By Adrian Lefler | Originally published February 13, 2025 | Updated October 15, 2026
Quick Answer: Google reviews disappear from a dental practice’s profile for three main reasons: a temporary Google bug, Google’s spam filter, or the patient deleting the review or their account. If lots of businesses lose reviews overnight, it’s almost always a bug, and the reviews usually come back on their own. If only your profile is affected, the spam filter is the likely culprit, and you may need to ask Google to restore them.
When Google reviews start disappearing from a dental practice’s Business Profile (the listing patients see in Google Search and Maps), it’s usually for one of three reasons. First, a temporary Google bug can hide or miscount reviews. This happened in February 2025 and again in July 2026, and Google restored the reviews both times. Second, Google’s spam filter, the automated system Google uses to catch fake reviews, can remove reviews it flags as suspicious, like a sudden burst of review requests or reviews posted from the office Wi-Fi. Third, the patient deleted their review or their Google account.
If many practices lose reviews overnight, it’s almost always a bug. Screenshot your count, wait a few days, and contact Google Business Profile support if the reviews don’t come back.
That’s the short version. The rest of this guide helps you figure out which problem you have, whether those reviews are coming back, and how to keep it from happening again. Because watching your hard-earned five-stars evaporate is nobody’s idea of a fun Tuesday.
Are Google Reviews Disappearing Because of a Bug or the Spam Filter?
Look at who else is affected. A bug hits lots of businesses at once, while the spam filter picks off specific reviews on your profile alone.
The difference matters because the fix is different. A bug usually resolves itself. A spam-filter removal usually doesn’t, unless you ask.
What are the signs of a Google bug?
A bug looks like a sudden, widespread drop that has nothing to do with anything your office did. Watch for these signs:
- Lots of businesses are affected at the same time, not just your practice.
- The drop happens suddenly, often overnight.
- The count drops, but the reviews may still exist. In February 2025, Google described the problem as a display issue, not a deletion.
- Other practices and local businesses are talking about it in the Google Business Profile Help Community and on SEO news sites.
What are the signs of the spam filter?
The spam filter looks like a targeted problem: specific reviews on your profile go missing, and nobody else seems affected. Common signs include:
- Only your profile is affected. Your neighbors’ review counts look normal.
- Specific reviews are gone, not just a lower number on the counter.
- It follows a burst of review requests, like a big email blast after a slow month.
- Patients left reviews in the office, through a QR code, a kiosk, or a front-desk tablet.
- Reviews were posted on the office Wi-Fi.
Here’s why those last few matter. To Google, a stack of reviews from the same network in one afternoon looks a lot like someone writing their own. Google’s help center admits its automated spam detection can occasionally remove legitimate reviews by mistake. Your patients were being nice. The filter just doesn’t know that.
Google is cracking down on fake reviews for good reason. If you want the backstory, read our posts on the dark side of dental reviews and AI-generated reviews.
What else can make Google reviews disappear?
Sometimes it’s neither a bug nor the filter. Other causes include:
- The patient deleted the review or deleted their Google account, which takes all their reviews with it.
- Duplicate or merged profiles. If you recently merged two Business Profiles, Google says it can take a few days for reviews from both to show up.
- Policy violations. Google removes reviews it decides are off-topic, inappropriate, or written with a conflict of interest (for example, by a staff member or a paid reviewer).
- A suspension and reinstatement. Google notes that reviews are sometimes missing after a profile is reinstated, and says to contact support if that happens.
What Happened in Past Google Review Bugs?
Google has had at least two widely reported review bugs, in February 2025 and July 2026, and in both cases the reviews came back. Here’s the running log. We’ll add to it the next time Google’s review system has a bad week.
- February 2025: Starting around February 7, many Business Profiles showed lower review counts. Google confirmed it was a display issue and that the reviews hadn’t been deleted. Most profiles were fixed by February 13, and Google told anyone still affected after February 17 to contact support. (Search Engine Land covered the bug here.)
- July 2026: Reviews disappeared from many profiles, and some profiles had new reviews paused. Google said its spam-protection systems were involved and that it would restore reviews removed in error. A later update, relayed by a Google Product Expert, reported that the issue was resolved and missing reviews should be visible again. (Our July 2026 Weekly Drilldown has the full news write-up.)
The July 2026 incident is a good reminder that the line between “bug” and “spam filter” can blur. Sometimes the bug is the spam filter, just misbehaving on a much bigger scale.
Will Google Restore My Missing Reviews?
It depends on why they disappeared. Bug-related losses usually come back on their own, spam-filter removals might come back if you ask, and deleted or policy-violating reviews won’t come back.
