Your dental practice's Google reviews are about the last owner: what to do about it
Ben Pourani · Director of Operations · March 8, 2027
The clinic has 42 five-star Google reviews, and 31 of them mention the previous dentist by name. The Google listing still shows their photo and old hours, and the website's "Meet the Doctor" page hasn't changed. Patients searching for your clinic are reading about someone who isn't there anymore.
An inherited reputation is valuable. It's also out of date the day you take over. This article covers what you can change, what you can't, and how to make the clinic's online presence reflect the practice it is today without losing the trust it took years to build.
Keep the reputation, update the story
The goal isn't to erase the previous owner. Patients chose the clinic for reasons that are still true: the location, the team, the way they were treated. The goal is continuity where it matters and change where it doesn't, so returning patients feel at home and new patients see the clinic as it is now.
What you can't change: the reviews themselves
Reviews belong to the people who wrote them. Google doesn't remove reviews simply because a practice changed hands, and it prohibits businesses from offering discounts, gifts or other incentives in exchange for reviews. Buying or rewarding reviews to bury the old ones risks having reviews removed.
What you can do is respond. A short, warm reply from the new owner on recent reviews tells anyone reading that the clinic is active and the team they liked is still there.
What you can change this week
- Your Google Business Profile. Photos, hours, services, the business description and the owner's name.
- Your website. The doctor page, team photos, hours and any "family owned since" line that no longer fits.
- Your social media profiles. Bio, photos and a post introducing the new owner.
- Directory listings. Anywhere the clinic appears with old details.
Tell patients before they guess
Patients notice ownership changes. If the clinic doesn't tell them, they fill in the story themselves, and some quietly book elsewhere. A short announcement on the website, on social media and in the clinic, explaining what's changing and what isn't, does more to keep patients than any campaign. Include the people who are staying. Familiar faces are what most patients care about.
Build new reviews the right way
New reviews come from asking. Ask satisfied patients after a good visit, make it easy with a direct link, and ask everyone, not only the patients you expect to be happy. Over a few months, the most recent reviews start describing the clinic under its new owner, and that's what most patients read first.
FAQ: Google reviews after buying a dental practice
Can I remove Google reviews that mention the previous dentist?
Generally, no. Google doesn't remove reviews just because ownership changed. You can respond to them and update everything else about the profile.
Can I offer patients a discount for leaving a review?
No. Google's policies prohibit offering incentives in exchange for reviews, and doing so can get reviews removed.
Should I tell patients the practice has a new owner?
Yes. Patients who hear it from the clinic, along with what's staying the same, are far more likely to stay than those who work it out from a new face at the front desk.
Mint Ops Marketing helps new owners establish their own identity while keeping the trust the practice has already earned. It starts with a strategy meeting about what you want the clinic to be known for, then the website, listings and social media that say it. Websites are $150 a month with updates included, and every service is month to month.