Reviews and recommendations of dentists

Phil RevaHealth

I'm interested in the opinion of dentists on this topic. Talking to some old school friends over Christmas who are now or are training to be dentists, they are at best wary and at worst completely against the idea of letting the public publish (for lack of a better word) reviews of their experiences with their dentist.

I can see why there is resistance to the idea. The public obviously aren't experts in the field of dentistry and can only offer a subjective overview of their personal experience with a particular dentist, which may well be coloured by personal prejudices or previous negative experiences with other dentists.

However, one of the most common things the public asks for on this board and others is a recommendation for a good dentist. I would contend that if you give the public the chance to review their dentist, then with enough reviews the really good ones will stand out a mile.

There are obviously issues of libel and a right of reply for the dentists themselves, but imagining those issues were solved, would the dentists here still object to the idea?

davo10

Phil, one obvious problem is the timing of the review, let me give you an example, if i place a deep filling and and the tooth is painful for a couple of days, a review posted during this painful period could be negative, then a few days later it could be positive. If a crown is placed and it looks great, then review is positive, if it were to fall out later, it could be negative. A dentist could recieve a positive review based on price alone but the standard of the work could be poor and vice versa. Also the dental council have banned the placement of reviews/testamonials on practice websites because there is no way of checking their validity. What dentists offer is a service, it would be easy for persons/competitors/someone with grudge to post a malicious review which could do lasting damage to a clinic. Lastly if you read some of the posts on this forum, it is obvious that they are being posted by the clinics themselves as a way of advertising. These are some of the problems i can think of off the top of my head. The best review is word of mouth, a happy patient will tell one person, an unhappy patient will tell on average eight people.

Phil RevaHealth

All very valid points Davo. I do think that most of them are surmountable though. To me it seems like it largely comes down to whether or not anyone is going to moderate the reviews for obvious abuses, as happens here.

I think for the price versus quality problem, it goes both ways. Some people are going to say a dentist is very expensive but it was well worth it. Others will just complain about the price. I'd be of the view that both opinions are valid if they come from two real patients.

As for people who change their minds, I think that's a problem with any type of review, and people should take all reviews with a slight pinch of salt - they shouldn't ever be the only reason you decide to do anything, whether it is choose a particular dentist, what television to buy, or where to go on holiday. (Obviously I'm not saying that which dentist you choose is as (un)important as what brand or model of TV you buy!)

I'm surprised that the dental council has banned testimonials on clinic's own websites. It would be very easy to spot check - in real terms there aren't that many dentists in Ireland with websites at the moment.

Supercell

The problem as i see it is that the public will review their dentist based on their own personal fears and their dentists ability to placate them rather than whether the job done is done well or necessary or even worse skipped because the dentist didnt push home the fact that the work really needed doing to a jittery patient.
I'm a coward when it comes to dental work but do appreciate my dentist being honest with me and even if the proceedure is unpleasant I'll just "grin" and bare it knowing that its the right thing.
The public really are not qualified to judge their dentists ability or service no more than they are qualified to judge their doctor, at least thats my tuppanceworth.

Johnny Utah

I can't see how an online review for dentists would work properly, even if it was well-moderated, like boards for example. Firstly, it's a disaster letting people post anonymous comments/reviews on the internet, as the posters can't be verified as being truthful.

On the other hand, if posters were able to register their real name/e-mail address through their dentist's office, and then post comments under their real name, I think a lot of patients would be very relucatnant to give a negative report on their own dentist.



The real problem is where to draw the line between genuine, honest criticism of a dentist which may well be deserved, and on the other hand cranks who just add comments for spite. And, then there's competitors who may like to add negative comments to other dentists



For an example of anonymous online reviews website which is full of cranks, take a look at rateyoursolicitor.com
That website is a joke. There are a lot of good solicitors on the site with bad reviews, which they clearly do not deserve.

Phil RevaHealth

Supercell, I think you'd be right in some cases, but not the majority. I may be wrong but I think less and less people are afraid of the dentist. Technology and treatments have moved on a lot and people have a lot less traumatic experiences to base their fears on these days. That said, a dentist's ability to work well with nervous patients is valuable information to other nervous patients.

