The Daily Telegraph advert encourages patients to complain directly to the GDC’s (General Dental Council's) Dental Complaints Service (DCS) if they are not completely satisfied with their private dental care.
The BDA (British Dental Association) believes the dental regulator has a duty to promote its services in a responsible manner.
In the BDA’s view, the ad falls foul of the GDC’s own advertising guidance and risks misleading patients into believing that any complaint will be handled directly by the DCS.
Specifically, Dr Armstrong asks Mr Moyes what the GDC chair would describe as a successful outcome from taking out such an advert, whether similar ads are in the pipeline and how much has been set aside for this campaign.
Commenting on the advert, Dr Armstrong said: 'The provocative advert that appeared in the Daily Telegraph is yet another slap in the face for UK dentists.
'It demonstrates a lack of intention to properly engage with the profession and signals distrust and hostility.
'Having saddled the profession with potentially a huge financial burden – by asking dentists to pay up to 64% in the annual retention fee from January – to fund the GDC’s operations, it is once again showing its lack of judgement in how it spends our money.
'The GDC can’t properly deal with the workload it has.
'To expend resources on costly self-justifying publicity stunts is an absolute disgrace.
'How can the GDC chair possibly believe that this antagonistic approach is in the best interest of the profession, patients and the GDC?'
