01The rule that shapes every sentence: do not talk about the viewer's health
Meta's ad standards say that ads must not contain content that asserts or implies personal attributes, and the list includes physical or mental health, including medical conditions. The additional guidelines name implying knowledge of a user's medical information, and the page's own prohibited example is the question 'Do you have diabetes?'. For a dental practice the lesson is to write about the service, not about the person looking at it. An ad that opens with 'Bleeding gums?' or 'Embarrassed by your teeth?' speaks to the viewer's condition. An ad that opens with what an implant consultation covers speaks about your work. Those two openings are our reading of the rule, not Meta's examples. We have not tested which sentences Meta approves, and its review decides, so take this as a direction and not a guarantee.
- Meta: ads must not assert or imply a person's physical or mental health, including medical conditions
- Meta's own prohibited example: 'Do you have diabetes?'
- Write about the treatment and the practice, as a plain description of the service, not about the mouth of the person looking
- We have not tested wording against Meta's review, which decides and can still refuse an ad
02Cosmetic dentistry and Meta's health and wellness policy
Meta's health and wellness policy limits ads for cosmetic products, procedures and surgeries to people aged 18 or older. Its list of procedures names breast, facial, skin and hair treatments, and we found no dental treatment on it. The only dental line is an exemption from the age limit for dental products, such as teeth whitening products. Whether Meta treats a veneer or an aligner treatment as a cosmetic procedure is Meta's call at review, so target adults anyway. The same page lets general cosmetic procedures show a before and after transformation when aimed at people 18 or older. It bars statements of inferiority about physical appearance, and health-context clickbait such as promises of specific outcomes within a set timeframe without disclaimers or qualifiers. Whether a before and after image fits the Romanian dental college's advertising guide is a separate question, and our dental marketing post says to check the current guide before anything runs. We read Meta's page on 12 October 2026. Meta changes these pages, so read it again before you spend.
- Cosmetic procedures: ads go to people 18 or older
- Meta's procedure list names breast, facial, skin and hair work; we found no dental treatment on it, so Meta decides at review
- Dental products such as teeth whitening products are exempt from the age limit; dental procedures are not named
- No statements of inferiority about appearance, and no promised result within a set time without qualifiers
- Before and after is allowed by Meta for general cosmetic procedures aimed at adults; the dental college's guide and the dentist decide
03Lead forms and the booking page: ask for a slot, not a diagnosis
Meta's ad standards say lead ads must not request health information, including physical health, mental health, medical treatments, medical conditions or disabilities, without Meta's prior permission. A form that asks 'Which treatment do you need?' or 'Describe your problem' asks for exactly that, in our reading. The cleaner route is to send the click to your own booking page and ask for a name, a phone number and a preferred time. Your page is still bound by the GDPR, where data concerning health is prohibited unless an exception applies (Article 9(1)), so it should not collect symptoms either. Then reception does what a form cannot: it calls back, listens and books.
- Lead ads: Meta bars requests for health information, medical treatments and conditions without its prior permission
- A treatment dropdown or a describe-your-problem box counts, in our reading
- Ask for name, phone and preferred time; leave symptoms for the consultation
- The same limit applies on your own page under GDPR Article 9(1)
04Targeting: place and age, not health interests
Meta announced on 9 November 2021 that from 19 January 2022 it would remove Detailed Targeting options that relate to topics people may perceive as sensitive, including causes, organizations or public figures that relate to health. We have not confirmed what the current targeting menu offers, because that lives in Ads Manager and not on a page we could open, so check it there. A dental practice does not need health interests anyway. Its audience is defined by where people live and how old they are: a radius around the practice, as far as a patient will realistically travel, and adults for cosmetic work. Treatments people weigh for months, such as straightening, suit a feed ad. An urgent toothache suits search, which we cover in our Meta or Google post. Measure the booking requests that reach reception, not the clicks.
