A growing risk for dental services?

Jennifer Rhind looks at the problem of online defamation.

Running a successful practice relies on good communication, not only with patients in the chair but when marketing the services or treatments available, in the hope of attracting new clients.

The first thing most prospective new patients will do when wanting to learn more about a dentist or practice is search online to read the Google or Trustpilot reviews left by other patients.

Patients consider these reviews a valuable source of information, shaping their perception about a business before they even cross the threshold – if indeed they ever do, should too many poor reviews surface. High review ratings will help the good practices stand out from their competition.

And, of course, poor reviews are not always what they seem. Bad ones can go beyond the reasonable opinion of the author and cross a line into potential defamatory statements that can have serious consequences for the business at the heart of the review, tweet, post or comment.