RCDSO advertising rules for your website, explained chairside.
The RCDSO’s advertising guidance fits on one page, but most clinic websites break it without anyone noticing. This guide turns the rules into three quick tools you can use on your own site this week: the Chairside Test, a praise-to-proof swap list, and a Fact Menu that keeps you compliant and gets you named in AI answers.
By Krishna, founder of Rank and Cite. Updated September 2026. A plain-language summary, not legal advice.
We read 3,916 independent Ontario clinic websites.
Eight rules, in plain words.
Summarised from the RCDSO’s advertising guidance and its practice advisory on professional advertising. The right-hand column is where each rule usually hides on a clinic website.
| The rule | In plain words | Where it hides on your site |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Be clear and true | Nothing unclear, untrue or misleading, and no half-facts | Old hours, dentists who have left, services you no longer offer |
| 2. No “better than” | No words that claim superiority or uniqueness, such as “state of the art” or “cutting edge” | Page titles, the homepage banner, your Google profile description |
| 3. No testimonials | No statements that can only be checked against someone’s feelings | Review sliders, star widgets, “what our patients say” sections |
| 4. No incentives | No giveaways, contests, draws, or free products or services | “Free whitening”, “free consultation”, “new patient special” pop-ups |
| 5. Fees, if clear | You may advertise a fee if it is the maximum, includes everything and applies to all patients, insured or not | “From $99” or “$0 with insurance” banners |
| 6. Credentials | Only degrees needed for your registration; no continuing education courses, society memberships or College positions | Team bios listing courses, academies and associations |
| 7. Specialist or not | Say clearly whether you are a general dentist or a specialist, and in which specialty | “Implant specialist” or “orthodontic expert” on a general dentist’s page |
| 8. You own it | You are responsible for everything published about your practice, even if an agency wrote it | Blog posts and pages you have never read |
The RCDSO also says posts from social media accounts that identify you as a dentist are likely advertising, and that patient photos and videos need the patient’s explicit consent.
The Chairside Test.
Read any sentence on your website and ask three questions, the way you would check a treatment note before signing it.
Could I prove it with a record?
A schedule, a licence, an equipment invoice, a fee list. If yes, keep going. If the only proof is “patients tell us so”, rewrite it.
Does it depend on how someone felt?
“Gentle”, “painless”, “life-changing”, “amazing experience”. Feelings cannot be checked, so they read as testimonials. Describe what you do instead.
Does it hint we are better than the clinic next door?
“Best”, “leading”, “top”, “most advanced”, “premier”. If a sentence only works by comparison, drop the comparison and keep the fact.
Pass: yes, no, no.
A sentence that passes all three is usually compliant and more convincing to patients.
Praise to proof: a swap list for your website.
The left column is what we found most often on Ontario clinic websites. The right column says the same thing with facts. Use only facts that are true for your clinic.
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| “The best dentist in Mississauga” | “General dentists in Erin Mills, open until 8 pm Tuesday to Thursday” |
| “State-of-the-art technology” | “We take 3D scans on site, so implant planning happens in one visit” |
| “Painless, gentle dentistry” | “We offer nitrous oxide and numbing gel before injections. Ask about options if you feel anxious.” |
| “A caring team you’ll love” | “Our team speaks English, Punjabi, Tamil and Mandarin” |
| “Toronto’s leading implant specialist” (general dentist) | “Dr. Lee, general dentist, places and restores dental implants” |
| “Free whitening for new patients” | “New patient exam and cleaning: $X maximum fee, for every patient, with or without insurance” |
| “Free implant consultation” | “Implant consultation: $X maximum fee. We explain every option and its cost in writing.” |
| “Our patients love us!” with quoted reviews | “Read or leave a review on our Google profile”, with a link |
| “Award-winning clinic” | “Serving the Beaches since 2009” |
| “Member of the Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry” | A clear list of the cosmetic treatments you provide |
| “Guaranteed perfect smile” | “What to expect: how many visits, how long each takes, and what can affect the result” |
The Fact Menu.
