Dental before and after photos: the UK advertising rules

The before and after photos advertising rules for UK dental practices come down to three things: the photos must be genuine and representative, you must hold evidence to prove it, and you must have the patient's explicit consent for the way you use them. Those requirements come from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the CAP Code it enforces, from the GDC's guidance for dental professionals, and from data protection law. They apply to your website, your social media and your adverts alike. This guide sets out what each body says, the mistakes that cause problems, and a checklist your team can follow.

Who sets the rules

What the ASA says about before and after photos

The ASA's guidance on dental marketing is direct. It says any before and after photos of dental treatment, teeth whitening or straightening "must be genuine and representative", and that marketers "must hold signed and dated proof of this".

Its wider advice on before and after photos adds detail:

• They are treated like testimonials. The ASA points to the CAP Code's testimonial rules, rules 3.47 to 3.50, which require documentary evidence that a testimonial is genuine, contact details for the person who gave it, and permission to use it.
• They are claims about results. An image showing a change is an efficacy claim even without the words "before" and "after", so it must be backed by evidence that the result is what patients could likely expect.
• Retouching can mislead. The ASA warns about digital changes, such as retouching only the "after" image, and says marketers should keep material that shows whether any retouching was done. For teeth whitening specifically, it says marketers should not exaggerate results "through digital manipulation of imagery (or otherwise)".
• Small print does not fix it. A disclaimer cannot rescue an image that is misleading in itself.

Underneath sit two general rules in section 3 of the CAP Code. Rule 3.1 says marketing "must not materially mislead or be likely to do so". Rule 3.7 says that before publishing, marketers "must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective".

What "representative" means in practice

A representative photo shows the kind of result a typical patient could expect from that treatment at your practice. It is not your single best case of the year. In practice:

• show cases that reflect your usual results, and say what treatment was done
• take before and after photos under the same lighting, angle, distance and camera settings, so the difference comes from the treatment, not the photography
• avoid filters, whitening of the "after" image, or cropping that hides relevant detail
• say if a result came from a combination of treatments, so a patient does not assume one treatment did it all
• keep the original, unedited files with dates

What the GDC expects

The GDC's guidance on advertising says advertising must be accurate and not misleading, and that you must "avoid statements or claims intended or likely to create an unjustified expectation about the results you can achieve". A gallery of exceptional results with no context can do exactly that.

The same guidance limits titles. Only dentists on a GDC specialist list may describe themselves as specialists, and others must not use titles that imply specialist status, such as orthodontist or periodontist. Check the captions on your gallery as carefully as the photos.

Patient consent for before and after photos

The GDC's guidance on using social media says you must not publish information that could identify a patient without their explicit consent. It goes further on how to get that consent: "When obtaining consent you should specify, to the patient how exactly the information you propose to share will be used, for what purpose and where it will be available." It also says that if you share anonymised information, you must take all possible precautions to make sure the patient cannot be identified.

Clinical photographs are part of a patient's record. The ICO treats information about health as special category data, which has extra protection under UK GDPR. Consent for clinical records and consent for marketing are different things, so keep them separate.

A good marketing consent form covers:

1. exactly which images will be used
2. where they will appear: website, social media, adverts, printed materials
3. whether the face or any identifying feature will be shown
4. whether a caption will describe the treatment
5. how long you will use them
6. that the patient can withdraw consent, and how to do it
7. the patient's signature and the date

Store the signed form with the images and the patient's contact details. That one file covers the ASA's evidence requirement and the GDC's consent requirement together.

Withdrawn consent

If a patient withdraws consent, remove the images from everything you control: your website, social media posts, Google Business Profile photos and any adverts. Keep a note of the date and what you removed. You cannot recall printed leaflets already handed out, which is one reason to keep before and after images out of print unless the consent clearly covers it.

Where the photos appear

Your website

Treatment pages are the natural home for before and after photos. The ASA's rules apply to your website just as they do to an advert. Pair each image with a short, factual caption, and keep your GDC-required details, such as each clinician's registration number, on the site.

Social media

Organic posts on Facebook and Instagram are marketing too, so the same rules apply. Turn off location data before posting, as the GDC notes that location information can be embedded in photographs. Our guide to social media marketing for dentists covers the wider picture.

Paid adverts

Adverts on Google, Meta and other platforms must meet the CAP Code and each platform's own advertising policies on health and appearance, which change from time to time. Check the current policy before you boost a post or build an ad around a before and after image. Our guide to Google Ads for dentists covers how ads fit the rest of your marketing.

Facial aesthetics images

If your practice offers anti-wrinkle injections, take extra care. Prescription-only medicines cannot be advertised to the public under CAP rule 12.12, and the ASA says before and after imagery of a prescription-only product such as Botox, "even in isolation without any accompanying claims, is very likely to be seen as an implied ad" for it. Do not use before and after images for these treatments in your marketing.

Common mistakes

• Using a stock image or a supplier's case photo as if it were your own work.
• Showing the best case of the year as if it were typical.
• Different lighting or angles that make the change look larger.
• Relying on verbal consent, or consent that did not say where the image would appear.
• Captions that promise outcomes, or imply specialist status.
• No original files, so you cannot prove the image was not altered.

A before and after checklist for your team

1. Use only your own patients' photos, from treatment your team carried out.
2. Take photos to a standard set-up: same light, angle, distance and settings.
3. Get written, dated, specific consent before publishing, separate from clinical consent.
4. Store the consent form, original files and patient contact details together.
5. Choose representative cases and describe the treatment honestly.
6. Do not retouch the teeth or the result. Keep a record of any adjustment made.
7. Check captions against the GDC's advertising guidance, including specialist titles.
8. Do not use before and after images for prescription-only medicines.
9. Review your gallery at least once a year and remove images whose consent has expired or been withdrawn.

Done this way, before and after photos stay what they should be: honest evidence of your work that helps patients decide. Our guide to marketing for dentists shows where they fit in a wider plan.