Section 828IAC1-1-18. Advertising; content

   (a) Fees for any or all dental services may be advertised; however, violation of any of the provisions in this section may be construed as false, misleading, or deceptive.

  (b) An advertisement of a fee for a dental service must include a specified period for which that fee shall be in effect, or that service must remain available at or below that fee for a minimum period of ninety (90) days following the final advertisement for that service, unless that service is found to be detrimental to the health of the public.

  (c) A service advertised as routine or with a stated fee must include all components of providing that service without additional charges added thereto or without additional unstated restrictions.

  (d) Discount offers for a dental service are permissible for advertising only when:

(1) the nondiscounted or full price and the final discounted price are also disclosed in the advertisement; and

(2) such discount is not contingent upon the procurement of additional patients, potential patients, or the purchase of additional services.

The dates a discount will be in force must be clearly identified.

  (e) When an office charges a range of fees for a dental service, any advertisement of the fee for that service must disclose the range and include a listing of all of the factors which cause the fee to vary.

  (f) A dentist may advertise as being a specialist in, or limiting practice to, a particular field of dentistry in:

(1) dental public health;

(2) endodontics;

(3) oral and maxillofacial pathology;

(4) oral and maxillofacial radiology;

(5) oral and maxillofacial surgery;

(6) orthodontics and dentalfacial orthopedics;

(7) pediatric dentistry;

(8) periodontics; or

(9) prosthodontics;

provided the dentist has graduated from an accredited advanced dental educational program.

  (g) An accredited advanced dental educational program is one that meets the requirements and standards of:

(1) The Commission on Dental Accreditation Standards for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in General Dentistry published in 2001.

(2) The Commission on Dental Accreditation Standards for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in General Practice Residency published in 2001.

(3) The Commission on Dental Accreditation Standards for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in Dental Public Health, published in 2001.

(4) The Commission on Dental Accreditation Standards for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in Endodontics published in 2001.

(5) The Commission on Dental Accreditation Standards for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology published in 2001.

(6) The Commission on Dental Accreditation Standards for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology published in 2001.

(7) The Commission on Dental Accreditation Standards for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery published in 2001.

(8) The Commission on Dental Accreditation Standards for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics published in 2001.

(9) The Commission on Dental Accreditation Standards for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in Pediatric Dentistry published in 2001.

(10) The Commission on Dental Accreditation Standards for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in Periodontics published in 2001.

(11) The Commission on Dental Accreditation Standards for Advanced Specialty Education Programs in Prosthodontics published in 2001.

These standards are hereby incorporated by reference and made applicable to this section. Copies of the standards are available for public inspection at the offices of the Health Professions Bureau, 402 West Washington Street, Room W041, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204. Copies of the standards are available from the entity originally issuing the incorporated matter, the Commission on Dental Accreditation, American Dental Association, 211 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

  (h) As used in this section, "specialist" pertains to this section only for the purpose of defining advertising and must not be randomly applied to any other law or rule of IC 25-14.

  (i) This section does not preclude or limit any dentist from offering and performing any treatment to any patient as prescribed by IC 25-14.

  (j) All dentists who have claimed to be dental specialists, or hold themselves out to be engaged in a dental practice limited to any of the dental specialties in subsection (f), without regard to the matter incorporated by reference in subsection (f), and can document such claim to have acted as such prior to January 1, 1965, may continue to act as such under the protection of this rule.

  (k) A dentist who is not considered a specialist by this section and who wishes to announce the services available in his or her practice may announce the availability of those services so long as he or she avoids any communications that express or imply specialization. The dentist shall also state that the services are being provided by a general dentist. No dentist shall announce available services in any way that would be false or misleading in any material respect.

  (l) The factors of availability such as hours of practice and office locations may be advertised provided that any such advertisement must include the names of all practitioners providing dental services at each location.

  (m) An advertisement indicating that superior services, better materials, or more skillful care are available in a particular office or by a group of practitioners may be deceptive.

  (n) Guarantees or warranties, whether expressed or implied, regarding the successful outcome of treatment, length of service, or durability of materials may be deceptive if advertised. Any testimonials or endorsements such as character witness, benefits of treatment, or expressions of appreciation may be misleading when advertised.

  (o) A referral service shall only advertise a dentist as a specialist if such dentist has complied with subsections (f) through (k) and has presented such referral service with verification of compliance. An advertisement for a dentist not complying with subsections (f) through (k) may only claim the dentist may provide routine dental services and other services and that the dentist is not to be considered a specialist.

  (p) Referral services shall provide disclaimers in compliance with IC 25-14-4-4. A disclaimer shall be written for advertisements placed in written media, audio for radio advertisements, and both audio and visual for television advertisements.

  (q) Advertising in any media by a referral service must not lead consumers to believe that they are receiving an impartial referral based on all dentists in the area instead of only those dentists participating in the referral service. (State Board of Dentistry; 828 IAC 1-1-18; filed Apr 14, 1983, 9:40 a.m.: 6 IR 1084; filed Jan 16, 1986, 3:17 p.m.: 9 IR 1364; filed Aug 29, 1986, 2:30 p.m.: 10 IR 21; filed Aug 9, 1994, 2:45 p.m.: 17 IR 2867; readopted filed Apr 11, 2001, 3:21 p.m.: 24 IR 2896; filed Feb 28, 2002, 3:17 p.m.: 25 IR 2241; readopted filed Oct 4, 2007, 3:36 p.m.: 20071031-IR-828070047RFA; readopted filed Nov 25, 2013, 9:23 a.m.: 20131225-IR-828130287RFA)