Johnny, I've seen plenty of online reviews sites turn into jokes alright, not least the one you mention. It's part of the reason I'm asking about it here.

It's something we are going to try out as a side feature on our site, with precautions and moderation in place. If it turns out to be a waste of time we'll sideline it, but I have some level of confidence in it working. Time will tell I guess!

boredatwork82

<snip> dentists on the swords road in dublin. Dentist called Brian, excellent dentist, nice guy, keeps you informed at what he is doing and explains everything well, and teeth came out nice, for the first time in a while....got my teeth broken a few times...rugby!! a bit pricey but you'd expect that in dublin.

Mingetoad

Phil, I think you will find great resistance from dentists regarding reviews online, not out of fear of a bad review, but by how the whole thing can be manipulated. I have a few reviews on RevaHealth (none bad, thankfully) but would prefer there not to be any. The dentist up the road from me could say something bad if he wanted with no way of checking. I think Reva will not endear themselves to dentists by doing this. Remember where you look to get your income from!

day dreamer

The online reviews would be a disaster. Word of mouth is the best way to build up a good name and a practice. The patient has to be the best ambassador for a dentist of doctor for that matter.

I wasnt aware of the restriction on testamonials on websites but in the past the Dental council did little to enforce it as a quick glance at a few well advertised clinics websites will tell you. This may change now

I dont think this would be a good move by Reva. There are many dentist that call themselves specialists on the Reva site that are not specialists. It is just too easy to manipulate and promote on line with no checks or balances.

georgieporgy

I took my clinic's name off the Revahealth website. Not because of reviews (there weren't any) but I thought the site had more in common with dollar stores or bargain basement sales.

lizzie09

as a matter of interest, who publishes the review? the dentist or revahealth?
Does the dentist get to see all the reviews before they are published and chooses what to put up? I looked and all the reviews I see are positive for
quite a few dentists I saw no negatives at all

Mingetoad

lizzie09 wrote: »

as a matter of interest, who publishes the review? the dentist or revahealth?
Does the dentist get to see all the reviews before they are published and chooses what to put up? I looked and all the reviews I see are positive for
quite a few dentists I saw no negatives at all

Any review I have had, I just get an email saying it is there. It would be nice to be able to edit:P

lizzie09

I just looked at my present dentist and Reva has said hes a specialist
in root canals etc...this he isn'nt as he refers on to a colleague.

Curunina

Hey - speaking as a lawyer, I have to agree that anonymous online reviews of dentists/doctors would be a terrible idea. I'm not sure if you are familar with RateMySolicitor, but it adds nothing to clients' abilities to pick a lawyer for their problem. (Thankfully I have never been reviewed).

It has tended to be largely focused on lawyers who do family/criminal work (the most emotive kind of work) and the reviews are largely negative - because, as noted, the dissatisfied client is must more likely to go to the trouble of going online to post. In addition - a significant amount of the time someone goes online to post about a lawyer who was representing another party in an action - they undergo a harsh cross-exam from the other side, and then review someone who was not even their lawyer as "revenge".

Similarly, criminal lawyers who have (probably correctly) advised clients to plead guilty tend to end up with a large negative profile on this site.
As a colleague, I definitely do not think that the ratings received on the site are any reflection of the abilities of those reviewed.

And all of this is in the type of profession that is more easily judged by the public than complex dental work that people can't possibly assess in any meaningful way. It would add nothing to public knowledge, and possibly damage the reputation of high-quality professional people.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Only the disgruntled bother to post reviews in general, also people tend to read bad reviews (trip advisor anyone). Online reviews for professionals are a bad idea, are open to abuse from both sides.

I also took myslef off said website, Any inquiries I got were just bargain hunters / window shoppers and did not suit my practice, and they rang me endlessly to try sell me premium advertising which also got irritating. Also I dont want anything to do with a site that promotes the scourge of extensive complex dental work while on holidays, I dont want to appear to be trying competing with that.