Advertising, Fees, and Business Practice Restrictions
Advertising rules
Advertising must be truthful and not misleading. Prohibited practices include false claims of specialty, guarantees of results, and misleading statements about credentials. A dentist may advertise as a specialist only if board-recognized as such. Traps include questions about superlatives ('best dentist') and about advertising discounted services without disclosing conditions.
Fees and billing
Fee splitting with non-dentists for patient referrals is generally prohibited. Billing for services not rendered, upcoding, and improper waiver of copayments are disciplinary matters. Questions often test whether a discount is permissible (yes, if disclosed and not fraudulent) versus kickbacks (no).
Business structure
Arkansas restricts corporate practice of dentistry - a non-dentist may not control clinical decisions. Management service organizations may provide administrative services but not clinical control. Watch for questions where a lay owner sets production quotas that override clinical judgment; that is a corporate-practice problem.
Worked example
A practice advertises 'free whitening with any cleaning' but charges a hidden fee. That is misleading advertising and a fee-disclosure violation. Rule of thumb: if a reasonable patient would feel deceived after reading the ad, it is a problem.
Trap patterns
Questions often blur 'specialist' with 'experienced in,' or present a lay-owned practice as fine because a dentist is employed there.