- Meta removed Detailed Targeting options about sensitive topics, including health causes, from 19 January 2022 (its announcement of 9 November 2021)
- We have not confirmed today's menu: check Ads Manager
- Define the audience by place and age: a radius around the practice, adults for cosmetic work
- Count booking requests that reach reception, not clicks
05Tracking and consent: what must not go to Meta
Conversion tracking is part of any ad plan, and Meta's Business Tools Terms (effective 3 November 2025) are specific. Section 1.h says you must not send data that includes health information, financial information or other sensitive categories, and that custom audience names and criteria must not reflect, imply or be based on them. Section 3.d requires verifiable consent before you use Meta's tools in jurisdictions that require it for cookies, such as the European Union. For a dental practice, as we read 1.h, the event on the thank-you page should say that a request was made and nothing about the treatment, and the treatment name should stay out of page addresses and event parameters that get sent. Do not upload a patient list as a custom audience, and ask your data protection adviser before retargeting people who viewed a treatment page. Meta also has a help page on sensitive health information in Business Tools data. It would not load for us, so we rely on the terms alone.
- Business Tools Terms, section 1.h: no health or other sensitive information sent through Meta's tools
- Custom audience names and criteria must not reflect, imply or be based on those categories
- Section 3.d: verifiable consent before you use the tools where cookie consent is required, such as the EU
- No patient list as a custom audience; ask your adviser before retargeting treatment-page visitors
06Where PROOF48 is the wrong choice for a dental practice
Our marketing page lists industries with strict advertising regulations, such as medical claims, as not a good fit, and a dental practice sits close to that line. None of our eight written-up builds is a dental practice, and we publish no dental ad results. Meta ad management is in GROWTH only, at 1,497 EUR a month plus ad spend billed separately: ten new creatives a month built from photos you supply, audience research and retargeting, conversion tracking (Pixel, CAPI, GA4), a weekly dashboard and a monthly call, plus everything in BROADCAST. That is too much for one treatment campaign, which a practice manager can test alone in Ads Manager. The AI avatar videos in BROADCAST should not stand in for your clinicians in an ad. A dentist has to approve every sentence, and we do not claim the plan's retargeting is cleared for a dental site. We promise no number of patients.
- Our marketing page: strictly regulated advertising, such as medical claims, is not a good fit
- Ad management is in GROWTH only: 1,497 EUR a month plus ad spend
- One treatment campaign: test it yourself in Ads Manager
- No promise of patients, and no dental ad results published
Not a dental practice: consent wired in before any tag fires
None of our eight written-up builds is a dental practice. The nearest lesson comes from SunVolt Club, the membership platform of a solar energy company, which sells a 99 EUR annual membership in Romanian and English and has cookie consent wired into analytics before any tag fires. Meta's terms ask for verifiable consent before its tools run in the EU. This build is not a Meta ads case; it only shows consent wired ahead of analytics tags. We do not publish SunVolt's member count or revenue, and we have no dental ad results to quote.
See the build: SunVolt ClubQuestions, answered
Can a dentist run before and after photos on Facebook?
Meta's health and wellness page allows general cosmetic procedures to show a before and after transformation when aimed at people 18 or older. Whether the Romanian dental college's advertising guide allows it is a separate question, so check the current guide before anything runs. Meta's review has the final say on each ad.
Can I use a Facebook lead form to collect appointment requests?
Meta bars lead ads from requesting health information, including medical treatments and conditions, without its prior permission. A form asking for a name, a phone number and a preferred time asks for none of that, in our reading. A treatment dropdown does.
How much should I spend on Facebook ads for my practice?
We give no figure. It depends on your market and on what a new patient is worth to you. Start with one treatment, count the booking requests that reach reception, and raise the spend only when the count justifies it.
Can PROOF48 run my practice's Facebook ads?
Only inside GROWTH, 1,497 EUR a month plus ad spend, which manages Meta and Google ads together. Our marketing page lists strictly regulated advertising, such as medical claims, as a poor fit, so we would rather tell you in the first reply if it does not suit. We promise no number of patients.
Where PROOF48 fits
Facebook ads for a dental practice stay inside Meta's rules when each ad describes one treatment, speaks about the practice and never about the viewer's health, targets adults near the practice, asks for a booking request and not symptoms, and sends no health data to Meta. PROOF48's GROWTH plan manages Meta ads at 1,497 EUR a month plus ad spend, and we say plainly that strictly regulated advertising is a poor fit.
Cosmin Tiu · Founder, PROOF48
Cosmin has worked in online marketing and software development since 2018, and has built with AI every day since January 2023. He still writes code from scratch daily, in Python, React, Rust and C#. PROOF48 ships business websites in 48 hours and invoices afterwards, so every opinion on this blog was paid for in real builds, not in theory.