ASA Adjudication on Woodvale Clinic

Ad

A magazine ad for Woodvale Clinic stated "DR JOHN W STOWELL L.D.S.R.C.S. (Eng) B.D.S. F.D.S R.C.S. (Edin) G.D.C. Registered Specialist in Surgical Dentistry and Oral Surgery". Text under the sub-heading "Dental and Facial Aesthetics" stated "Woodvale Clinic look forward to welcoming you for a comprehensive range of services to achieve an improved youthful and attractive appearance with the following treatments Whitening of teeth Bridges Dental Implants Crowns and veneers Facial fillers and Lip enhancements … Associate Fellow of American Academy of Implant Dentistry …".

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the reference to "Dr" misleadingly implied that the practitioner held a general medical qualification.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Dental Protection (DP) responded on behalf of Woodvale Clinic.  They believed the use of the title "Dr" in this context was not misleading, because it was clear from the ad that the practitioner was a General Dental Council (GDC) registered specialist in surgical dentistry and oral surgery.

DP explained that it was common practice in the UK and throughout the world for dentists to use the honorary title "Dr".  They said this had not always been the case, however, but the position had changed over recent years and, with the enlargement of the European Community, dentists from Europe who were allowed to use the title in their home country were now free to work in the UK.  DP believed, to disallow UK dentists from using the honorary title was, therefore, discriminatory.

They explained that the GDC had no objection to dentists using the title "Dr" and also that the title "Dr" was used by the British Dental Association (BDA) in written correspondence to its members and at all conferences and dentist meetings.  DP appreciated that if members of the public were misled into believing dentists were medically qualified, this would be against public interest.  They also believed, however, to deny the use of the title when others clearly used it, and its use was widespread around the world, was also against patients interest.  They pointed out that a large number of medical practitioners did not have a doctoral MD or PhD qualification.

DP submitted several examples of dentist ads and literature in which the practitioner bore the title "Dr".

Assessment

THIS ADJUDICATION REPLACES THAT PUBLISHED ON 22 OCTOBER 2008.  THE COMPLAINTS REMAINS UPHELD BUT THE WORDING HAS BEEN CHANGED.

Upheld

The ASA acknowledged DP's comments and understood their argument that the honorary title "Dr" was widely used.  We also noted the ad clearly stated that the practitioner was a "Registered Specialist in Surgical Dentistry and Oral Surgery" and understood that, since 1995, the GDC had allowed dentists to use "Dr" as a courtesy title, providing they did not otherwise imply that they were qualified to carry out medical procedures.

We considered, however, that the title "Dr" before a practitioners name should not be used in ads unless the practitioner held a general medical qualification, a relevant PhD or doctorate (of sufficient length and intensity) or unless the similarities and differences between the practitioner's qualifications and medical qualifications were explained in detail in the ad. We noted from the list of qualifications included in the ad that the practitioner was not medically qualified and did not hold a relevant PhD or doctorate qualification.  We also considered that the advertisement did not explain the differences between the practitioner's qualifications and medical qualifications.We concluded that the use of "Dr" in this ad could mislead.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation) and 7.1 (Truthfulness).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form.  We told Woodvale Clinic not to use the title "Dr" in their ads, unless the practitioner was medically qualified or held a relevant PhD or doctorate qualification or unless the similarities and differences between the practitioner's qualifications and medical qualifications were explained in detail in the ad and advised them to seek a view from the CAP Copy Advice team before advertising again.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)