Most dental practices have a consent form — but most weren’t written with marketing in mind. Here’s what your photo and video consent needs to say, and why blacking out a patient’s eyes isn’t enough to skip it altogether.
If your receptionist downloaded your consent form from Google, you need to read this.
Dentists are investing thousands of dollars in photography, video content and social media marketing. Before-and-after galleries, smile transformation reels, patient journey videos — the content is compelling and it works. But there’s a legal layer that’s frequently overlooked: patient consent for how that imagery is actually used.
We sat down with David Chung, founding director of Creo Legal — a boutique commercial law firm specialising in dental and health practices across Australia — to get clear answers on two questions dentists keep asking:
1. What should a consent form for photos and videos actually look like?
2. Do I need consent if the patient isn’t identifiable — say, if their eyes are blacked out?
The answers are more nuanced than most dentists expect.
Why Your Treatment Consent Form Probably Isn’t Enough
Most dental practices already use consent forms for clinical treatments — and some tack a line or two onto the end about photographs. David’s view is that this “add-on” approach can leave practices significantly exposed.
“Photos of faces and smiles, dental imagery, X-rays — they’re all considered health information under the Privacy Act,” he explains. “And health information sits within the category of sensitive information, which carries a higher bar and stricter rules around how it’s collected, used and stored.”
Treating photography consent as an afterthought — a single tick-box at the end of a treatment form — might be technically better than nothing, but it may not be specific enough to protect you, or your patient, when the content goes public.
Key Legal Principle
Dental images are sensitive information under the Privacy Act. That means higher obligations apply — not just to collecting them, but to how you store and use them. A generic marketing consent clause won’t cover specific uses like social media campaigns or before-and-after posts.
What a Proper Consent Form Should Include
David recommends thinking about consent in tiers — different levels of use, each requiring explicit agreement from the patient.
| 1 | Clinical use only Images collected solely for the purpose of providing dental treatment — not shared externally at all. This still requires consent, but it’s the baseline. |
| 2 | Training & academic use Images used for educational purposes, dental training, or publication in academic or professional journals. Requires a separate, specific consent. |
| 3 | Marketing & public-facing use Images used on your website, in blog posts, on social media, in campaigns or reels. This is the tier that most practices underestimate — and it should be the most detailed. |
Within that third tier, David’s advice is to be specific: Will the content go on social media? Your website? Both? If it’s for a particular campaign or video series, include detail about what the video will cover and how it will be presented. The patient should have a genuine understanding of where their image will appear and how it will look.
“Social media arguably has greater reach than a billboard in a metropolitan city. The patient needs to know what’s going to happen — before it happens.”
— David Chung, Creo Legal
A well-structured consent form can be templated so you’re not creating a new document every time — but it should include a section where specific details about the intended use are filled in for each patient or each campaign.
Do You Need Consent If the Patient Isn’t Identifiable?
This is the question that surprises most dentists. The assumption is: if the patient’s eyes are blacked out, or if the image only shows their mouth and teeth, it’s “anonymised” and consent isn’t necessary. That assumption is wrong.
“The short answer is yes — in most cases, you still need consent,” David says. “Even if you de-identify an image and remove the obvious information like name and date of birth, it’s still possible to identify someone.”
Here’s the counterintuitive part: in dental photography, the more distinctive a smile, the more identifiable a patient may be — even from a close-up of their teeth alone. A unique tooth shape, a distinctive chip, a memorable smile pattern — these details can be personally identifying under the Privacy Act.
⚠ Common misconception
Blacking out a patient’s eyes does not automatically de-identify them. If someone has a distinctive facial feature — a prominent tattoo, a very recognisable smile, or any other identifying characteristic — the image may be considered personal information regardless of what’s hidden.
De-identification is still a best practice and is always worth doing. But it’s not a substitute for consent — it’s something you do in addition to obtaining proper consent.
The test isn’t simply “can the average stranger identify this person?” — it’s whether the image constitutes personal information under Australian privacy law. In dental imagery, where the treatment outcome itself is often distinctive, that bar is lower than most people expect.
