# CMDR Advertising Rules for Dental Clinics: What You Can and Can't Say

> Published 2026-07-15 · Canonical: https://goodglyph.com/en/blog/reguli-cmdr-publicitate-medicala

Since July 1, 2025, dentistry in Romania has new advertising rules. What you're allowed to do, the words that bring sanctions, what's truly forbidden around offers and testimonials, plus a 10-minute checklist for your site and Instagram.

If you run a dental clinic in Romania, you've probably seen competitors presenting themselves as "the best in town," with "cutting-edge technology" and a "free consultation" on every post. And maybe you've wondered whether you're allowed to do the same. The short answer: no, and since July 1, 2025 the prohibition is written in black and white, with examples. The good news is that the list of things you ARE allowed to do is longer than most people think. We translated the rules for non-lawyers, with the official sources in plain sight.

One naming detail, so it doesn't trip you up: the Romanian College of Dental Physicians (CMDR), as everyone knows it, is today called the Romanian College of Dental Medicine Physicians (CMSR). Same institution, same authority. We use the current name in this article.

## Why medical advertising has separate rules

Regular advertising sells products to people who can verify what they're buying. Medical advertising speaks to people who often can't evaluate what they're being promised: a patient in pain doesn't calmly compare implant technologies, they look for someone to trust. The rules exist precisely to protect that trust: the dentist who promises "guaranteed results" isn't competing fairly with the dentist telling the truth, and the patient has no way to tell them apart from the ad. That's why the standard in dentistry is correct, verifiable information, not persuasion.

## What changed on July 1, 2025

For a long time, the advertising rules lived in scattered articles of the Code of Ethics, interpreted differently from one county to another. Since July 1, 2025 there is a dedicated document: the [Guide of Good Practices on the Advertising of Dental Physicians](https://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocumentAfis/298886), approved through Decision 4/2CN of May 30, 2025 and published in the Official Gazette no. 529 of June 6, 2025. It entered into force together with the consolidated form of the Code of Ethics.

The guide is good news even where it prohibits: for the first time, the rules come with concrete examples, including explicitly named phrasings and practices. Below is their translation into everyday language, with the important note that this article explains the principles in force at the time of publication and replaces neither the guide nor legal advice. For the current form, check the [official CMSR page](https://cmsr.ro/reguli-privind-publicitatea-in-stomatologie-aplicabile-din-1-iulie-2025).

## What you're allowed to do (the list is more generous than you think)

The guide lists the permitted advertising means, and the list covers about everything a modern clinic uses:

- **Your own website and social media pages.** Explicitly permitted, on the condition that they serve the professional activity: information, education, describing services in objective terms.
- **Educational content for patients.** Articles, procedure explanations, illustrations. Exactly the kind of content that [brings patients from Google](https://goodglyph.com/en/blog/seo-for-dental-clinics) without breaking anything.
- **Online ads and street advertising.** Yes, you're allowed to run paid ads, as long as the content respects the rules below.
- **Signage, logo, business cards, professional correspondence.** The sign even has a set maximum size: 80 by 60 centimeters.
- **Participating in congresses, publishing studies, appearing in medical shows.**
- **Brochures and presentation materials.**
- **Price lists displayed clearly and completely.** Price transparency isn't just permitted, it's encouraged, additional costs included.

In other words: you can be present everywhere patients look for you. The difference isn't the channel, it's what you say on it.

## What you can't do: the banned words and promises

Here the guide gets very concrete, down to the level of phrasings. Three big families:

**Superlatives and comparisons.** Explicitly banned: "the best," "top," "number one," "leader," "better than," "superior to," "elite team," "superior quality," "cutting-edge technology," "the most advanced." The prohibition goes as far as the domain name and email address: a site on "celmaibunmedic.ro" (thebestdoctor.ro) breaks the rules through its very name.

**Outcome promises.** Any phrasing that guarantees a treatment's success or suggests an unrealistic duration of the effect. "Guaranteed results," "perfect smile," "implant for life" all fall here. The reason is medical, not bureaucratic: no treatment has a guaranteed outcome, and whoever promises one is misleading the patient.

**Commercial vocabulary.** Maybe the most surprising part: terms like "free," "offer," "promotion," "discount," "special rates," "unbeatable price" or "only X spots" have no place in a clinic's advertising. Dentistry is communicated in the register of medical information, not retail.

## Offers and bundles: the chapter that surprises the most

Many practices that look like normal marketing in other industries are explicitly banned in dentistry:

- **The free consultation used as bait.** You can offer a consultation at no cost within the clinic, but you can't use it as an attraction tool in advertising.
- **Conditional bundles.** "Two implants, the third free" or discounts tied to buying multiple treatments: banned.
- **Referral incentives.** "Bring a friend and get a discount" is a banned practice, not a creative idea.
- **Gifts at the first appointment, raffles and contests** tied to treatments: banned.
- **Family discounts or discounts for an institution's employees:** banned as well.

The logic is the same throughout: the patient's medical decision must not be influenced with commercial instruments. A fair, transparently displayed price remains the strongest commercial argument you're allowed to use.

## Testimonials, before/after photos, and reviews

The zone with the most folklore. What the guide says, in short:

**Before/after: permitted, with conditions.** You need the patient's informed consent, given in advance and in writing, and the patient's identity must be protected. No edits that exaggerate the result, no photos of other patients or models. Responsibility for what you publish stays with the physician.

