Role of Ethics in Dental Marketing An Assessment of Opinions of Practicing Dental Surgeons in India

Advent of newer technology, awareness and access to dental care have led to a strong sense of competition amongst dental professionals, as a result of which stronger marketing strategies are being employed to penetrate the market. This study assesses the attitudes of practicing dental surgeons’ towards role of ethics for marketing in dental practice. A nine closed item questionnaire was e-mailed to 70 randomly identified dental surgeons. The questionnaire focused on role and methods of marketing in dental practice, ethical perspective towards dental marketing and appraisal for regulations for marketing. It was found that majority of Indian practitioners view advertising as an important means of communication to the patients. General dentists were more inclined towards advertising as compared to the specialists. However, irrespective of the type of practice/education, all practitioners felt that there was a need for regulating the type of practices used for advertising.