7.5 Advertising, Solicitation, Specialties & Other Minimum Practice Standards
Key Takeaways
- Rule 64B5-4.002(2), F.A.C., requires all advertising to identify the responsible Florida licensed dentist by licence number or by commonly used name plus the current address and telephone number on file with the Department.
- In person and telephone solicitation of dental services by a dentist or an agent is prohibited, except communication with a patient or former patient to schedule an appointment or offer follow-up care.
- Any advertisement containing fee information must contain a disclaimer that the fee is a minimum fee only, and an advertised fee must remain available for at least 90 days following the final advertisement unless a period is stated.
- No licensee may use the term sleep dentistry in advertising unless the licensee holds a valid general anesthesia permit.
- Rule 64B5-17.015 requires every dental office location to have an automatic external defibrillator; practising without one is below the minimum standard of care.
Advertising — s. 466.019, F.S., and Rule Chapter 64B5-4
The statutory prohibitions — s. 466.019(2)
No advertisement by a licensed dentist may contain any false, fraudulent, misleading or deceptive statement or claim, or any statement or claim which:
- (a) Contains misrepresentations of fact;
- (b) Is likely to mislead or deceive because in context it makes only a partial disclosure of relevant facts;
- (c) Contains laudatory statements about the dentist or group of dentists;
- (d) Is intended or likely to create false, unjustified expectations of favourable results;
- (e) Relates to the quality of dental services provided as compared to other available dental services;
- (f) Is intended or likely to appeal primarily to a layperson's fears;
- (g) Contains fee information without a disclaimer that such is a minimum fee only; or
- (h) Contains other representations or implications that in reasonable probability will cause an ordinary, prudent person to misunderstand or be deceived.
Paragraphs (c) and (e) are broader than most candidates expect. Self-praise is prohibited outright, and any comparative quality claim is prohibited — not merely a false one.
Section 466.019(3): "D.D.S. or D.M.D. are synonymous and may be used interchangeably by licensed dentists who have graduated from an accredited American dental school with a D.D.S. or D.M.D. degree, when advertising dental services."
Identifying the responsible dentist — Rule 64B5-4.002(2)
"All advertising in any media must identify the Florida licensed dentist, who assumes total responsibility for the advertisement. The term 'identify' shall mean the use of the licence number of the dentist as it appears on his licence and renewal certificate, or the use of the licensee's commonly used name together with the current address and telephone number the licensee has on file with the Department."
So "just print the dentist's name" is not the rule. It is either the licence number, or the name plus the on-file address and telephone number — which is one more reason Rule 64B5-17.0011's address-of-record duty matters.
Scope of "advertisement" — Rule 64B5-4.002(1): any oral or written statements disseminated to the public with intent to further, directly or indirectly, the selling or offering of professional services or inducing the public to enter obligations relating to those services. The rule applies to media exposure of any nature regardless of whether it is paid advertising.
Prohibited solicitation — Rule 64B5-4.002(4)
"In person and telephone solicitation of dental services by a dentist or his agent is prohibited."
The Board's stated rationale is that such solicitation cannot be supervised, may exert pressure, and often demands an immediate response without an opportunity for comparison or reflection. The exception is narrow but practical: "solicitation" does not include in-person or telephone communication by a dentist or an agent with a patient or former patient for purposes of scheduling an appointment or offering follow-up care.
Other advertising rules — Rule 64B5-4.002(5)–(7)
- Naming persons not at the location. Advertising including the name of a person not actually involved in the practice at the advertised location and not an owner of the advertised practice is not permitted. To ease practice transitions, the previous owner may be identified in the new owner's advertising for a reasonable period not to exceed 2 years, and only with that licensee's written permission.
- Referral services. A dentist who advertises by, through or with a referral service is responsible for the content, and the advertisement must state: that it is for a dental referral service on behalf of member dentists; that the service refers only to dentists who have paid or been otherwise selected for membership; that membership is limited by the referral agency; and that dentists receiving referrals charge no more than their usual and customary professional fees. These statements must appear in print or volume equivalent to the other information in the advertisement.
- "Sleep dentistry." No licensee may use, or cause the use of, the term "sleep dentistry" in any advertisement unless the licensee possesses a valid general anesthesia permit issued under Rule 64B5-14.003(1) and Rule 64B5-14.005.
- Lasers. The rule gives a worked example: it is fraudulent, false, deceptive and misleading for a dentist who uses a laser to advertise that laser use is painless, heals faster, or provides better results than other procedures. A dentist may advertise that he treats patients with a laser in certain instances.
Fees and discounted services — Rule 64B5-4.003
- (2) Any advertisement containing fee information shall contain a disclaimer that the fee is a minimum fee only.
- (3) Any advertised fee shall state a specified period during which the fee is in effect, or the service shall remain available at or below the advertised fee for at least 90 days following the final advertisement for that service.
- (4) Any dental service for which a fee is advertised must be accompanied by a description using the exact wording for that service in the ADA's Code on Dental Procedures and Nomenclature, or by the specific ADA Code number(s) that accurately and fully describe the service. Listing a category (diagnostic, preventive, restorative, endodontics, periodontics, prosthodontics-removable, prosthodontics-fixed, oral surgery, orthodontics) or a sub-category (any procedure whose ADA code ends in 00) is not sufficient. If no fee is specified for an advertised procedure, a general description by category or sub-category is permitted.
- (5) Any advertisement for free or discounted services must comply with s. 456.062, F.S., and must clearly identify the dates on which the free, discounted or reduced-fee services will be available.
