What do we know from consumers about dental advertising? A scoping study

Background: Until the late 1970s, dental advertising was prohibited virtually worldwide. After the restrictions had to be lifted in the USA in 1979, a worldwide deregulation process began to unfold. Much has been written about dental advertising thus far, including both whether it should be allowed and how best to advertise dental services. This study aims to broaden the understanding of this controversial topic by focusing on the most important party involved, the consumer. Methods: This literature review uses the methodological framework of a scoping study which comprises five consecutive steps: (1) formulating the research question, (2) identifying the relevant studies, (3) selecting the relevant studies, (4) charting the data, and (5) collating, summarizing and reporting the results. Results: In total, 58 articles are included in this study which follows the question: what do we know from consumers about dental advertising? Most of the articles originate from the USA and they span more than four decades. Five topics emerged: (1) the attitudes of consumers toward dental advertising, (2) the information sources that consumers use to find a new dentist, (3) the choice criteria that consumers use to select a new dentist, (4) the segmentation of consumers, and (5) advertising experiments. Conclusion: In countries where dental advertising is legal, consumers do not seem to have an issue with this marketing tool. Complementing the predominant personal recommendations, advertising has become a considerable information source for consumers searching for a new dentist. However, advertising appears to be unable to attract non-consumers into the dental market or to redistribute existing patients on a large scale. Consumers view the dental service quality and the professional and personal skills of the dentist as the most important choice criteria. In addition to business cards, brochures, and practice signs, websites and newspapers appear to be the most appropriate advertising media. Especially new residents and the young working class can be effectively targeted by dental advertising. For future research, a standardization of research instruments is necessary and more realistic experiments should be conducted.