Here is the part most guides miss: the facts that keep you compliant are the same facts AI assistants quote. When a patient asks ChatGPT for “a dentist near me that takes CDCP and is open Saturday”, it can only name clinics that publish those facts. Superlatives give it nothing to repeat.
Publish every item that is true for you, on your site and your Google profile:
- Accepting new patients: yes or no
- Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP): accepted or not
- Direct billing to insurance
- Hours, including evenings, weekends and holidays
- Same-day emergency appointments
- Languages your team speaks
- Comfort options: nitrous oxide, oral sedation, IV sedation, and who provides them
- Age you start seeing children
- Each dentist: general dentist or specialist, and which specialty
- Wheelchair access, parking and nearest transit
- Each treatment you offer, on its own page
- How to book: online, by phone, by text
Reviews without breaking the rules.
- Keep reviews on Google. Link to your Google profile instead of quoting reviews or embedding a review widget on your own site.
- Ask every patient. Asking only the happy ones (review gating) breaks Google’s policy.
- Offer nothing in return. No draws, discounts or gift cards for reviews.
- Reply without confirming they are a patient. A reply that mentions their treatment can breach their privacy. For example: “Thank you for taking the time to write. We’d welcome the chance to talk. Please call our office manager at the number on our profile.”
More detail, including star ratings, social media and replying to negative reviews: Can Ontario dentists show Google reviews on their website?
A routine your office manager can run.
Search for the risky words
On your site, search for: best, leading, top, premier, state-of-the-art, cutting-edge, painless, guaranteed, free, specialist, award.
Check your Google profile
The description, services and posts are advertising too. Apply the Chairside Test.
Check the Fact Menu
Hours, new patients, CDCP and the dentist list still correct? Update anything that changed this week.
RCDSO advertising questions dentists ask.
Can dentists put Google reviews on their website in Ontario?
The RCDSO’s guidance does not allow testimonials, meaning statements that can only be verified by a person’s feelings or views. Quoted reviews and review widgets on your own site read as testimonials. The lower-risk approach is to link to your Google profile so patients read reviews there.
Can a dentist offer a free consultation in Ontario?
The guidance lists “free products or services” among the incentive programs dentists should not advertise. Publishing a clear maximum fee for a consultation, applied to every patient, is the safer way to make the first visit feel low-risk.
Can Ontario dentists advertise their prices?
Yes, if the fee is clearly stated, is the maximum, includes all services involved and applies to every patient regardless of insurance. “From” prices and “$0 with insurance” claims are likely to be read as unclear.
Can a general dentist call themselves an implant dentist?
A general dentist can say they provide implant treatment, but must be clear they are a general dentist. Words like “implant specialist” or “implant expert” suggest a specialty the dentist does not hold.
Are before-and-after photos allowed?
The advisory we reviewed does not address them directly. They need the patient’s explicit consent, must be real and unedited, and should not create an expectation of a particular result. Treat them as higher risk and confirm with the RCDSO’s practice advisory service before publishing.
Is my agency responsible if they wrote the page?
No. You are. The RCDSO expects dentists to control everything published about their practice, including what an agency writes on their behalf. Ask your agency to show you every page and profile change before it goes live.
Where these rules come from.
- RCDSO: Advertising guidelines
- RCDSO practice advisory: Professional Advertising (PDF)
- Summary of the RCDSO’s “Pause. Think. Post.” social media guidance
- Ontario Dental Website Report 2026 (our study of 3,916 clinic websites)
This guide is a plain-language summary to help you review your own marketing. It is not legal advice. For a ruling on specific wording, contact the RCDSO’s practice advisory service.
Check your own website in 30 seconds.
Our free RCDSO wording check flags likely superlatives, testimonials and incentives on any page. An automated screen, not legal advice.