**Testimonials: permitted in ethical form.** Meaning with the patient's consent, with identity protected, and without outcome promises packaged in the patient's voice. A testimonial saying "I felt safe and everything was explained to me" is fine; one saying "they cured me completely, guaranteed" just moves the banned promise into someone else's mouth.

**Google reviews: you don't control them, and that's fine.** Patients have the right to write what they want on their platforms. What you can NOT do: buy reviews, fabricate them, or condition any benefit on a positive review. You can, however, politely invite happy patients to leave one, and [a complete Google profile](https://goodglyph.com/en/blog/what-a-dental-clinic-website-needs-to-include) remains one of the clinic's most valuable assets.

## Where ANPC and GDPR come in

The College isn't the only institution with a say. Two intersections to know:

**ANPC** (the consumer protection authority) sanctions misleading advertising at any business, clinics included: an incompletely displayed price, an "offer" that doesn't exist, or an unsupported claim can bring sanctions on the consumer-protection line, separate from the College. CMSR and ANPC have announced they're working together precisely on misleading dental ads.

**GDPR** enters the scene wherever patient data appears in marketing: before/after photos, testimonials with names, email lists. Medical data is special-category data, so consent must be explicit, documented, and given for the precise purpose of marketing, not inferred from the patient having agreed to treatment. Website forms need a separate checkbox for marketing communications.

## Checklist: audit your site and Instagram in 10 minutes

Take the clinic's pages and search, one by one:

- **Superlatives.** Search for "the best," "top," "no. 1," "leader," "elite," "cutting-edge." Replace them with verifiable facts: years of experience, real specializations, concretely named equipment.
- **Guarantees.** Search for "guaranteed," "100%," "perfect," "for life," "painless." Rewrite about the process, not the promised outcome.
- **Sales vocabulary.** Search for "free," "offer," "promotion," "discount." In dentistry these aren't marketing words, they're grounds for sanctions.
- **Bundles and conditions.** Any "2+1," "bring a friend," raffles or gifts tied to treatments: out.
- **Patient photos.** For each one, ask yourself: do I have written consent, given for marketing? Is the identity protected?
- **Domain name and email.** If they include superlatives or promises, they're advertising too.
- **Prices.** Displayed completely, with what's included and what's not. [The clinic's visual identity](https://goodglyph.com/en/blog/how-to-choose-a-visual-identity-for-a-dental-clinic) can be as bold as you like; the numbers must be boringly clear.

If you found three or more of these, you're not a rare case: most clinic sites written "like other industries" have them. What matters is fixing them before someone else finds them.

## The GoodGlyph take

These rules aren't against marketing, they're against marketing that lies. A clinic that communicates facts, process, team, and transparent prices has, in the long run, an advantage superlatives can't buy: trust. We build identities and materials for dental clinics with these rules in the structure, not added at the end, from [the visual identity](https://goodglyph.com/en/blog/how-to-choose-a-visual-identity-for-a-dental-clinic) to the social media templates. And when a campaign raises a question of interpretation, the correct answer is a lawyer specialized in medical law, not a guess.

## Closing

Advertising your clinic isn't forbidden; it's regulated. The difference between the two is exactly the difference between a clinic that doesn't communicate at all, out of fear, and one that communicates correctly and wins patients from it. The rules cited here are the ones in force at the time of publication; the current form is always on [cmsr.ro](https://cmsr.ro/reguli-privind-publicitatea-in-stomatologie-aplicabile-din-1-iulie-2025).

## FAQ

### Can I post before/after photos of my patients?

Yes, with three conditions: informed consent, given in writing and in advance, specifically for marketing use; the patient's identity protected; no edits that exaggerate the result. Responsibility for publishing stays with the physician.

### Can I use Google reviews in the clinic's communication?

Reviews left freely by patients on platforms are theirs, and you don't control them. You're not allowed to buy them, fabricate them, or condition benefits on a good review. You can politely invite happy patients to leave one.

### Can I run discounts or promotional offers?

Not in the usual commercial form: terms like offer, promotion, discount or free and conditional bundles (2+1, referral discounts) are banned. What you can do: fair prices, displayed completely and transparently.

### What do I risk if I break the advertising rules?

Disciplinary sanctions from the College under the Code of Ethics, which can go from a warning to more serious measures, plus possible separate sanctions from ANPC for misleading advertising and from the data protection authority for GDPR violations.

### Who can file a complaint against my clinic?

Anyone: a patient, a competitor, or the College acting on its own. That's why checking materials before publication is cheaper than defending after.

### Where do I read the official rules, in their current form?

The Guide of Good Practices on the Advertising of Dental Physicians (Decision 4/2CN/2025, Official Gazette 529/2025) is available on cmsr.ro and on the legislative portal. Always check the current form: the rules get updated.

## Related

- Related service: [See what a full kit for a dental clinic looks like](https://goodglyph.com/en/services/branding)
- [How to choose a visual identity for a dental clinic](https://goodglyph.com/en/blog/how-to-choose-a-visual-identity-for-a-dental-clinic)
- [SEO for Dental Clinics: How Patients Find You (Without Breaking the Rules)](https://goodglyph.com/en/blog/seo-for-dental-clinics)
- [How Much Does a Visual Identity Cost in Romania (and What You Get at Each Price)](https://goodglyph.com/en/blog/how-much-does-a-visual-identity-cost)