The Chair Report: Dental Marketing News, Week of October 26, 2026

The Chair Report is a short weekly post for practice teams. Each Monday I pick the few changes on Google, Meta and the other platforms that affect how patients find, call and book you, and turn each one into a small job your team can do that week. Most of it takes 10 minutes.

This week is mostly about your Google listing. One change can put the wrong hours or phone number in front of new patients if nobody's watching.

• If someone suggests an edit to your Google listing and nobody answers in 4 days, Google may publish it.
• Google's AI answers now link to business websites more often, so your website should answer what patients ask.
• Google is testing Posts higher up on business listings. One real photo post this week is worth 5 minutes.
• Google Maps now asks people to sign in to read all your reviews, which puts more weight on your newest ones.

What happens if nobody answers a suggested edit on your Google listing?

Google may publish it. Anyone can suggest a change to your Google Business Profile, like new hours or a different phone number. Google's help page now says owners get four days to review a suggested edit, and if nobody responds, Google may publish it when other public information backs it up (Search Engine Roundtable, Sep 23, 2026).

Those are the exact details a new patient uses to call you or show up.

Do this Monday: one person signs in to your Google Business Profile, opens any suggested edits and approves or rejects them. Put it on that person's calendar every Monday. Two minutes.

Who: office manager.

Do Google's AI answers link to practice websites?

More often than before. On October 15, 2026, Google said AI Mode and AI Overviews now show more links inside their answers, and it's testing a section at the top of some answers that points to official websites (Google, The Keyword).

So when a parent asks Google "does this office take my insurance," your own website has a better shot at being the link, if it actually answers the question.

Do this week: ask your front desk for the 5 questions they answer most on the phone. Make sure your website answers each one in a sentence or two, on a page people can find. About 20 minutes, once.

Who: front desk and whoever updates your website. Your front desk already knows what patients ask. Put those answers where Google can find them. More on this in AI Search for Practices.

Where do Google Posts show up on your listing now?

Possibly higher. Posts are the updates you add to your Google listing. Google appears to be testing them closer to the top of the business panel, where people looking you up will see them. It's a test, so it may come and go (Search Engine Roundtable, Oct 19, 2026).

Do this week: post one real photo of your team or office with one useful line, like what a first visit looks like. Leave out phone numbers unless that number is verified on your profile, since unverified numbers in Posts may be removed (Search Engine Roundtable, Sep 25, 2026). Five minutes. The free photo shot list has ideas.

Who: whoever handles your marketing or social media.

Can patients still read all your Google reviews?

Only if they're signed in. Google Maps now asks for a Google sign-in to read all reviews on a business listing, and to sort or leave them (Search Engine Roundtable, Sep 30, 2026).

That puts more weight on your newest reviews and on how you reply to them. The reply is for the next patient reading, not the person who wrote it.

Do this week: reply to your 5 newest reviews, kindly and without patient details. Front desk asks one happy patient a day for a review, the same day they visit. About 10 minutes. The free review request and reply examples make this easier.

Who: owner or office manager for replies, front desk for asking.

The 10-minute Monday check

The same five checks every week. Print it and tape it by the front desk, so problems get caught on Monday instead of by a patient.

• Open your Google listing on a phone. Are the hours, phone number and website right? (Front desk, 2 min)
• Approve or reject any suggested edits in your Business Profile. (Office manager, 2 min)
• Reply to every new review. (Owner or office manager, 5 min)
• Add one real photo post to your Google listing. (Marketing, 5 min)
• Have someone call your office as a new patient. Did they get a next step before the call ended? The free call script helps. (Front desk, 5 min)

Also worth knowing this week

• Google is testing ID photos for listing verification (Oct 20). Make sure the owner of your Google profile is someone at your practice, not a past vendor. See who owns your practice's accounts.
• Google finished its September spam update, which ran Sep 24 to Oct 8 (Google Search Status Dashboard). If website traffic moved in that window, note the dates before anyone rebuilds pages.
• Google now emails owners when it spots a spike in spam reviews (Sep 22). If you get one, read the flagged reviews before replying.

FAQ

What is The Chair Report?

A weekly post from Blake Hickey at Double Jaw Marketing for dental, orthodontic, oral surgery and speech-language pathology practices. It covers the platform and rule changes that affect how patients find and book a practice, with one job per change for the team.

When does a new issue come out?

Every Monday, here on the Double Jaw Marketing blog.

Is this legal or compliance advice?

No. It's information from a marketer. Platform tests can change or end without notice, so check the linked source before you act on something big.

Book a Method Review

Want me to run this check on your practice? Book a Method Review: a free 15-minute call with Blake by phone or Zoom. You get a written Method Plan with the first fixes in order, yours to keep whether we work together or not.