Three problems that look the same
Your review count is lower than last week, or a run of one-star reviews from strangers arrives, followed by a demand for money. These are different problems with different fixes, and the advice that circulates among practice owners often blurs them. This post, part of our Grow Your Practice Online series, sticks to what Google has published or said on the record and ends with a triage table for the day it happens.
What Google says can make a review go missing
Google's help page about missing or delayed reviews starts plainly: "Usually, reviews are removed for policy violations like spam or inappropriate content." It then lists other causes, and several fit a dental practice:
- New reviews are checked first. "In some cases, this process might take a few days, which can delay a review's appearance on your profile."
- Merged profiles. After merging Business Profiles, "it might take a few days for reviews from both profiles to display on Search and Maps."
- Temporary switch-offs. "Google might temporarily disable user-created content, including reviews, for certain Business Profiles or business categories to protect business owners."
- After a suspension. "Sometimes reviews might be removed after a Business Profile is reinstated." Google's advice is to contact support.
- A lagging average. A separate Google page says that after a new review, "it may take up to 2 weeks to get an updated review score."
Removed reviews: what can come back
Google is direct: "Reviews removed for policy violations won't be restored." And on its page about reporting reviews, it says its automated spam detection can get things wrong: "Occasionally, the system may also mistakenly remove legitimate reviews. If this happens, contact support for assistance."
So the useful question is whether the lost reviews were genuine. Our reading: if they came from a review push that offered something in return or asked only patients who seemed happy, Google's review policy treats them as "Incentivized or Biased Reviews," which it says "will be removed from Maps," and the support route is meant for legitimate reviews. If they were ordinary patient reviews, contact Business Profile support with a record of what disappeared and when.
When many businesses lost reviews at once: February and July 2026
Search Engine Roundtable reported a wave of complaints in February 2026 and one in July 2026, with forum threads from businesses that had lost most or all of their reviews, including one owner who wrote that their count dropped from "approximately 4,651" to "only 63" within about 24 hours.
A Google spokesperson told the publication: "When our systems detect suspicious reviews, we take a range of actions including removing reviews and temporarily pausing reviews on the profile to prevent further abuse. We are investigating the issue and will restore any reviews that were incorrectly removed." A later update to the article, citing Amy Toman, a Google Product Expert, not a Google employee, said Google says the issue is resolved and missing reviews "should now be visible."
Our advice: before you change anything, check whether other businesses are reporting the same thing that week, in Google's Business Profile help forum or the trade press. If they are, record your count and the dates, and wait for Google rather than asking every patient again at once.
What Google has published about its own enforcement
Google's April 16, 2026 post on protecting businesses on Maps gives the scale. In 2025, it says, its systems and analysts "blocked or removed over 292 million policy-violating reviews, while publishing more than 1 billion helpful reviews." It also "placed posting restrictions on more than 782,000 policy-violating accounts and removed over 13 million fake Business Profiles." The same post describes a new response to attacks: "If we do see a sudden spike in spam reviews, we'll quickly remove the fake content, pause new reviews on the profile, alert the Business Profile owner and display a notification banner to let consumers know why contributions are temporarily paused."
So a pause on new reviews can be Google protecting the profile; read any email from Google before assuming the worst. And because Google alerts "the Business Profile owner," the owner of record should be someone at the practice who reads that email. Our Business Profile guide for dentists covers who should own the profile.
If Google restricts the whole profile
Google's page on Business Profile restrictions says that if it determines an owner violated its Fake Engagement policy, then "in addition to removing the violative reviews" it might apply restrictions, for example: the profile "will not be able to receive new reviews or ratings for set period of time," its "existing reviews or ratings will be unpublished for set period of time," or it "will display a warning to let consumers know that fake reviews were removed." Google says it notifies owners by email and accepts appeals.
One published email shows a repeat finding adding a further block. In July 2026, Search Engine Roundtable published a restriction email that Ben Fisher had shared on LinkedIn. In it, Google wrote that it had found "additional incentivised reviews" that "constitute a new violation," and that customers "won't be able to post new ratings and reviews or see past ratings and reviews for 2 months." Our advice if you receive one: stop whatever produced the flagged reviews before you appeal, and say in the appeal what you changed.
What Google has not said
Articles on why reviews disappear offer confident lists of "triggers" (too many reviews in a week, patients posting on the office Wi-Fi, short reviews, new accounts) and precise-sounding percentages of removed reviews that were five-star. We found no Google source for any of them.
