Dental board rules reach your marketing
Dentistry is licensed by state boards that also govern advertising. Specialty claims and patient images are the two areas where practice websites most often go wrong.
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Short answer
Dental practice websites are subject to state dental board ad rules covering truthfulness, specializt titles, and the use of patient images. Specialty claims are restricted in many states to approved specialties. Patient photographs need written consent. A practice site should collect as little patient details as possible. Nothing here is legal advice.
Your regulator is the state board
State dental boards license dentists and set ad rules, usually prohibiting false or misleading statements and regulating how qualifications are described.
The rules differ by state, including which terms may be used and what disclaimers are required.
Read your own board's guidance rather than borrowing wording from a practice in another state.
The rules differ by state, including which terms may be used and what disclaimers are required, so borrow the structure of another practice's page and never its wording.
Specialty claims
Many states restrict describing yourself as a specializt to approved specialties with the training that goes with it, and some require specific disclaimers otherwise.
General dentists offering a treatment linked to a specialty need care in the wording. Providing a service is not the same as being a specializt in it.
This is the most common fault on dental sites. It usually comes from marketing copy rather than from the dentist.
Providing a service is not the same as being a specializt in it, and the acceptable phrasing for a general dentist offering a specialty procedure varies by state.
Before and after images
These are persuasive and closely watched. Many boards require images of your own patients. They must not be retouched in a way that misleads, and consent must be on file.
Using stock or supplier provided images as if they were your work is the version that draws action.
Written consent should cover the website by name, and should be kept with the patient record.
Consent should cover the website specifically and be kept with the record, which is the same discipline described in before and after photos.
Collect as little as possible
A practice site does not need clinical detail. A name, a way to reach them, and a reason for calling is enough to book a talk.
Patients volunteer more than you ask. That is why our forms carry a short note asking people to keep medical detail out of the message.
Take clinical details through your practice systems, not through a public website form.
- A name
- One way to reach them
- A general reason for calling
- No clinical detail
- No insurance or policy numbers
- No date of birth
- A note on the form asking them to keep health detail out
Pricing and offers
Advertised prices usually need to state what is included and what is not. Several states add rules about starter offers.
An offer with conditions buried below the fold is the pattern that attracts complaints from patients and boards alike.
Say the conditions where the offer appears, in the same size type.
Reviews and what you may say back
Patient reviews are allowed in many states, with conditions. Replying to a public review is where client privacy is most often broken.
Acknowledging that somebody is a patient, in a public reply, is a disclosure. Keep replies generic and move the detail to a private channel.
Never dispute a clinical claim publicly, however tempting.
A short, courteous reply offering to discuss it directly reads better to every future patient than a detailed defense ever could.
Acknowledging that somebody is a patient, in a public reply, is itself a disclosure. Keep replies generic and move the detail to a private channel.
What the builder does
Pages here are written from a talk about your practice. Forms carry the sensitive detail note by default, and the builder refuses promised clinical outcomes.
Every page passes a check that runs before anything publishes, validated against Google Search Essentials and modern web standards.
It does not know your state board's rules on specialty wording. Nothing here is legal advice, and that wording deserves a careful read before launch.
Insurance and payment wording
Saying you accept a plan is different from being in network with it. Patients read the two as the same thing.
Be precise about which plans you are contracted with, and update the page when a contract ends.
Financing and payment plans carry their own rules. You must be clear about the terms and any interest.
Questions people ask
Can a general dentist advertise cosmetic dentistry?
Offering the service is usually fine. Describing yourself as a specializt in it is restricted in many states, so check your board's wording rules.
Do I need consent for before and after photos?
Yes, in writing, covering website use by name. Many boards also require the images to be of your own patients and not retouched misleadingly.
Can I reply to a negative review?
Reply generically and take the detail private. Confirming somebody is a patient in a public reply is itself a disclosure.
What should the contact form ask for?
As little as possible. A name, a contact method and a general reason. Clinical detail belongs in your practice systems, not a website form.
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