Dental-Office Texts: Appointment Reminders or Promotions?

Sort the message before choosing a rule

Use three folders for your own review: appointment or treatment information, promotions, and billing. A fictional “Your scheduled cleaning is tomorrow” reminder differs from “Buy a whitening package this week.” A combined reminder and offer needs the entire text preserved, not just its informational opening.

The FCC defines telemarketing by the purpose of encouraging a purchase, rental or investment in goods or services. That definition is a starting point; healthcare-specific provisions can change the consent analysis when their requirements are met.

Source basis: 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200

Two healthcare provisions that should not be confused

Section 64.1200(a)(2) addresses a health-care message made by or on behalf of a HIPAA covered entity or business associate as an exception to the written-consent requirement. That is not the same as eliminating the general consent question.

A separate cellular-message exemption in §64.1200(a)(9)(iv) has many conditions. It covers listed purposes such as appointment reminders, requires the patient-provided number and provider identification, and excludes advertising, solicitation, telemarketing and financial content. Messages must be free to the recipient and not count against plan limits; length, frequency, privacy and opt-out conditions also apply.

Under that exemption, messages are generally limited to one per day and three combined calls/texts per week for each patient. Texts must explain the STOP option, and the provider must honor opt-outs immediately. Those conditions belong to this particular exemption; they are not universal rules for every dental text. A bill does not qualify for this narrow exemption merely because a dentist sent it.

Source basis: 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200 · 879 F.3d 52 (2d Cir. 2018), amended Jan. 9, 2018

Being a patient is not the entire record

HHS lists dentists among providers that may be covered entities, but provider coverage depends on transmitting information electronically in connection with an HHS-standard transaction. The fact that a business uses texts is not itself that test.

In Latner v. Mount Sinai, the Second Circuit examined the supplied phone number, consent form and privacy notices before finding that a single flu-shot reminder fell within the patient’s consent. The court said the lower court’s healthcare-exception analysis was incomplete without considering consent. This is a fact-specific Second Circuit decision, not permission for all dental marketing.

Source basis: HHS HIPAA guidance · 879 F.3d 52 (2d Cir. 2018), amended Jan. 9, 2018

A practical dental-text checklist

Keep a copy of the appointment record and the form or disclosure in effect when you supplied the number. Write down what each message asks you to do, any price or package offer, and whether it comes from the office or a differently named sender. Preserve the complete opt-out exchange.

Do not put treatment details or another patient’s information into public screenshots. These are suggested recordkeeping steps, not a request to send this publication medical information. Use the related STOP and preservation guides for next steps.

A current-law timing note

On October 1, 2026, the FCC released FCC 26-67 changing parts of its consent-revocation rules. The order says the amendments take effect thirty days after Federal Register publication. They are not treated as effective on this article’s October 4 review date. Use the linked STOP guide for the general framework, and check the rule effective on the date of the message rather than assuming the new order applied when adopted.

Source basis: FCC 26-67, released Oct. 1, 2026