Section 456.062, F.S., is the cross-profession statute governing advertisements of free or discounted services; consult it directly, since Chapter 456 is not reproduced in the Board's booklet.
Initial examination for an orthodontic appliance — s. 466.0281
Section 466.0281 is Florida's answer to mail-order clear-aligner treatment, and it is written as a precondition rather than a prohibition. Before the initial diagnosis and correction of a malposition of human teeth, or the initial use of an orthodontic appliance, a dentist must do both of the following:
- Perform an in-person examination of the patient, or obtain records from an in-person examination conducted within the previous 12 months; and
- Perform a review of the patient's most recent diagnostic digital or conventional radiographs, or other equivalent bone imaging suitable for orthodontia.
The statute then defines the operative term so that no argument is available about remote review: an "in-person examination" means "an examination conducted by a dentist while the dentist is physically present in the same room as the patient."
| Element | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Trigger | Initial diagnosis and correction of a malposition, or initial use of an orthodontic appliance |
| Examination | In-person, or records from an in-person examination in the previous 12 months |
| "In-person" | Dentist physically present in the same room as the patient |
| Imaging | Review of the most recent diagnostic radiographs or equivalent bone imaging |
| Who must do it | A dentist — the section is not delegable to auxiliary personnel |
Three traps follow from the drafting. First, a live video consultation is not an in-person examination, however high the resolution; physical presence in the same room is the definition. Second, the 12-month allowance runs to the records, not to the dentist — a dentist may rely on another practitioner's in-person examination records from the previous year, but nobody may skip the examination altogether. Third, the requirement attaches only to the initial diagnosis or appliance; it is not a recurring obligation before every adjustment.
Specialties — s. 466.0282
Section 466.0282, F.S., addresses specialties. Note that the Board rule that once regulated specialty advertising — Rule 64B5-4.004, Advertising Specialty Services — was repealed effective 7-5-10, and Rule 64B5-4.005, Advertising of HIV/AIDS Status, was likewise repealed. Requirements attributed to those rule numbers are not current obligations. The current framework is the s. 466.019(2) prohibitions, s. 466.0282, and Rules 64B5-4.002 and 64B5-4.003.
Other Minimum Practice Standards in Rule Chapter 64B5-17
| Rule | Standard |
|---|---|
| 64B5-17.003 Patient Referrals | Split-fee arrangements relating to the referral of patients to another health care practice are prohibited. Referral within the same health care practice is permitted so long as any remuneration shared is not based upon the number of referrals. Notification forms signed by patients must be maintained in the patient's record. |
| 64B5-17.004 Emergency Care | It is the responsibility of every dentist practising in Florida to provide — personally, through another licensed dentist, or through a reciprocal agreement with another agency — reasonable twenty-four (24) hour emergency services for all patients under his continuing care. |
| 64B5-17.005 Identification of Removable Prosthetic Devices | Every dentist making or directing the making of a removable prosthesis shall offer the patient the opportunity to have it marked at the time of fabrication. The marking must be permanent, legible, and cosmetically acceptable and shall include the patient's name; the location and method are the dentist's choice. The offer need not be made if the dentist determines identification is not practicable or clinically safe. Prostheses made before the rule are subject to the offer during a laboratory relining or rebasing. |
| 64B5-17.012 Use of Sargenti Material | The use of "Sargenti Cement" (e.g., N2, RC2B, RC2W or essentially similar compounds) as an endodontic filling material or cement does not meet the minimum standards of performance for competent dental practice in Florida. The Board finds that Sargenti Cement containing paraformaldehyde can cause severe and irreversible damage. |
| 64B5-17.014 Removal of Amalgam Fillings | Claims that amalgam fillings cause systemic illness are not supported by the FDA, the U.S. Public Health Service, or NIH. Removing amalgams for the purported purpose of curing or preventing systemic illness is alternative or complementary health care, so under s. 456.41, F.S., the dentist must inform the patient of the nature, benefits and risks of the treatment and of the dentist's education, experience and credentials regarding it, and must indicate on the patient's record the method(s) by which those requirements were met. |
| 64B5-17.015 Office Safety Requirement | As part of the minimum standard of care, every dental office location shall have an automatic external defibrillator. Any dentist practising after February 28, 2006 without an AED on site shall be considered to be practising below the minimum standard of care. |
| 64B5-17.0105 Ownership of Dental Instruments by a Dental Hygienist | A dental hygienist is not precluded from owning dental instruments used in providing dental hygiene services, whether working under a dentist's authorization or providing services where a supervising dentist is not required. |
| 64B5-17.010 Unlicensed Practice of Dentistry | The Board will not treat as unlicensed practice an unlicensed person furnishing a removable mouth protection device inserted and removed by the user without dentist adjustment (e.g., athletic mouth guards) where no prescription is required, the appliance does not adjust or affect natural features or any dentist-placed appliance, and it cannot cause significant or irreparable damage. Detailed conditions also permit shade verification outside the dentist's direct supervision — visual contact only, no tissue manipulation, the patient retracts their own lip, the shade tab is held without contacting the dentition, and photography is limited to visible dentition. |
Under Rule 64B5-4.002(2), F.A.C., how must an advertisement identify the Florida licensed dentist who assumes total responsibility for it?
Which communication is expressly excluded from the prohibition on in-person and telephone solicitation in Rule 64B5-4.002(4), F.A.C.?
Under Rule 64B5-17.015, F.A.C., what equipment must every Florida dental office location have as part of the minimum standard of care?
A dentist plans to begin clear aligner therapy for a patient seen only by video call. Under s. 466.0281, F.S., what must occur first?