Think about your online interactions

Your professional, ethical and legal obligations extend beyond your clinic or office. Inappropriate professional and personal online activity, whether you are using your title or not, could cause harm to patients and reflect poorly on the profession.

The infographic and examples below will help you navigate online interactions and avoid inappropriate conduct. These resources offer practical tips to consider before posting online and cover essential guidelines for maintaining professional boundaries with patients, discussing dentistry online, protecting patient privacy and engaging in online marketing and advertising.

They complement our existing Professional Use of Social Media practice advisory, which outlines key practice parameters and standards for all Ontario dentists to consider.

Click on the image to download the infographic.

Examples of inappropriate online behaviours

Boundaries

A dentist adds a patient on social media. The dentist and the patient communicate regularly over this platform regarding dental as well as personal topics.

Key takeaways: Even the most casual social relationship with a patient may result in forms of affectionate behaviour that would fall under the Regulated Health Professions Act definition of sexual abuse. Dentists are not permitted to engage in romantic or sexual relationships with their patients.

Frequently, the starting point for this type of relationship is increased familiarity with a patient. This may include the dentist inappropriately disclosing personal information, questioning a patient about highly personal information not relevant to the clinical situation, or communicating with a patient over social media.

For further guidance, refer to the Virtual care standard of practice (under the Protecting Privacy and Confidentiality section).

Discussing dentistry

A dentist posts non-evidence-based medical information related to vitamins on an online platform. In their profile, they identify as a “dentist registered in Ontario”.

Key takeaways: Sharing non-evidence-based medical information can pose public health risks. When a dentist identifies themselves as a professional, the public may give their posts more credibility, increasing the potential for misinformation and harm. Dentists should be mindful of the impact their words and actions may have.

For further guidance, refer to the Professional Misconduct Regulations, s. 2(13).

Patient Privacy

A patient leaves a negative online review about an extraction performed by a dentist. The dentist responds to the review by sharing photos of the patient’s mouth to show that the treatment was a filling and not an extraction.

The dentist shared the patient’s photos online as they consented for their photos to be used on the dentist’s website.

Key takeaways: While the patient did consent to the use of their photos, they did not give consent to have other aspects of their treatment divulged or their photos shared on an online platform other than the dentist’s website.

Dentists must ensure all aspects of the consent process regarding the scope and context of image usage are fully understood by the patient and meet ethical and professional standards.

For further guidance, refer to our article: Advice on the use of patient images.

Online marketing and advertising

A dentist runs a social media account where they endorse dental products, receiving commissions from the companies they endorse. The dentist does not disclose this financial relationship on their account.

Key takeaways: While dentists can have social media accounts and earn commissions, they must maintain transparency and uphold professional integrity.

Dentists must be very careful to ensure that (a) any interest in providing the services giving rise to the conflict is disclosed, (b) any treatment using the product meets the standards of practice of the profession, and (c) all content shared online adheres to professional standards.

For further guidance, read the College’s Conflict of interest guideline and refer to the Professional Misconduct Regulations, s. 5(3).

For more information on how to stay safe on social media and online privacy, visit the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada website.

Questions?

Contact our Practice Advisory Service at practiceadvisory@rcdso.org.