Clinical practice · ABA, FTC and your board
The words a medical or dental practice cannot use.
Every other trade on this site can turn a five-star review into a post. Yours cannot. Six of these 36 phrases exist only because a patient testimonial is a different thing in law from a customer review, and the engine refuses them even when one would work beautifully.
The rest are the outcome promises and the superlatives a state board reads as misleading. Below is the full list the engine runs, grouped by the rule each phrase breaks.
A screening tool, not legal advice. Your compliance officer or counsel has the last word.
4 of the 36
Patient testimonials and before-afters
A review is a customer’s opinion. A patient testimonial is a health claim made by somebody with no way to qualify it, and most boards treat it as the practice’s own claim. This is the group that surprises people, because the copy is usually true and still refused.
- our patients say
- patient testimonial
- real patient results
- before and after patient
8 of the 36
Being the best, the top, the number one
A superlative about a clinician is a comparison with every other clinician, and it has to be substantiated against all of them. Boards read it as inherently misleading because it cannot be.
- leading specialist
- best dentist
- best doctor
- top dentist
- top doctor
- #1 dentist
- #1 doctor
- number one dentist
3 of the 36
Claiming a specialty or a credential
“Specialist” and “board certified” are defined terms. Using them without the recognised credential is the claim most likely to draw a board letter, and it is usually written by somebody in marketing rather than by the clinician.
- specialist in
- board certified in
- expert in treating
21 of the 36
Outcome and safety promises
Cure, permanence, no side effects, proof. Each one promises a result the clinician cannot know in advance for the person reading it.
- cure
- cures
- cured
- guaranteed results
- permanent results
- no side effects
- risk free
- risk-free
- 100% safe
- completely safe
- clinically proven
- scientifically proven
- fda approved
- fda cleared
- miracle
- breakthrough treatment
- guarantee
- guaranteed
- painless
- pain free
- pain-free
What every piece has to carry
Refusals are half of it. The engine also checks that these are present, and flags a piece missing any of them:
- The treating clinician's credential and licence (DDS, MD, PMHNP-BC and so on)
- The practice name as the board holds it
- Individual results vary, wherever an outcome is described
A clean scan is not a compliant piece. Copy with none of the 36 phrases and none of these still fails.
The questions people ask first.
All nine rulebooks, 390 phrases, published in full →
Another trade? Real estate’s 167 → · Mortgage’s 51 →
Can a dental or medical practice post patient testimonials?
Not safely, and this engine refuses them outright. A customer review is an opinion about a service; a patient testimonial is a claim about a health outcome, and most state boards treat it as the practice’s own claim about results it cannot guarantee. The same goes for before-and-after photographs of patients.
Can I say I am a specialist?
Only with the recognised credential. “Specialist” and “board certified” are defined terms, and using them without the qualification behind them is the claim most likely to draw a board letter.
Why is “painless” refused?
It promises a sensory outcome the clinician cannot know for the person reading it. Describe the technique or the anaesthetic instead.
What has to appear on every piece?
Three things: the treating clinician’s credential and licence, the practice name as the board holds it, and “individual results vary” wherever an outcome is described.
Run it on something you already published.
Free, no sign-in, nothing kept. Or put it in your browser and right-click any copy you write.