For dental practices
Collect patient testimonials for your dental practice, with permission first
A patient testimonial is marketing, and in the United States marketing that uses patient information needs the patient’s written authorization. Run through the checklist, ask questions that never touch treatment details, and collect the story with StoryProof.
The problem, solved
Why dental testimonials need more care than most, and where StoryProof helps
StoryProof does not hold authorizations or treatment records. It handles the collecting and publishing around them.
Situation 1 of 4
A testimonial is marketing
Using a patient’s story or image to promote the practice is marketing under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which needs a signed authorization rather than the consent patients give at intake.
How StoryProof solves it
Keep the signed form in your practice systems, since StoryProof is not built to hold health records. Then label each approved story with its authorization date so the link to that paperwork is never lost.
Situation 2 of 4
Small details can identify a patient
A first name, a smile and "my implant" can identify a patient and reveal their care. The safest testimonial is about the experience, not the procedure.
How StoryProof solves it
Each recording and written answer stays private in your queue until a team member approves it, giving you a chance to catch a named procedure before the public sees it.
Situation 3 of 4
Reviews are not testimonials
A patient posting on Google is their choice. Republishing it on your site, or replying with anything about their care, is yours.
How StoryProof solves it
If you bring existing reviews in from a CSV export, they wait unpublished like everything else, so a review can stay off your site until that patient has signed.
Situation 4 of 4
Staff ask on the spot
A friendly hygienist asks a delighted patient to record a video at the chair, before anyone has signed anything. Good intentions skip the permission step.
How StoryProof solves it
Make the QR code something the front desk hands over only once the authorization is signed. The patient then records or writes on their own phone, choosing video, an audio note or text.
Checklist
Before you ask: the authorization checklist
Tick each item as your form or process covers it. The first group follows the core elements the HIPAA rule lists for an authorization. Take the finished list to whoever reviews your forms; it is a checklist, not a form or legal advice.
The checklist runs in your browser and is not saved or sent.
Prompts
Questions that get a story without asking for treatment details
Paste these into your StoryProof collection form. Each moment lists what to leave out.
After a routine check-up or cleaning
- How did you feel about coming in before your first visit with us?
- What did the team do that made the visit easier?
- What would you tell a friend who has been putting off the dentist?
Leave out
- Questions about what was found or treated
At the end of a longer course of care
- What made you choose our practice?
- How did the team keep you informed along the way?
- How do you feel now that you are finished?
Leave out
- Naming the treatment, costs or insurance
- Before and after photos, unless your authorization covers images
Families and nervous patients
- What was the moment you knew you were in good hands?
- How did the team help you or your child feel comfortable?
Leave out
- Collecting testimonials from minors without a parent or guardian signing the authorization
In StoryProof
The workflow in StoryProof
- You will need
- Your practice’s own signed authorization form, reviewed by your compliance advisor
- A StoryProof workspace
- 1
Get the signed authorization first
Do this outside StoryProof, on your practice’s form, and keep it with your records. Only send the collection link to patients who have signed.
- 2
Create a form with the prompts above
Patients can record a short video, leave an audio note or type a few lines in the browser, so nobody is pushed onto camera.
- 3
Send the link by email or hand over a QR code at the desk
StoryProof emails the request, or print the QR code for patients who signed at check-out.
- 4
Review every submission before it goes anywhere
Nothing is public until you approve it. Reject or ask the patient to re-record anything that mentions a diagnosis, a procedure or another person, and tag approved stories with the authorization date so the record is easy to find.
What happens next: If a patient revokes their authorization in writing, remove their testimonial from every widget and your Wall of Love the same day.
Before you start
Honest limits
What this does not cover, and what to check on your side. Better to know now than after launch.
- 01
StoryProof is a marketing tool, not a patient record system
StoryProof has not published a HIPAA statement and does not advertise signing business associate agreements. Do not use it to collect or store treatment information, and keep authorizations in your practice systems.
- 02
This page is not legal advice
It summarizes the federal rule text. State dental board advertising rules differ and can add requirements. Have your forms reviewed by someone qualified in your state.
- 03
Outside the United States
Different privacy and advertising rules apply. The prompts and workflow still help; the checklist does not cover your jurisdiction.
- 04
Authorizations do not last forever
An authorization covers the uses and the period it names. Record its expiry with each testimonial, and take the story down or ask again before it lapses.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Short answers to what usually comes up next.
Is patient consent at intake enough to publish a testimonial?
Generally no. The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires a separate written authorization for marketing uses of patient information, with specific elements, including an expiry and the right to revoke in writing.
Can a patient take back their testimonial?
Yes. Under the rule a patient may revoke an authorization in writing at any time. Remove the testimonial from your site as soon as you receive it.
Can I ask patients to record a video in the office?
Yes, from their own phone through your StoryProof link or QR code, once they have signed. Make sure nothing else in the frame, such as a screen or another patient, is visible.
Can we offer patients a discount or gift for a testimonial?
Ask your compliance adviser before you do. State dental board and advertising rules may restrict rewards, and a reward that is allowed should still be disclosed beside the testimonial.
Can a team member or a relative of the dentist give a testimonial?
Only if the connection is stated clearly next to it, and their authorization is handled the same way as any other patient’s. A story from a stranger who chose you usually carries more weight.
Still have a question? Ask the StoryProof team or book a demo.
Collect your first patient story the careful way
Set up a form with these prompts and send it to a patient who has already signed.
Sources
- 45 CFR 164.508: Uses and disclosures for which an authorization is required, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Checked 2026-11-04.
- Marketing (HIPAA Privacy Rule guidance), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Checked 2026-11-04.
Last updated 2026-11-04.