What Google has said is general. Its policy lists "Content exhibiting unusual volumes or patterns of review contributions that are indicative of efforts to manipulate a place's rating," and says that when reviewing content or accounts it considers "the content itself, account information, user actions and whether a pattern of harmful behavior exists." In our view, nobody outside Google knows how its systems judge a single review. Asking every patient the same way, at a steady pace, beats any trick for avoiding filters. Our post on how many Google reviews a dental practice needs shows how to set that pace.
Reporting a review that breaks the rules
Google's reporting page is blunt about scope: "You can report any review, but only those that violate Google policies are eligible for removal," and "Do not report a review just because you disagree with it or dislike it. Google doesn't get involved in conflict between businesses and customers." For spam, a review not based on a real visit, or one posted by a competitor, Google's steps are:
- Sign in with an account that manages the practice's profile and open Google's Reviews Management Tool.
- Select the business, then the option to report a new review for removal.
- Select Report next to the review and choose the reason. Google's examples are spam and profanity.
- Check the status there; evaluation "typically takes several days."
- If Google finds no violation and you disagree, submit the one-time appeal from the same tool. Google lets you select up to 10 reviews.
Extortion: do not pay, and report it
Google describes the scam on its extortion reporting page: "a sudden increase in 1-star and 2-star reviews on your Google Business Profile, followed by someone demanding money, goods, or services in exchange for removing the negative reviews." Its instructions begin: "Do not engage with or pay the malicious individuals. This can encourage further attempts and doesn't guarantee the removal of reviews." Then:
- Gather evidence at once. Screenshot every demand, whether by email, WhatsApp, Telegram, social media or anything else, showing "the date, time, and the sender's contact information" where you can.
- Link the reviews. Copy a direct link to each review you believe is part of the attack.
- Write down the timeline. Note when you first noticed the jump in negative reviews and when the demand first arrived.
- Submit Google's merchant extortion report form with your contact details, the profile, the review details and the screenshots.
- Wait for the result. Google says it "notifies you about the results of the investigation" but "can't share specific details about the investigation."
Three things not to do while it is happening
Do not negotiate: "Do not try to resolve it yourself by offering money or services," Google says. Fake reviews with no demand attached go through the reporting tool above, not the extortion form.
Do not refill your count with rewarded reviews. The FTC's final rule on fake reviews, in effect since October 21, 2024, prohibits fake reviews and "compensation or other incentives conditioned on the writing of consumer reviews expressing a particular sentiment, either positive or negative." Google's policy goes further and bans incentives "in exchange for posting any review." The FTC's questions and answers add that reputation management companies "are not immune from liability under the rule."
Do not answer a real patient's negative review with threats. The same rule "prohibits a business from using unfounded or groundless legal threats, physical threats, intimidation, or certain false public accusations to prevent or remove a negative consumer review." Replies to real patients also raise patient-privacy questions; check with your counsel before a reply mentions any detail of care.
Triage: what you see and what to do
Find the row closest to what you see. Rows marked "our reading" are ours, not Google's.
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| A patient says they posted a review that is not showing | New reviews are checked first, which can take a few days | Wait a few days before asking again | Google, missing or delayed reviews |
| Your star average has not moved after new reviews | The score can take up to 2 weeks to update | Wait two weeks | Google, review scores |
| Many businesses report losses the same week | Possibly a platform issue, as in July 2026 | Record your count and dates, and wait for Google | Search Engine Roundtable, quoting Google |
| A few specific reviews gone, nothing else changed | Usually a policy removal, per Google | Check how those reviews were requested; contact support only if they were genuine | Google, missing reviews and reporting pages |
| An email from Google, new reviews paused, or a warning on your profile | A restriction for fake engagement, or a pause after a spam attack | Read the email; if it is a restriction, stop the cause and appeal if Google got it wrong | Google, profile restrictions and April 2026 Maps post |
| A burst of 1-star and 2-star reviews, then a demand for payment | Extortion scam | Do not pay or engage; collect evidence; use the extortion form | Google, extortion reporting |
| Fake-looking reviews with no demand | Spam or a competitor (our reading) | Report each one in the Reviews Management Tool | Google, reporting reviews |
| A real patient's harsh but honest review | Allowed if respectful, per Google | Do not report it; any reply needs care with patient privacy | Google, reporting reviews and review policy |
Keep a baseline before you need one
Our advice: once a month, save a dated screenshot of your review count and star rating. When something changes, that record goes with your support request or appeal. For where reviews fit among everything else that moves your map ranking, see our guide to ranking for "dentist near me".
Need help now?
If your reviews have dropped or someone is demanding money, contact us and we will help you work through the steps above. For a broader look first, request a free audit and we will record a video walkthrough of your local search presence, including your reviews. If you are at the San Diego Dental Convention on November 20-21, 2026, come by Booth 9 and we can look at your profile with you.