woman and had lovely children” all imply
unjustified expectations. Similarly, an
advertising dentist cannot appeal to an
individual’s anxiety in an excessive or
unfair way such as implying that if a
patient does not get teeth whitening they
will never have a girlfriend or get married
or that people are afraid of their appearance.
Patient Testimonials
While an advertising dentist is allowed to
use patient testimonials, the testimonial
must be made by an actual patient of
record and the claims made in the testimo-
for all advertisements run regardless of
who developed or created the advertisement. It is therefore, the best practice for
the owner dentist to review and approve in
writing all advertisements before they are
used.
Guaranties of Success or Future
Satisfaction
An advertising dentist cannot make guaranties of success or future satisfaction if
patients receive certain dental procedures.
It is permissible, however, to make a
money back guaranty.
The best practice is for an advertising dentist to consult
with an attorney experienced in advertising regulations to
have a compliance review performed to ensure that any
advertising programs are fully compliant.
nial must be accurate and not misleading.
In other words, an advertising dentist cannot use a patient to make claims that the
dentist could not otherwise make under
the regulations.
Specialists
An advertising dentist may only claim that
he is a specialist in a specialty that is
specifically recognized by the Texas Dental
Board such as endodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, pediatric
dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics,
dental public health, oral and maxillofacial
pathology and oral and maxillofacial radiology. Dentists who are not specialists but
who advertise services performed by a
specialist such as orthodontics must identify themselves as general dentists or performing general dentistry.
Truth in Ownership of Content
An advertising dentist must properly
credit any quotes or content to its true
author and may not plagiarize content
without giving proper credit.
Dental Practice Website Disclosures
All dental practice websites should clearly
disclose: 1) the ownership of the website;
2) services provided; 3) office addresses
and contact information; and 4) the licensure and qualifications of dentists and
associated health care providers.
Retention of Ads
All advertising dentists must retain their
advertisements for a period of four years
following the final appearance or communication of the advertisement and make
copies available to the dental board, if
requested. Failure to retain ads or failure
to make them available for review upon
the request of the dental board is grounds
for disciplinary action.
These are just a few of the most important
compliance points for dental advertising.
The best practice is for an advertising dentist to consult with an attorney experienced in advertising regulations to have a
compliance review performed to ensure
that any advertising programs are fully
compliant. The dental board has made
clear that ignorance of the advertising regulations is not a legitimate defense to a
board complaint.
Brian Colao is a member
of national law firm
Dykema in the Dallas
office and advises clients
in the health care industry on numerous federal
and state regulatory
issu