DENTAL ADVERTISING
Sending the right message A
DVERTISING is becoming an increasingly common part of dental practice in the UK as more and
more practitioners seek to promote their services and treatments on websites, fliers and in newspapers. Te General Dental Council makes it
clear that any unsupported or misleading claims made by dental professionals could lead to a warning or possibly an appearance before a fitness to practise hearing. And in March 2012, the regulator
published new guidance, Principles of ethical advertising, which provides more detailed advice regarding the nature and
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content of all information or publicity material relating to dental services. Tis includes adverts for services, leaflets and websites as well as the use of specialist titles. Consider the following examples of
promotional material: “Guaranteed results from the city’s
leading denture specialist!” “Forget the rest, our dentists are the best
in the Union Street area” “Our experienced periodontist offers
treatment for a range of gum complaints” Some of the unacceptable assertions made here may be more obvious than
*Dentists must be careful not to mislead patients when promoting their practice
others. Clearly, guarantees of treatment outcomes should never be offered to patients and it is unacceptable to claim your practice, its dentists, or the treatment they offer, is any better than anyone else’s. Less obvious may be references to specialist status. GDC rules mean the word “specialist” must be used only by dentists who are on a GDC specialist list. In this example, the use of the phrase “denture specialist” or even referring to a “periodontist” would not be allowed.
Information flow Te GDC does accept that advertising “can
IMAGE: THE ADVERTISING ARCHIVES
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