing in positive Google reviews, you push harmful or outdated feedback further down your profile—helping customers focus on what you do best.”
- “Google values businesses with consistent, positive reviews. When you buy Google Places or Maps reviews, you enhance your local authority and improve your chances of appearing in the top results—bringing in more traffic and leads.”
- “How do Google reviews impact local search rankings? ans:Google uses reviews as a major ranking factor in local search. More positive reviews signal relevance, trust, and popularity—helping your Google Business Profile appear higher in local listings and map results.”
- “Can Google detect fake reviews? Ans: No. When done properly, Google cannot detect reviews from real, authentic, and geo-targeted profiles. We ensure each review is posted naturally and written to mirror real customer experiences.”
- “What do I need to see when buying Google reviews? ans:Look for a provider that offers real, geo-targeted, non-drop reviews from active profiles. Ensure the service includes 5-star ratings, safe delivery intervals, and a satisfaction guarantee.”
- “Is there a limit on the number of reviews I can receive per day? Ans: There’s no official limit, but we deliver reviews at safe intervals to mimic natural behavior and protect your profile’s integrity.”.
- “How much does it cost to purchase Google reviews? Ans:Our pricing starts at $9 per review, with bulk discounts available. All reviews are high-quality, non-drop, and come with full satisfaction protection.”
- “Where do these Google reviews come from? Ans:All reviews are posted by real people from geo-targeted locations, based on your business niche and audience. They’re tailored to match your customer profile and market.”
- “What are the consequences of buying Google reviews? ans:When done right through a trusted provider, there are no negative consequences. We follow ethical practices using real profiles to ensure your reviews stay live and benefit your business long-term.”
- “Positive reviews help doctors build credibility, grow their patient base, and improve their local visibility. When doctors buy 5-star google reviews they enhance their profile, rank higher in local searches, and earn the trust of potential patients.”
Why Dental patients are 21x more likely to leave Negative Reviews — and Why Amplification Happens
Dentistry is built around negative triggers. People usually come in pain. Treatment can be uncomfortable, expensive, time-consuming, and stressful. Shots hurt. Extractions hurt. Complications happen. Dentists can get backed up with difficult cases and run late. That’s the reality of clinical care.
Because of this, dentistry is especially vulnerable to negative reviews. Most satisfied patients never leave a review at all, while an upset patient is far more likely to post a 1-star review — often venting frustration rather than judging the quality of care. 13 It’s like getting mad at a police officer for writing a parking ticket when you parked illegally.
Negative reviews also carry far more weight than positive ones. Marketing and SEO analysis consistently show that it can take dozens of positive reviews — sometimes as many as 40 — to rebuild public confidence after a single bad review 10 . Bad reviews stick, and they hurt visibility and trust.
This imbalance helps explain why some dental offices turn to review amplification. When a few negative reviews can damage years of honest work, solicitation, automation, and inflated review volume become tempting ways to dilute the damage and regain search rankings. That pressure doesn’t justify unethical or dishonest behavior — but it explains why it happens.
When someone searches for the best dentist in Riverview using Google, the search engine algorithm goes to highest star review and highest review count 6. Dentists marketing their practices know this 5,6. In order to fix a low review count and low star rating. It's becoming popular to: 1. Solicit reviews 2. Buy reviews. Stellar reviews can turn a bad dentist (low star rated) into a great one ranking #1 page 1 in the area pushing better dentist doing it right to #100 and page 30 of a Google search
Soliciting reviews:
Soliciting is when a dental practice asks for reviews or gives incentives to get 5 star reviews. This can be gifts for reviews or using review boosting software to pump out review requests to patients' cell phones with direct links to leave only 5 star reviews at their Google business pages. Bribing (gifts), badgering (staff asking for reviews / cell phone links + Ai review boosting software), or even requiring 5 star review done before additional appointments can be scheduled are not unheard of and becoming more common. The result is a review that would have never happened in an honest ethical way. This produces very little results because 35% the time patients don't follow through and the results are not always 5 stars 13,14.
Bought Google Reviews:
Dental offices may buy reviews from “review farms” that use different IP addresses to fool google into thinking it's coming from legit patients 7. This can happen as a one time dump or a slow steady feed to Google. The one time dump is easy to spot so more savvy SEO (search engine optimizing) marketing companies do the slow steady feed of fake reviews.
Review farms advertise:
- "personalized reviews for your business"
- "natural as possible"
- "review writers will write the texts, always related to your business activity and the reviewer's experience"
- "review writers will write the texts, always related to your business activity and the reviewer's experience"
- "one time purchase" ie. (LARGE SINGLE REVIEW DUMP)
- "subscribe to the Continuous Growth plan to automatically receive new reviews every month and maintain a steady stream of positive reviews."
