Publicity in dentistry: assessment of the ethical aspects involved

Objective: To verify whether the professionals who make use of advertising in Dentistry by means of billboards respect the ethical aspects determined by the Federal Council of Dentistry Resolution No 71, 2006. Methods: This was an observational study in which 178 billboards of dental clinics in the municipality of Sao Paulo were assessed. Results: Among the billboards analyzed, 91.4% belonged to private persons and 9.6% to corporate bodies. With regard to the ethical aspects related to the advertisement, only 44.9% of the billboards presented all the mandatory items in accordance with the Federal Council of Dentistry. The item found the least number of times in the advertisements was the registration number in the Regional Council of Dentistry (34.8%). Among the items allowed by the Federal Council of Dentistry, the telephone number (65.2%) was the most commonly found. Among the ethical infractions, 1.7% of the billboards advertised the terms of payment. Conclusion: Professionals are not following the ethical precepts established by the Code of Ethics in Dentistry, and awareness of these professionals needs to be aroused, so that information about their services is communicated and divulged in an ethical manner. Indexing terms: legislation dental; marketing; dentistry.