Process Matters: When Should Consent Be Signed?
Timing is everything. David’s strong recommendation — and common sense — is to have the consent form printed, ready and signed before filming begins. Not after. Not verbally agreed on the day and documented later. Before the camera rolls.
Practically, this protects you from a scenario where you’ve spent a day filming beautiful content, only to have the patient withdraw or limit consent after the fact — leaving you with footage you can’t fully use.
Ideally, send the consent form to the patient ahead of their appointment so they have time to read it thoroughly. They don’t need to sign it until just before filming starts, but having that reading time means they arrive informed, there are fewer surprises, and the relationship is protected.
- Have a printed consent form ready before the patient arrives
- If possible, send the form in advance for the patient to review
- Go through the form with the patient and explain specific uses (social media, website, campaigns)
- Patient signs before filming commences — not after
- Retain a copy of the signed form securely
What About AHPRA’s Advertising Rules?
Privacy law governs how you collect imagery. But once you have it, a second layer of regulation kicks in: AHPRA’s National Law advertising rules, which govern how that imagery can actually be used in your marketing.
These rules exist to protect the public — specifically to prevent dental advertising from encouraging people to use services they don’t need, or creating unrealistic expectations about outcomes.
Key restrictions David flagged for dental marketing:
- No misleading before-and-after images. You cannot edit a “before” photo to make it look worse than it was, or enhance the “after” to look better than the actual result.
- No patient testimonials. AHPRA’s rules prohibit testimonials in health advertising — this includes written reviews, video testimonials, and similar endorsements.
- Qualify expected outcomes. Before-and-after content implies a guaranteed result. You need qualifying language (“results may vary”, or noting that outcomes are subject to a pre-examination) to avoid a claim of misleading advertising.
- AI-manipulated imagery is a growing risk. As image editing tools become more powerful, the risk of inadvertently crossing into misleading advertising increases. Know the rules before you edit.
Should You Get a Lawyer to Draft Your Consent Form?
Template forms downloaded from Google, or generated by AI tools, are better than nothing — but they’re unlikely to be tailored to your specific practice, your state’s requirements, and the particular ways you intend to use your content.
David’s recommendation: if you’re running any kind of defined content campaign — a video series, a social media push, a website overhaul — it’s worth getting proper legal advice to create a consent form that fits what you’re actually doing.
The good news is that it doesn’t need to be an ongoing expense. A properly drafted consent form can become a template you use for all future shoots — with a fillable section for the specific use case of each individual patient or campaign. You only need to get it right once.
“You can create a template with the advice of a lawyer that you can use for almost all purposes — you only really need to get that done once.”
— David Chung, Creo Legal
Quick Reference: Common Questions Answered
Do I need a separate consent form for photos and videos, or can I add it to my treatment consent?
You can include it in your treatment consent, but it must be specific — not a generic one-liner. If you’re using imagery for marketing, website content or social media, those uses need to be explicitly named in the consent. A dedicated photography and videography consent form is best practice, especially for content campaigns.
My patient’s face isn’t in the photo — it’s just their teeth. Do I still need consent?
Yes. Dental imagery — including images of teeth and smiles — can constitute personal information under the Privacy Act, particularly if the patient has distinctive dental characteristics. De-identification is a good idea, but it doesn’t replace consent.
Can I use a patient’s video testimonial in my marketing?
No. AHPRA’s National Law advertising rules prohibit patient testimonials in health advertising. Even with full consent from the patient, testimonial-style content is not permitted for registered health practitioners in Australia.
What’s the right process for getting consent on the day of filming?
Have the form printed and ready before the patient arrives. Ideally, send it in advance. Walk the patient through it, ensure they understand how and where their content will be used, and have them sign before filming begins.
Is it worth getting a lawyer to draft my consent form?
Yes — especially if you’re running a defined content campaign. The investment is a one-time cost that produces a reusable template, and it protects you from far more costly legal issues down the line.
