Facebook ads for dentists and clinics can fill your diary with new patient enquiries, as long as every message respects the rules that apply to healthcare advertising in the UK.
Facebook ads for dentists and aesthetic clinics work well in the UK because people search for a treatment, see an ad and message the practice from their phone. The risk sits elsewhere: a single wrong word in an ad can get it removed, or lead to a complaint.
I run Facebook and Instagram campaigns for dentists, aesthetic clinics and trichology practices. Here is how I approach them, and which rules I check before an ad goes live.
Aesthetic clinics cannot advertise prescription-only treatments such as botulinum toxin to the public, hashtags included.
Dental practices must keep claims accurate and avoid raising unjustified expectations of results.
The ad that works invites people to a consultation or check-up, and I build campaigns around that.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) publish detailed advice for cosmetic treatments. Their guidance on botulinum toxin products, updated in October 2025, is clear on several points.
No advertising of prescription-only medicines to the public. Botox and other botulinum toxin products are prescription-only medicines, and the ASA treats almost every reference to them in an ad as a breach of rule 12.12. References on social media pages, hashtags included, are likely to be seen as an implied ad.
No health professionals or celebrities endorsing the product. Rule 12.18 prohibits using them to endorse a prescription-only medicine.
No before and after photographs for these treatments. The ASA is likely to read them as an efficacy claim.
Promote the consultation. Clinics may talk about a consultation for the treatment of lines and wrinkles, without naming the product in the ad. Sponsored ads, homepages, logos and testimonials should not refer to the prescription-only product at all.
For this reason, my ads for aesthetic clinics focus on the consultation, the clinic and the team, and I check every word before launch.
The General Dental Council’s guidance on advertising asks for information that is accurate and not misleading. It also asks dentists to back up claims with facts and avoid statements that create an unjustified expectation about results.
The same guidance says that if you promote services on social media sites such as Instagram, you must make clear that the treatment may not be appropriate for every patient and depends on a satisfactory assessment. Ads should also say whether the practice is NHS, mixed or wholly private.
In practice, I write dental ads that invite people to a first visit, describe the service honestly and leave out promises about outcomes.
I am a Facebook ads specialist, so I cannot give legal advice. I work from the published guidance, and your practice remains responsible for its advertising, so it is wise to have your compliance lead or clinical director approve the final ads.
A clear offer. A first consultation, a check-up or a treatment assessment gives people an easy first step.
Fast contact. Enquiries can arrive through a lead form, a landing page or WhatsApp, and I set up the route that your reception can answer quickly.
Honest creative. Photos and videos of your real team and clinic, with copy that follows the guidance above. I also avoid hooks about body image and personal attributes, which Meta restricts.
Tracking. I track enquiries and booked appointments, so we can see the cost of each new patient.
Monthly reports. You see what each enquiry costs and what we change next.
In campaigns I ran for dental practices in Italy, a budget of about £510 to £680 a month brought 8 to 10 new patients a month, with a cost per patient of roughly £68 to £100. Figures are converted from euros at about €1 = £0.85, and they come from another market, so your own results will depend on your area and offer.
You can read more on the service page and see what to budget in my guide to Facebook ads cost in the UK.
I work remotely with clinics across the UK, and I am regularly in Marylebone, Central London. If you prefer to meet before starting, we can talk through your numbers over a coffee. My fee starts from £600 a month, with no contract ties and no cancellation penalties.
No. The ASA treats botulinum toxin as a prescription-only medicine that cannot be advertised to the public, and that includes social media posts and hashtags. A clinic can promote a consultation without naming the product.
The GDC asks for accurate, non-misleading advertising that avoids unjustified expectations of results, and the ASA treats before and after images as claims that need evidence. Check each case with your compliance lead before using them.
No one can guarantee the number of patients. My money-back guarantee is that if you do not get more customers than you did with your previous agency, I refund you.
My fee starts from £600 a month, with graphics, scripts and editing included. The ad budget is paid separately to Meta.
Tell me about your practice on WhatsApp. I reply personally, and we decide together whether it makes sense to work together.
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