Mixed Perspectives and Virtual Reality

Once upon a time, long, long ago, patients formed judgements about dentists after meeting them and, in most cases, after receiving treatment from them. Advertising was not permitted by the General Dental Council (GDC) in those days, the signage outside dental practices was strictly limited in scale, size (and even the size of any lettering) and the choice of wording of anything resembling patient information or promotional material was very tightly controlled and policed. The GDC's guidance in those days (the equivalent of Standards for the Dental Team¹ today) warned against making claims that were ‘grandiose or flamboyant’, exaggerated or ‘not capable of substantiation’.

Those ancient readers who are still able to explain what a ‘telephone directory’ was, may also remember that dentists were permitted only standard entries with no bold text or highlighting, and certainly no ‘feature’ advertisements in panels alongside the main directory. After all, it was essential to avoid the cardinal sin of drawing attention to yourself in any way. In fact, this dystopian vision describes the status quo barely 20 years ago.