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Dental marketing rules in Washington
What you can claim, how you can pay for referrals, and where Washington diverges from the federal floor. Derived from the live ruleset library.
Yes. Washington has its own dental advertising law, and Pre-Trip carries it as a live rule set, with every rule traced back to the section of law it comes from, checked 2026-08-04. On top of the federal rules that apply everywhere (the FTC Act, HIPAA, the TCPA, CAN-SPAM), Washington adds 3 rules of its own, listed below with the section behind each one. A clean pass here means the copy cleared both.
RCW 18.130.180(3), which makes all advertising which is false, fraudulent, or misleading unprofessional conduct for any license holder under the jurisdiction of chapter 18.130 RCW, the Uniform Discipl
Every Washington scan also runs the always-on federal layer: FTC deceptive health claims and endorsements, TCPA consent and revocation in calls and texts. A ruleset counts toward a clean pass only while it is published, matches its content hash, and its review clock is fresh, which is why the date above is load-bearing.
The claim types Washington law puts off-limits in treatment marketing. Each is compiled from the cited section; the scanner reads your copy for them, and the patterns stay on the server.
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High riskPromises of a guaranteed result, cure, or permanent outcome from a procedure or treatment.
A guaranteed clinical outcome cannot be substantiated for an individual patient, so advertising one is advertising which is false or misleading and is unprofessional conduct for any license holder under RCW 18.130.180(3). The Uniform Disciplinary Act reaches the licensee personally, so the exposure is a license action rather than only a consumer claim.
RCW 18.130.180(3)
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FlagUnsubstantiated claims of being the best, top, leading or number one provider, or of superiority over other providers.
A superiority claim a licensee cannot substantiate is advertising which is false or misleading under RCW 18.130.180(3). A claim that can be substantiated is not reached, so the defect is the bare ranking rather than the comparison.
RCW 18.130.180(3)
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FlagClaims that a procedure or product is clinically or scientifically proven where no such body of evidence exists.
Asserting clinical or scientific proof the licensee cannot produce is advertising which is false or misleading under RCW 18.130.180(3). The claim is not prohibited where the evidence exists, so a procedure with a genuine peer reviewed base may be described as such.
RCW 18.130.180(3)
The exposure Washington attaches to a marketing violation, by tier. Exact amounts and elements live in the cited statute.
- LicenseAdvertising violations can trigger license discipline for the facility or the provider.
What the scanner does with two versions of the same idea. The flagged line is rendered the way Pre-Trip renders a finding; the clean line is a pass.
Painless implants, guaranteed to last a lifetime.
A guaranteed result and an absolute promise about pain. Neither can be substantiated for a given patient, and dental boards treat both as deceptive advertising.
Guarantee and pain claims · RCW 18.130.180 (unprofessional conduct, advertising at subsection (3))
We use local anaesthetic for implant placement, and most patients report mild soreness for a few days.
Describes the procedure and the typical experience without promising this patient a result.
Washington and federal sources
- RCW 18.130.180 (unprofessional conduct, advertising at subsection (3)) primary
- RCW 18.130.040 (which professions the Uniform Disciplinary Act reaches) primary
- 15 U.S.C. 45 (FTC Act Section 5, official code viewer) primary
- 15 U.S.C. 52 (FTC Act Section 12, false advertisements, official code viewer) primary
- FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance (Dec. 2022) primary
- 16 CFR Part 255 Endorsement Guides, 2023 revision (Cornell LII mirror; ecfr.gov bot-blocked at authoring)
- 16 CFR 255.2 Consumer endorsements (Cornell LII mirror)
- 16 CFR 255.5 Disclosure of material connections (Cornell LII mirror)
- 16 CFR 251.1 Guide concerning use of the word Free (Cornell LII mirror)
- FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking (FAQ) primary
- 47 CFR 64.1200, Delivery restrictions (current rule text) primary
- 47 U.S.C. 227, Telephone Consumer Protection Act primary
Pre-Trip is a rigorous screen, not legal advice. Counsel decides; we help you arrive prepared. Coverage for Washington reflects the library as of the build and changes as the law does.