Dentists beware – your website might be breaching new restrictions laid down by advertising watchdogs over what you can and cannot say about the teeth-straightening options your practice offers.
The treatment claims of orthodontic systems have recently come under close scrutiny by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The upshot is that, if you’re making unfounded claims online, it might mean your practice website is breaching new rules.
An ASA enforcement notice, published in December, comes down heavily on the dental marketing of any dental device that suggests any named braces are ‘faster’ or ‘less painful’ than the traditional bracket-and-wire system.
In fact, it’s not the first time dental device companies have come under fire. The advertising watchdog previously named a company that ‘misleadingly implied’ the benefits of its braces – in both speed and comfort.
Now, having assessed on-going promotions, the ASA says: ‘It has come to our attention that there are a significant number of websites advertising braces and dental devices. Some of these websites have claimed that their brace systems are less painful and have a faster effect than traditional braces.
‘Such claims would need to be substantiated with robust documentary evidence in the form of high quality human clinical trials, which we are yet to see in relation to pain and speed of treatment claims.’…….
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