Patient Trust in Dentistry: Why Google Reviews Don’t Tell the Full Story w/ Jill H. & Carolyn Brown

Do Google reviews really tell you whether patients trust your dental practice?In this episode of the Dental Leadership Summit Podcast, Carolyn Brown joins HR for Health Chief Growth Officer, Jill Hasselmann, to discuss one of the most overlooked drivers of growth in dentistry: trust.Carolyn is a dentist with a background in public health who has spent years working with providers, payers, and dental organizations to improve transparency, reputation, and patient experience across the industry.Jill and Carolyn explore why traditional reputation signals like online reviews often fail to reflect the real patient experience and why dental leaders need better ways to measure what patients and teams actually feel inside a practice.They also discuss how team culture, patient experience, and leadership decisions shape long-term reputation, and why practices that grow without systems for feedback often lose touch with what patients are actually experiencing.Jill and Carolyn discuss:Why Google reviews don’t accurately measure patient trustHow trust changes as dental practices scaleWhy patient experience and team experience are closely connectedHow leadership culture influences recruiting and retentionThe role of Net Promoter Score (NPS) in understanding patient feedbackHow AI tools can help practices capture real insights from patients and teamsIf you're a dentist, practice owner, or healthcare leader, this conversation offers practical insights into building a practice that patients trust and teams want to work in.Chapters00:00 Introduction00:15 Carolyn Brown’s Background in Dentistry & Public Health02:18 Truth or Trash: Do Google Reviews Mean Patient Trust?05:08 Why Trust Gets Harder as Practices Grow09:21 Why Reputation Is More Than Online Reviews11:24 Recruiting & Retention Through Trust16:23 How Team Turnover Impacts Patient Trust21:20 Using AI to Understand Patient Feedback23:24 Net Promoter Score in Dental Practices27:55 An Unpopular Opinion About Dental Growth29:43 Workforce Shortages & Team Recognition