- "Start growing today with real Google reviews and stand out!"
- "we deliver 100% real, non-drop reviews tailored to your location and industry—helping you stand out, rank higher, and grow faster with credible, lasting social proof."
- "Unlike organic reviews that can be hit-or-miss, purchased reviews are designed to highlight the best of your business. You get consistent, glowing feedback"
- "Buying Google reviews gives your business the credibility, visibility, and social proof it needs to grow fast."
The one time dump is easy to spot so more savvy SEO (search engine optimizing) marketing companies do the slow steady feed of fake reviews. The result is slow steady feed while they buy them under an advertising agreement with the review farm increasing the 5 star review count. This increases the authority score for Google and drives more of the unsuspecting public to their dental practices. Hard to believe but even dental offices are succumbing to moral and ethical decay. This is the mechanism dental offices are using to build 100's of reviews fast or even thousands that look legit. It produces 5 star positive Google reviews.
Why Misleading Reviews Persist Despite Florida Law

Florida Statutes, Chapter 456 – Health Professions and Occupations, Section 456.41, prohibits any person from advertising or representing themselves in a false, deceptive, or misleading manner regarding services or professional qualifications. Violations can result in fines, and in severe cases, suspension or revocation of a dentist’s license. This includes buying reviews, incentivizing only positive feedback, or posting reviews under false pretenses.
Yet, some dental offices still maintain artificially amplified reputations. Several factors contribute to this persistence:
- Enforcement is reactive: Regulatory boards, like the Florida Board of Dentistry, generally act only after a formal complaint is filed. They do not proactively monitor every practice.
- Evidence is hard to collect: Tactics like AI-assisted reviews, slow feeds from review farms, or selective solicitation leave little concrete proof linking a dentist directly to illegal activity.
- Focus on patient safety: Boards prioritize clinical misconduct and patient harm over misleading reviews. Unless there is clear intent or repeated violations, penalties may be limited to warnings or fines.
- Legal gray areas: Aggressively soliciting reviews is often legal if no false claims are made. While buying reviews or offering rewards for only 5-star ratings is illegal, proving intent is challenging.
- Limited resources: State boards and the FTC have finite staff and must prioritize enforcement, often allowing misleading reputations to persist while larger patient safety issues are addressed.
As a result, even with strict laws in place, misleading reviews can continue to shape public perception, sometimes long before any regulatory action is taken.
Offices engaged in review amplification may use either of these tactics or a combination (solicitation/ baught) to achieve a higher search engine standing advantage ultimately to gain more patients and revenue.
They produce reviews that boost up the reputation that Under natural conditions would never be written!
Here is how to spot offices quickly using amplification tactics to boost reviews!
| Metric | Definition / Formula |
|---|---|
| Total Google Reviews (TGR) | Total number of reviews shown at the top of the Google Business Profile |
| Months of Reviews (M) | Number of months between the oldest and newest Google review |
| Average Normal Reviews (ANR) | M × 2(expected unsolicited reviews per month) |
| % Above Normal | (TGR ÷ ANR) × 100 |
| Normal Range | < 100% = Normal |
| Suspicious Range | > 200–300% = Likely artificially amplified |
| Estimated Patients Needed | TGR ÷ 0.05(assumes only 5% of patients leave reviews) |
Let's use some real examples as of 12-2025!
The following examples are intended to illustrate deviations from what is typically observed in organically earned Google reviews. These patterns are not evidence of misconduct or unethical behavior by any dental practice; rather, they highlight situations that patients and observers may want to consider when evaluating online reputations.
| Practice | TGR | Months of Reviews (M) | ANR (M × 2) | % Above Normal | Estimated Patients Needed (TGR ÷ 0.05) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALL Dental Riverview | 793 | 30 | 60 | 1322% | 15,860 | Highly amplified |
| Brandon Dental Care | 2,905 | 96 | 192 | 1513% | 58,100 | Highly amplified |
| Riverview Dentistry | 1,229 | 97 | 194 | 633% | 24,580 | Highly amplified |
| Riverview Modern Dentistry | 412 | 24 | 48 | 858% | 8,240 | Highly amplified |
| New Image Gen. & Cos. Dentistry | 957 | 84 | 168 | 570% | 19,140 | Highly amplified |
| Riverview Family Dentistry | 294 | 28 | 56 | 525% | 5,880 | Highly amplified |
| Dentist of Riverview | 646 | 72 | 144 | 449% | 12,920 | Highly amplified |
| Riverview Dental Arts | 225 | 60 | 120 | 188% | 4,500 | Moderately amplified |
| Advanced Dental Care | 823 | 84 | 168 | 490% | 16,460 | Highly amplified |
| Chris A. Castellano DMD | 75 | 84 | 168 | 45% | 1,500 | Normal |
Is there anything being done about this to protect the public from bought reviews and unfair business practices ?
