2024
False Advertising
SBOD regulations prohibit advertising that is false, misleading or deceptive. Advertising is considered to be false advertising if it does one or more of the following:
• Contains a misrepresentation of fact, or omits a fact that is necessary to avoid making the advertisement as a whole misleading
• Likely to create an unjustified expectation or unrealistic expectations about the results that the dentist can achieve
• Compares a dentist’ s services with the services of other dentists, unless the comparison can be substantiated in fact
Advertising as a Specialist
An advertisement may not claim or imply that a dentist is a specialist in any area unless that particular specialty is recognized by the SBOD as a dental specialty, and the dentist has successfully completed a CODA approved specialty training program. The SBOD has adopted the ADA’ s standards for recognizing dental specialties.
A dentist who is a specialist in one area, and advertises services in another recognized specialty area or non-specialty area, must disclose that their specialty status does not extend to the other specialty. For example, a pediatric dentist who announces additional services in orthodontics cannot advertise themselves as an orthodontist.
Holding out as a specialist includes the use of terms“ specialist” and“ limited to specialty of” or the use of such words as“ endodontist” or“ pediatric dentist” which denote a practitioner of a particular dental specialty. The dental practice of a specialist may not imply that any general dentists associated with the practice are also specialists. Neither general dentists or specialists can imply that a non-speciality area of dentistry has specialty status.
Pennsylvania State Board of Dentistry regulations regarding advertising in their entirety can be found in Pa Code § 33.203: https:// www. pacodeandbulletin. gov / Display / pacode? file =/ secure / pacode / data / 049 / chapter33 / s33.203. html & d = reduce.
2024