If your clinic posts on Instagram, YouTube or Facebook, or has a banner outside the door, one notice from the National Dental Commission is worth ten minutes of your time today.
What happened
On 14 October 2026, the Ethics and Dental Registration Board of the National Dental Commission (NDC) issued an advisory to all registered dental practitioners in India. It says some dentists and dental establishments are promoting themselves in ways that may be unethical, and that it takes effect immediately.
The advisory lists these practices by name:
- Recording and broadcasting consultations or dental procedures
- Publishing patient testimonials
- Publishing before-and-after photographs
- Making misleading claims about treatment
- Sharing inaccurate health information
- Self-praising publicity
- Displaying signboards that are disproportionately large
It points dentists to Chapter VI (Unethical Acts), clauses 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3 of the Revised Dentists (Code of Ethics) Regulations, 2014. It warns that an established violation can lead to a show-cause notice, suspension, or removal from the State and National Register of Dentists.
A checklist for your clinic this week
- Scroll your own pages. Go back through your clinic's social media, one post at a time. Look for videos of procedures or consultations, patient testimonials, and before-and-after photos.
- Take down or hold what is on the list. You can always put a post back after you have checked it against clauses 8.1 to 8.3. It is much harder to undo a notice.
- Read your claims as a patient would. Words like "best", "painless" or "guaranteed" are easy to write and hard to defend. Plain facts hold up better: your qualifications, services, timings and address.
- Look at your signboard and banners. Compare them with the same clauses and keep them modest.
- Tell whoever runs your accounts. If a staff member or an agency posts for you, send them the advisory in writing and ask that nothing goes live without your approval.
- Check your website too. Testimonial sections and photo galleries on a clinic website are public promotion in the same way.
What you can still do
The advisory is about how a dentist promotes, not about whether a clinic may be visible online at all. Patients still need to find you, see your timings and book an appointment. Clear information pages, health education that is accurate and written for patients, and a working booking form are a quieter way to be found. Keep the tone factual and let your patients' experience speak through their own reviews, not through your pages.
Sources
Read on 22 October 2026.
Medical Dialogues: National Dental Commission warns dentists against unethical social media advertising (15 October 2026)
DoctorLawyer Watch: National Dental Commission advisory, 14 October 2026 (17 October 2026)
This post is general information, not legal advice. For the exact wording, read the advisory and the 2014 regulations. Spotted something out of date? Email ivorodental@gmail.com and we will fix it.