- A Google bug: Usually yes, without you doing anything. Both the 2025 and 2026 bugs ended with reviews restored.
- A spam-filter removal: Maybe, if you request it. Google says to contact support when its system removes legitimate reviews, but there’s no guarantee.
- A policy violation: No. Google’s help center says reviews removed for policy violations won’t be restored.
- Deleted by the patient: No. If the patient wants to, they can write a new one.
What Should My Practice Do When Google Reviews Disappear?
Document what you see, figure out whether it’s a bug, give it a few days, and then contact Google if the reviews are still missing. Here’s the checklist:
- Screenshot your current review count and date it. If you need to file a request later, Google support will want evidence, not “we’re pretty sure we had more.”
- Check your profile while signed out, on Google Maps as well as Search. Sometimes the count only looks off in one place or one account.
- Check whether other local businesses are affected. Look up a few nearby practices and businesses. If their counts dropped too, it’s probably a bug.
- Wait a few days if it looks like a bug. Bugs tend to get fixed on Google’s timeline, not yours.
- If reviews are still missing, contact Google Business Profile support and use the missing-review request. Google’s missing or delayed reviews help page is the place to start.
- Escalate in the Google Business Profile Help Community if support doesn’t resolve it. Include your case ID and your screenshots.
- Don’t launch a big review-request push to “make up” the loss. A sudden spike in reviews is one of the things that trips the spam filter in the first place. You’d be digging the hole deeper.
How Do I Keep Legitimate Google Reviews From Getting Filtered?
Ask for reviews steadily, let patients post from their own phones, never offer incentives, and keep one verified profile per location. In practice, that looks like this:
- Ask steadily, not in bursts. Asking after every appointment creates a natural, consistent flow of reviews. Our guide on how dentists can get more Google reviews covers how to build this into your routine.
- Send review links by text or email. That way patients post from their own phones at home, not from the office Wi-Fi or an in-office tablet.
- Never offer incentives for reviews. No discounts, no gift cards, no raffle entries. Google prohibits incentivized reviews outright, and it’s not worth the risk.
- Keep one verified Business Profile per location. Duplicate profiles confuse Google and can scatter or hide your reviews.
- Keep replying to the reviews you have. It shows patients (and Google) that real people are behind the profile. Here’s a blog on responding to dental Google reviews.
Disappearing reviews are one piece of a bigger picture. And if you’d rather not babysit your review count, our dental reputation management team can monitor your profile and handle review requests for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take for missing Google reviews to come back?
If a Google bug caused the drop, reviews usually come back within days. In February 2025, most profiles were fixed in about a week. If the spam filter removed them, they won’t come back unless you contact Google support, and even then restoration isn’t guaranteed. Reviews the patient deleted won’t return at all.
How can I tell if my reviews were removed by a bug or by Google's spam filter?
Check whether other businesses are affected. If many local businesses lost reviews at the same time, it’s almost certainly a bug. If only your profile lost specific reviews, especially after a burst of review requests or reviews posted from your office Wi-Fi, the spam filter is the more likely cause.
Should we stop asking patients for reviews while reviews are disappearing?
No, but don’t speed up either. Keep asking at the same steady pace, ideally after every appointment, by text or email. What you want to avoid is a sudden push to replace lost reviews. A spike in new reviews can look suspicious to Google’s spam filter and cause more reviews to get removed.
Does losing Google reviews hurt my local rankings?
It can. Google says review count and rating factor into local search ranking, so a lasting loss may affect your visibility. A short bug-related dip that Google fixes is unlikely to matter much. Reviews also shape how patients see you, which is why Google reviews matter so much for dentists, and they show up on Local Services Ads too.
How do I report missing Google reviews to Google?
Contact Google Business Profile support and choose the missing-review option. Include your profile link, dated screenshots of your review count, and details about the missing reviews, like reviewer names and dates. If support can’t help, post in the Google Business Profile Help Community with your case ID so volunteer experts can escalate it.
Do disappearing reviews mean my practice did something wrong?
Not necessarily. Bugs and overly cautious spam filters affect practices that follow every rule. Still, it’s worth checking your process. Make sure you aren’t offering incentives, asking patients to review on office devices or Wi-Fi, or sending review requests in big batches. Those habits make it more likely Google will flag legitimate reviews.
Adrian Lefler is the CEO and Co-Founder of My Social Practice and a recognized dental marketing expert with nearly two decades of experience. He is a trusted voice in dental marketing, AI in dentistry, and emerging technology, and he hosts BYTE SIZED, a podcast focused on dental AI, innovation, and technology.
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