Guides/By practice

Google reviews for dentists, vets and PI law firms. Google's policies decide what comes down, not your profession's rules.

Reviewed by Doug Baker, founder · Updated September 23, 2026 · Policy text snapshot August 2026

Illustration: a low professional building with three doors under one green awning, a dental office, a vet clinic and a law firm. Four people stand on the pavement in front, each posting a one-star review from a phone. Three of the review cards are drawn in red and labelled with what can break a policy: Hygienist's name and street, a woman in a plain coat by the dental door; Describes another clinic, a man with a cat carrier by the vet door; Former associate, a man in a suit jacket with a box of belongings by the law firm's door. At the right, apart from them, an older patient with a handbag posts a one-star review drawn in plain gray: Long wait.

Illustration: two people on the pavement, each posting a one-star review from a phone. At the left, by the practice building's green awning, a woman in a plain coat; her review card is drawn in red. At the right, apart from her, an older patient with a handbag; her review card is drawn in plain gray. Labels: Hygienist's name and street, Long wait.

Three of these reviews can break a Google policy, one for each practice. The gray one is a patient who waited too long and said so. It stays.

One posts a staff member's full name and her street, which can fall under a Google policy. The other is a long wait, told plainly, so it stays.

A dental office, a vet clinic and a law firm answer to the same Google review policies as every other business on Maps. The red cards in the picture are reviews that can break one of them. One posts a hygienist's full name and her street. One describes a visit to some other clinic. One comes from a lawyer who used to work at the firm. The gray card is a patient who waited too long and said so, and Google leaves that one up. Google doesn't remove reviews on "unfair." It removes them on policy.

What's different about reviews of a practice?

Mostly the reply. Google reads a review of a dental office the same way it reads a review of a pizza place. What changes, for dentists and lawyers, is what you're allowed to say back. HIPAA limits what a dental practice can disclose about a patient, even in a reply to that patient's own review. A lawyer who replies online must not disclose anything about a client matter. That's the ABA's Formal Opinion 496, though your own state's rules control. Neither rule has any say over whether the review stays up. That's Google's call, and it makes it on its own policies.

Which guide should you open?

If you're a dentist and you can't answer the review without talking about the patient, start with the dentists' guide. If you run a vet clinic and your records don't show the reviewer as a client, the veterinarians' guide covers what that can and can't prove. If you're a personal injury firm and the one-star came from someone turned away at intake, or from a former associate, start with the PI guide. If you'd rather go by policy than by profession, Google's review policies, one by one covers ten of them.

By practice

DentistsHIPAA limits what a covered practice can say in a reply. Google's policies still decide what comes down.
Veterinariansreviews from people who were never your clients can violate Google's policy.
PI law firmswhat a law firm may say in a reply, and which Google policies its reviews can break.

Reading a review that names someone

Does a review that names the dentist, the vet or the lawyer break Google's policy?

Usually not. Google's Personal information policy bars posting someone's personal details without their consent. It makes an exception for professionals who do business under their own name:

Personal information

An individual’s name if they are a public-facing professional conducting business under their name.

The rest of the extract

We also allow
An individual’s name if it is part of the commonly known or advertised business entity
or
This includes:
Doctors, lawyers, realtors, financial planners, contractors and others professionals doing business under their names
CEOs and other executive level employees whose names and professional connection to a place are publicly known and available

Google, Maps user-generated content policy, Prohibited & restricted content, section Personal information

Google's policy text captured August 4, 2026. Section headings re-checked against the live page September 3, 2026.

Doctors and lawyers are the first examples Google lists. So a one-star that names the dentist, the vet or the attorney usually doesn't break this policy. Staff can be different. Someone who works for the practice, not under her own name, isn't covered by that exception. A review that posts her full name and her street can fall under the policy. There's more on personal information in Google reviews.

When nothing breaks a policy

What if none of your bad reviews break a policy?

Then they stay up. Most bad reviews don't break a policy. Google allows a review that describes a bad experience respectfully, and it asks owners not to report a review just because they dislike it.

No grounds for removal

We'll say so, and give you a reply playbook to use instead. When there are no grounds, that's the answer. Also free.

Common questions about practice reviews

Do you need anything from our patient or client records?
Not for the analysis. We analyze the public reviews on your Google Business Profile. If an appeal needs a check of your records, you run it yourself, and nothing from them comes to us.
Do you file the appeal for us?
No. Where a review has grounds for removal, we prepare the appeal and you file it from your own profile. Google allows one appeal per review, ever. Our read is that the policy named has to match the argument.
What if my practice isn't one of these three?
The analysis works the same way on any Google Business Profile. Put your business name into the free analysis page and you get a verdict on each bad review, free.