Does Your Dental Website Follow GDC Compliance?

Do you know if your dental website complies with the General Dental Council (GDC) website guidelines?

If you are a dental professional and currently run or are looking to set up a website for your practice you should be aware that there is particular guidelines you will need to abide by, stipulating what you can and cannot include on your website.

In 2012, the GDC released a new set of guidance in regards to the advertising of dental treatments. The Principles of Ethical Advertising lists the detailed information which must be available to patients on dental websites. Following guidance from the EU, the GDC guidelines must be followed by dental professionals who mention on their site that they provide dental care. The purpose of the guidance is to ensure both the public and patients are not misled and to set firmer boundaries on what is allowed on promotional materials created by the dental profession.

If you are a dental professional you must provide fair, factual and balanced information to your patients in regards to the services you are offering them. This information should not be written in such a way that patients’ trust is exploited or that the relative lack of knowledge of patients is taken advantage of. False advertising can mean you fail to meet expectations, or in worst case scenarios cause your patients harm.

What Information Must Your Dental Website Include?

To be GDC compliant your dental website must obey the following stipulations:

Each dentist must;

• Provide their professional qualification and the country in which the qualification was obtained.
• Be registered with the GDC and provide GDC registration number and contact details for the GDC, or a link to the GDC website.
• Not use the words ‘specialist’, ‘specialises in…’, ‘specialist in’, etc. unless you are registered on the GDC Specialist List.
• Not mislead patients by using abbreviated forms for memberships, fellowships of professional associations, or societies or honorary degrees.

Dental practice websites must;

• Include the name and geographical location of where the dental services are carried out.
• Include correct details of the dental service including telephone number and email address.
• Clearly state the dental practice’s complaints procedure and who patients can contact if they are not happy with the response given.
• Show the date the website was last updated.
• Show that your dental site complies with the Data Protection Act 1998.
• Provide the website’s privacy policy/secure communication.

Design your Dentist Website with Dental Success by Adeo

If your website does not comply with the above checklist or you are looking to set up a dental website that is GDC compliant then Adeo Group can help you. Dental Success by Adeo focuses on the Dental industry and we have experience in creating bespoke website for dental practices and pushing them up search rankings. To find out more about how we can help you, why not visit our Dental Success website? Or for an informal chat, call us on 0845 241 8228.