Your website counts as advertising
The RCDSO defines professional advertising as any material related to your practice that is published, displayed, distributed or used, whether by you or by someone on your behalf. Websites are named outright, alongside flyers, signage, newsletters and logos.
The CPO reaches the same place from a different angle: physiotherapists are responsible for any advertisement they control, and social media posts have to meet the same standard.
The practical point is that hiring an agency does not move the responsibility. The RCDSO says dentists are responsible for every advertisement involving them or their clinic, and suggests sharing its advisory with anyone who creates ads for you.
Dentists: what the RCDSO rules out
The RCDSO's practice advisory on professional advertising lists what a dental advertisement must not include. On a website, it comes down to this:
- Nothing unclear, untrue or misleading.
- No claims of superiority or uniqueness, and no comparisons with other practices. "Best dentist in London" is out.
- No superlatives such as "state of the art" or "cutting edge" to describe services, equipment or people.
- Nothing that sets up an expectation of good results or plays on people's fears.
- No testimonials, or statements that can only be verified by someone's personal feelings. This is why dental websites should not display patient reviews.
- No incentive programs: giveaways, contests, draws, or free products or services.
- No references to continuing education, or to memberships and positions in associations, academies or similar bodies.
- No degrees or diplomas beyond those required for registration.
Two things a dental website must do:
- Whenever it names an area of practice, a procedure or a treatment, say whether you are a general dentist or a specialist, and if a specialist, in which specialty.
- If it shows a fee, state it clearly. Unless you say otherwise, the College treats it as the maximum fee, covering all services and lab costs, and it applies to every patient, insured or not, whether or not they saw the ad.
One more rule affects how you pay for marketing. The advisory tells dentists not to enter advertising arrangements that share or split fees with a third party based on the amount of business a campaign brings in. Pay-per-patient marketing deals are the obvious example, and it is why Forest City Search charges flat monthly fees.
Unsure about a specific ad? The RCDSO offers to review proposed advertisements, and its practice advisory service can be reached at practiceadvisory@rcdso.org.
Physiotherapists: what the CPO allows, and what it doesn't
Since May 1, 2025, physiotherapists follow the CPO's Advertising and Marketing Standard, which replaced its older Advertising Standard. The test is simple: advertising must be truthful, accurate and verifiable, and must not deceive or mislead.
- No unsupported claims, no guaranteed outcomes, and nothing implying your care is better than other providers'.
- Advertise only services you are competent to provide, and claim a practice focus only if it is a significant part of your practice.
- Avoid calling yourself a specialist, or wording that implies specialization; the standard restricts it.
- Testimonials are allowed if they are true, verifiable and accurate: written by real patients who received care, not paid for or written by the clinic or its staff.
- Get a patient's informed consent before using their name, photo or any personal health information in an ad. Likes, stars and ratings are acceptable.
- Don't offer discounts or gifts for reviews. The CPO suggests inviting reviews with a sign in the clinic, or in a newsletter patients signed up for.
Side by side
| On your website | Dentists | Physiotherapists | Optometrists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient reviews and testimonials | Not allowed | Allowed if genuine, unpaid and consented | Not allowed |
| "Best", "leading" and comparisons | Not allowed | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| Promising results | Not allowed | Not allowed | Claims must be factual and objectively verifiable |
| Calling yourself a specialist | Only if registered as one | Restricted | Only with a Council-approved qualification |
| Free services, contests, giveaways | Not allowed | No specific rule; judgment required, never billed to insurers | Check the college's guidance |
Asking for reviews: privacy comes first
Emailing or texting patients to ask for a review uses their personal health information, since even the fact that someone is your patient is protected. Ontario's privacy commissioner says express consent is generally required to use personal health information for marketing. The safe routes are a sign or card in the clinic with a link to your review page, a newsletter patients chose to receive, or messages only to patients who agreed to hear from you. Never offer anything in exchange for a review.
A checklist for your website
- Dental and optometry sites: remove review widgets and testimonial quotes from your website and the social accounts you control.
- Physiotherapy sites: keep a record of consent for every testimonial, name or photo you publish.
- Invite reviews only through clinic signage, a newsletter patients chose, or messages to patients who agreed to hear from you.
- Search your site for "best", "leading", "top", "most advanced", "state of the art" and "cutting edge". Replace them with facts you can prove, such as your hours, languages spoken or the treatments you offer.
- Dental sites: add general dentist or specialist wording wherever a treatment is named.
- Dental sites: if you show a fee, make sure it is the full, all-in price for everyone, and take down contests, draws and free offers.
- Check your social media posts too. They count as advertising.
- Brief anyone who writes for you, including your agency, on your college's standard, and approve everything before it goes live.
Optometrists and chiropractors
Ontario's optometry regulation rules out advertising that contains a testimonial, a comparative or superlative statement, an endorsement unless it comes from someone with approved expertise, or a suggestion that the optometrist is a specialist unless Council has approved the reference. Everything must be factual and objectively verifiable. In practice, optometry websites should follow the same rules as dental ones: no testimonials, no review widgets and no "best" claims.
Chiropractors follow the standards of practice of the College of Chiropractors of Ontario (CCO). As one Ontario health law firm summarizes them, an advertisement cannot contain anything false or misleading, or an express or implied guarantee that care will succeed, and the College has acted against chiropractors over ads and social media posts. The principles overlap with the other colleges, especially on accuracy and guarantees, but read the CCO's current standard before publishing anything.