or implied , that the advertised services are superior in quality to those of other dentists , if that representation is not subject to reasonable substantiation .
Subjective statements about the quality of dental services can also raise ethical concerns . In particular , statements of opinion may be misleading if they are not honestly held , if they misrepresent the qualifications of the holder , or the basis of the opinion , or if the patient reasonably interprets them as implied statements of fact . Such statements will be evaluated on a case by case basis , considering how patients are likely to respond to the impression made by the advertisement as a whole . The fundamental issue is whether the advertisement , taken as a whole , is false or misleading in a material respect . 3
5 . F . 3 . UNEARNED , NONHEALTH DEGREES . A dentist may use the title Doctor or Dentist , D . D . S ., D . M . D . or any additional earned , advanced academic degrees in health service areas in an announcement to the public . The announcement of an unearned academic degree may be misleading because of the likelihood that it will indicate to the public the attainment of specialty or diplomate status .
For purposes of this advisory opinion , an unearned academic degree is one which is awarded by an educational institution not accredited by a generally recognized accrediting body or is an honorary degree . The use of a nonhealth degree in an announcement to the public may be a representation which is misleading because the public is likely to assume that any degree announced is related to the qualifications of the dentist as a practitioner .
Some organizations grant dentists fellowship status as a token of membership in the organization or some other form of voluntary association . The use of such fellowships in advertising to the general public may be misleading because of the likelihood that it will indicate to the public attainment of education or skill in the field of dentistry .
Generally , unearned or nonhealth degrees and fellowships that designate association , rather than attainment , should be limited to scientific papers and curriculum vitae . In all instances , state law should be consulted . In any review by the council of the use of designations in advertising to the public , the council will apply the standard of whether the use of such is false or misleading in a material respect . 3
5 . F . 4 . REFERRAL SERVICES . There are two basic types of referral services for dental care : not-for-profit and the commercial . The not-for-profit is commonly organized by dental societies or community services . It is open to all qualified practitioners in the area served . A fee is sometimes charged the practitioner to be listed with the service . A fee for such referral services is for the purpose of covering the expenses of the service and has no relation to the number of patients referred . In contrast , some commercial referral services restrict access to the referral service to a limited number of dentists in a particular geographic area . Prospective patients calling the service may be referred to a single subscribing dentist in the geographic area and the respective dentist billed for each patient referred . Commercial referral services often advertise to the public stressing that there is no charge for use of the service and the patient may not be informed of the referral fee paid by the dentist . There is a connotation to such advertisements that the referral
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