A monthly dental newsletter can cover seasonal oral care, benefits deadlines, team and office news, and answers to common questions, as long as it carries no patient names, no results claims, and no message tailored to a patient's condition. GoHighLevel can send it as an email campaign. The bottom line: the same email goes to every active patient, so it can never reveal anything about one person's health.
The rules to start from
Section 5 of the ADA's Principles of Ethics says no dentist shall advertise or solicit patients in any form of communication in a manner that is false or misleading in any material respect. It also says that a dental health article, message, or newsletter published under a dentist's byline without truthful disclosure of the source and authorship, or designed to give rise to questionable expectations to induce the public to use the dentist's services, is a false or misleading representation. So write it yourself or disclose where it came from, and avoid promises. HHS says communications about a practice's own health related services are not marketing under HIPAA, unless a third party pays for them, and CAN SPAM requires a valid physical address, an opt out, and honoring opt outs within 10 business days.
Twelve topics that work
| Month | Topic | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| January | New year schedule: when recall visits open and how to book | Practice news |
| February | Children's dental health, tied to National Children's Dental Health Month, which the ADA has sponsored since the 1940s | ADA observance |
| March | Spring schedule, and what to do if a child loses a tooth: call the office, with the emergency number | Practice news and routing |
| April | Meet the team: a new hygienist or assistant | Practice news |
| May | Summer hours and how to reach the on call line | Practice news |
| June | Back to school scheduling, with a booking link | Scheduling |
| July | What a first visit involves and what to bring | Practice information |
| August | Insurance and benefits basics: how annual maximums work | Education, with a note to check the plan |
| September | Fall schedule and flu season hours | Practice news |
| October | Use your benefits before they reset: many plans have a December 31 deadline | ADA MouthHealthy guidance |
| November | Holiday hours and year end appointment availability | Practice news |
| December | Last days to use benefits, and holiday closing dates | ADA MouthHealthy guidance |
The ADA's MouthHealthy site says many dental plans have a December 31 deadline and unused benefits do not roll over for most plans, though some end at other times. Tell the reader to check their own plan.
What to leave out
- Patient names, photos, or stories. Vendor compliance guides advise written authorization before featuring patients.
- Results claims or superiority claims. The ADA code treats unsubstantiated superiority claims as misleading.
- Messages tailored to a condition. A newsletter about gum disease sent only to certain patients reveals a condition.
- Manufacturer funded content. A paid promotion for a product may change the HIPAA analysis.
Build it in GoHighLevel
GoHighLevel's help portal has an Email Marketing category covering the email builder, templates, and scheduled campaigns.
- Create a Smart List of active patients with an email address, without the tag Opted out.
- Build one template with the practice's physical address, an unsubscribe link, and a footer with the dentist's name as author.
- Write each month from the table, keep it under 300 words, and add one booking link.
- Have the dentist approve it, and schedule it for the same day each month.
- Measure clicks and bookings, not opens, because Apple Mail inflates open counts.
- Remove anyone who unsubscribes within one business day.
Worked example
For example, a newsletter to 2,000 active patients is 24,000 emails a year (2,000 times 12). If the booking link gets a 2 percent click rate each month, that is 40 clicks a month (2,000 times 0.02), and the October benefits email is likely to bring the most.
Mistakes to avoid
- Copying an article without credit. The ADA code requires truthful source disclosure.
- Segmenting the message by condition. Keep it the same for everyone.
- Skipping the opt out. CAN SPAM requires it.
- Promising what a plan covers. Tell patients to check.
How this was handled before
Dental offices mailed printed newsletters a few times a year, often written by a vendor. Email made them cheaper and more frequent. The ADA code on authorship and truthfulness still applies, and CAN SPAM added the opt out and address rules.
What to measure after launch
Track emails sent, clicks, bookings, and unsubscribes by month. Compare the October benefits email with the others.
Check before you switch it on
US text messages sent from a standard 10 digit number need A2P 10DLC registration. The HighLevel support portal says registration is required for texts to US recipients from 10 digit long code numbers and that toll free numbers do not require it. HighLevel's opt in guidelines also say a person cannot be forced to agree to text messages in order to submit a form, so keep the consent box optional. One compliance guide separates informational texts, which need documented consent, from marketing texts, which need prior express written consent. Ask your attorney which category your reminders fall into. Have the dentist approve every issue and check your state dental board's advertising rules. This is general information, not legal advice.
Questions people ask
Can a dental newsletter include patient stories?
Vendor compliance guides advise a signed HIPAA authorization before featuring a patient. Safer content is educational and practice news.
What does the ADA say about newsletters?
A newsletter published under a dentist's byline without truthful disclosure of source and authorship, or designed to create questionable expectations, is a false or misleading representation.
When do dental benefits reset?
Many plans reset on December 31 and unused benefits do not roll over for most plans, according to the ADA's MouthHealthy site.
Ready to try it yourself? Start a GoHighLevel account here.
You can also see this in action in our GoHighLevel capabilities demo.