Yes 10-2024 the Federal trade commission passed law 16CFR part 465 8 prohibits:
- Reviews written by people who don’t exist, or who didn’t actually use the product/service
- Buying or selling positive or negative reviews
- Reviews paid for or incentivized with conditions (promised good review for reward)
- Insider reviews by employees/managers without disclosure
- Review suppression tactics (intimidation, threats, misleading presentation)
- Selling or buying fake social media influence like bot followers or views
If convicted offenses carry $51,000 fine per offense
Google though tighter automation and live monitoring is suspending accounts and suing violators of posting fraudulent reviews 7,9
Conclusion
A trustworthy dental reputation should be built on consistent clinical care and voluntary patient feedback — not on pressure, volume tactics, or artificial amplification. Patients are justified in considering whether a reputation shaped through amplification reflects broader decision-making of the dental practice! Our reviews are done by our patinets without the use of amplification tactics , AI solicitation software , or SEO review farms!
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References:
1 Dental IQ- How Dental patients use online reviews
2. SEO Sandwich-Dentists SEO Statistics: 101 Key Google Search Stats
https://seosandwitch.com/dental-seo-stats
3. Local IQ- 90 online review statistics that will blow your mind for 2025
https://localiq.com/blog/online-review-stats
4. Dental Town- Google reviews your secret weapon for beating bigger dental practices
5. Dental Town - Do google reviews bring more patients
https://www.dentaltown.com/blog/post/23676/do-google-reviews-bring-in-more-patients?
6.Dentistry IQ-Why Your Dental Practice Needs More Google Reviews
7. Ap news- Google Pledges To Crack Down on Fake Reviews after UK investigation
8. Federal trade commission announces final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials
9.Google- We are taking legal action to stop fake review scams https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/public-policy/legal-action-stop-fake-review-scams
10. Customer think- Do You Know Your Ratio of Positive to Negative CX Feedback?
https://customerthink.com/do-you-know-your-ratio-of-positive-to-negative-cx-feedback
11. Bright local- Local Consumer Review Survey 2024: Trends, Behaviors, and Platforms Explored https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey-2024
12. Podium-2021 Healthcare Online Review Trends
https://www.podium.com/guides/healthcare-review-trends
13. Jobera-50+ Online Review Statistics: Navigating Feedback & Opinion [2025]
https://jobera.com/online-review-statistics
14. NRC Health-Seeing Stars: Navigating Patient Ratings and Reviews 4-2024
https://nrchealth.com/resource/full-report-seeing-stars-navigating-patient-ratings-and-reviews
15. Hi five-Top 10 Online Review Platforms for Businesses in 2025
https://blog.hifivestar.com/posts/top-10-online-review-platforms-for-businesses-in-2025
16. Retain trust-Over 23% of Online Reviews Are Fake. 1-2025
https://retaintrust.com/fake-reviews-statistics
Frequently Asked Questions About Trusting Internet Dental Reviews
Can dentists buy Google reviews in Riverview, FL?
Yes, some dental offices use third-party review farms or automated systems. We only accept honest patient reviews without AI or paid amplification.How can I tell if a dental office’s reviews are genuine?
You can't! Review farms write reviews using sophisticated metrics and real people to mimic a real patient experience cusomized with specifics for that place of business they sold them too. All done to fake GOOGLE and you out. Look for a natural mix of reviews over time. Sudden floods of 5-star reviews may indicate manipulation a steady steam of 10-20 5 star reviews per month. Compare google review count to other offices lower in your search look for abnormally high counts above 100 or thousands. This is not typical for organic natural review responsesWhy do dentists use review amplification?
Amplifying reviews artificially can hide negative feedback, boost star ratings, and improve search engine ranking. Ethical practices do not use these tactics.How does a 1-star review impact a dentist’s reputation?
Even a single negative review can heavily influence public perception. Studies show it may take dozens of positive reviews to offset one 1-star review.How do we handle reviews at our office?
All reviews come from actual patients, without AI or purchased reviews. Positive or negative, they guide us in improving care and building trust.Looking for the Best dentist in Riverview who gets honest organic patient review posts , check us out!
"I firmly believe that solving a review challenge should never involve tactics that compromise trust in the profession. Real reputation is earned, not bought/ amplified.
When ethical dentists stay silent to avoid appearing confrontational, the market is given to wolves willing to manipulate perception for gain. Silence doesn’t preserve professionalism — it enables the wolves to feast by deception.”
— Chris A. Castellano, DMD
