PECR and dental practice marketing: emailing and texting patients
Last reviewed against the regulators’ own text, linked in the sources below.
This is general information, not legal advice.
PECR, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, decides whether a dental practice can email or text a patient. The short version: a neutral appointment reminder is a service message and PECR's marketing rules do not bite, but anything promoting a treatment is marketing and needs either the patient's consent or the "soft opt-in". The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data protection regulator, enforces it.
The line between recall and marketing below comes from the ICO's own guidance. The other rulebooks that apply to your marketing are on the hub, Dental advertising rules in the UK: every rulebook in one place. This is general information, not legal advice.
Service or marketing?
PECR defines direct marketing as "the communication (by whatever means) of advertising or marketing material which is directed to particular individuals".2 A service message is the opposite: administrative information the patient needs as part of their relationship with you. The ICO lists messages that "confirm or remind them about appointments" as service messages.2
The test is content and tone. The ICO says a message with "a neutral tone" that gives information people need "is more likely to be a service message".2 Add a promotion and the whole message becomes marketing.
| Message | Service or marketing? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "Your appointment is on Tuesday at 10am. Reply C to confirm." | Service | Confirms an appointment2 |
| "Your check-up is due. Call us to book." | Likely service, in my reading | Neutral reminder of care already in the relationship |
| "Your check-up is due. Book now and get 20% off whitening." | Marketing | The whitening offer is promotional2 |
| "New: Invisalign now available at the practice." | Marketing | Promotes a treatment |
| "We have changed our opening hours." | Service | Operational information |
| Monthly newsletter with treatment features | Marketing | Promotional content |
The recall line is my reading of the ICO's appointment example, not a named ruling on dental recalls. Keep recall messages plain and you stay on the safe side of it.
Consent
For electronic mail marketing to individuals, the ICO's rule is that you must not send it unless "they have specifically consented" or the soft opt-in applies.1 Electronic mail includes email and text messages; PECR's definition covers messages "sent using a short message service".1
Consent has to meet the UK GDPR standard. The ICO says you must not use "pre-ticked opt-in boxes, silence or inactivity" as consent.3 In a practice, that means:
- An unticked box on the new patient form, separate from the treatment consent.
- Wording that names the channels (email, text) and what the messages will be about.
- A record of when and how each patient consented.
- No making marketing consent a condition of joining the practice.
Soft opt-in
The soft opt-in lets you market your own similar services by email or text without consent, but only when every condition is met.3
| Condition | What it means for a practice |
|---|---|
| You collected the contact details yourself | Bought or shared lists never qualify3 |
| During a sale or negotiations for a sale | A patient enquiry counts: the ICO includes "asking for more details about what you offer"3 |
| You only market your own similar services | Dental treatments you provide, not a partner's products |
| You gave a simple opt-out when collecting the details | A clear box on the form, not buried in a privacy notice3 |
| You give an opt-out in every message | Every email and every text3 |
The soft opt-in is the route most practices can rely on for existing private patients and people who have enquired. Whether it applies to NHS-only patients depends on whether a "sale or negotiations for a sale" took place, which the ICO's guidance does not address for dentistry. I treat that as unverified and use consent for those patients.
Following up enquirers who went quiet is where this matters most. The page on following up patients who aren't ready yet covers the process; this page covers the permission behind it.
Opt-outs
The ICO says people "can withdraw their consent whenever they want", and you must stop.3 Separately, people have an "absolute right to object" to direct marketing under data protection law.3
- Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link that works without logging in.
- Every marketing text says how to opt out, for example "Text STOP to...", free apart from the cost of sending.3
- Opt-outs go on a suppression list that the practice management system (PMS), email tool and text tool all respect.
- An email unsubscribe stops email marketing; texts can continue only if the wording made that clear and the patient has not opted out of texts.3
- Service messages continue after an opt-out, as long as they stay free of promotion.
That last point is why the service-versus-marketing line matters. A patient who unsubscribes still needs their appointment reminders. Mix a promotion into those reminders and you lose the ability to send them.
The same rules govern how a practice stays in touch with people who enquired but didn't book, covered in following up patients who aren't ready yet. For a free first look at your sign-up forms and privacy notice, email Fayez@imfayez.com.
Sources
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Information Commissioner's Office, "Electronic mail marketing", Guide to PECR. https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guide-to-pecr/electronic-and-telephone-marketing/electronic-mail-marketing/ (accessed 1 October 2026). ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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Information Commissioner's Office, "Identify direct marketing", direct marketing guidance, last updated 20 August 2025. https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/direct-marketing-guidance/identify-direct-marketing/ (accessed 1 October 2026). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5
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Information Commissioner's Office, "How do we comply with the PECR electronic mail marketing rules?", guidance on direct marketing using electronic mail. https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/guidance-on-direct-marketing-using-electronic-mail/how-do-we-comply-with-the-pecr-electronic-mail-marketing-rules/ (accessed 1 October 2026). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10