The short answer
Google and Meta both treat health-related advertising as a sensitive area. On Google, campaigns for health services such as surgical or injected treatments cannot use audiences you build, like remarketing lists or uploaded customer lists, but keywords, location and Google's own audiences still work. On Meta, ads cannot suggest anything about the reader's health, cosmetic procedure ads must target adults, and audiences or conversions that hint at a health condition get flagged. Build campaigns around searches, places and plain service descriptions, name your conversions neutrally, and check each campaign's policy status.
Why health ads follow different rules
Ad platforms limit how health topics are targeted because an ad can reveal something private just by who it reaches. Google lists health as a sensitive interest category in its personalized advertising policy. Its health page covers physical and mental health conditions, treatments for long-term conditions, and invasive procedures, naming cosmetic surgery, surgical procedures and injections. Meta's advertising standards say ads must not assert or imply a person's physical or mental health, and Meta limits what health-related websites can send it through its business tools.
Neither platform publishes a list of dental services. A campaign for checkups or whitening reads very differently from one for implant surgery or injectables, so the treatment you promote decides how much these rules affect you. Platforms make the final call, which is why it pays to set up campaigns so each one is easy to review.
This guide covers the platforms' published advertising policies only. It is not legal advice; for questions about privacy law and your own obligations, talk with your attorney.
What the platforms do not allow
Google Ads, for promotions in a sensitive category such as health:
- •No advertiser-curated audiences. That rules out Customer Match (uploaded customer lists), your data segments (the current name for remarketing lists), audience expansion and lookalike segments.
- •No personal information in tags or feeds. For any advertiser, Google bars sending names, emails or phone numbers through data segment tags.
- •No very narrow segments. Combining a list with tight geography or other filters so the ad reaches only a handful of people is not allowed.
Meta (Facebook and Instagram):
- •No copy that implies the reader's health. Questions or statements that suggest the person seeing the ad has a condition are rejected.
- •No health questions in lead forms without Meta's prior permission.
- •No audiences or custom conversions that point to a condition. Meta says these are flagged and cannot be used for campaigns.
- •Cosmetic procedures go to adults only. Ads for procedures such as injectables must target people 18 or older, and they cannot attack someone's appearance or hygiene.
Targeting that still works
The restrictions are narrower than they first sound. They limit audiences you assemble, not the ability to advertise a treatment. These options remain open:
- •Search keywords. A keyword is not an audience list. Someone searching for an implant dentist nearby has already said what they want, and your ad answers that search.
- •Location. A radius or set of ZIP codes around your office that matches how far patients really travel works on both platforms.
- •Google's own audiences. Google says in-market, affinity, life event and demographic segments stay available, because it builds them without sensitive signals.
- •Broad audiences on Meta. Pair location and age settings with creative that clearly says what you offer, and let the ad find interested people.
Our suggestion
Split campaigns by service: one for general and family care, one for cosmetic work, one for implants or other surgical treatment. Each campaign then has one clear answer to the policy question, and a flag on one does not slow the others. We also suggest keeping patient lists out of ad platforms altogether.
Writing Facebook and Instagram ads
Meta's rule is about the reader, not the topic. You can name the treatment; you cannot tell the viewer they need it. Meta's own examples allow wording like a counseling service or a new treatment being available, and reject a question asking whether the reader has a condition.
- •Describe the service: "Dental implant consultations in Midtown, same-week openings" works. "Missing teeth? We can fix that" implies the reader's condition.
- •Talk about the visit, not the problem: evening hours, a calm first appointment, financing options, who will see them.
- •Skip appearance put-downs: lines about stained or crooked teeth being embarrassing fall under Meta's ban on statements of inferiority for cosmetic ads.
- •Before and after images: Meta allows them for cosmetic procedures when the ad targets adults. Use real photos of your own work, only with the patient's written permission, and do not promise results by a set date.
- •Keep lead forms short: name, contact details and a preferred time. Leave health questions for the appointment.
If an ad is rejected anyway, see why Facebook ads are not getting approved for how to find the reason and request a review.
Setting up Google Ads campaigns
- •Lead with Search. Build ad groups around the services patients search for, with location targeting that matches your drive-time area.
- •Check campaign types. Google notes that Demand Gen campaigns use advertiser-curated audiences by default, so they may be limited when they promote a sensitive health service.
- •Watch policy status. Review the status column for ads and assets after launch and after edits.
- •If a campaign is flagged, Google offers three routes: remove the curated audiences, change the ad or landing page content, or appeal if you think the decision is wrong.
For account structure, keywords and bidding, see our Google Ads best practices for dental practices.
Measuring results with less detail
You still need to know which ads bring booked visits. The aim is to measure actions, not to describe treatments to the platform.
- •Name conversions neutrally: "Booking request" or "Phone call" rather than a treatment or condition name. Meta says custom conversions that suggest a health condition are flagged and stop receiving data.
- •Use one general thank-you page after forms, instead of a separate confirmation URL for each treatment.
- •Track calls and form submissions as the main actions, and keep tags off patient portals and account pages.
- •Expect thinner reports on Meta. Meta can limit the events and URL details it accepts from health-related sites, so compare monthly booked appointments in your practice records with campaign totals rather than chasing per-click detail.
Our guide to setting up conversion tracking on a practice website walks through calls, forms and campaign tags.
Keep a simple campaign record
A short shared document saves time when an ad is flagged or someone new takes over the account:
- •Which service each campaign promotes, and its targeting: keywords, locations, ages and audiences.
- •Conversion names and the pages or call numbers they track.
- •Rejections, what you changed and any review requests, with dates.
- •A date to reread the Google and Meta policy pages below, since both change.
If you would like help planning campaigns around these rules, see our paid advertising service.
Sources
Platform policies change, so check them for current details before you launch.
- •Google Advertising Policies Help: Restricted targeting in personalized advertising
- •Google Advertising Policies Help: Health in personalized advertising
- •Meta Transparency Center: Privacy Violations and Personal Attributes
- •Meta Transparency Center: Health and Wellness ad standards
- •Meta Transparency Center: Introduction to the Advertising Standards
- •Meta Business Help Center: Restrictions on certain custom conversions
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a dental practice use remarketing on Google Ads?
It depends on what the campaign promotes. Google treats health as a sensitive interest category, including invasive procedures such as surgery and injections, and campaigns in that category cannot use advertiser-curated audiences like your data segments or Customer Match. Google does not list dental services by name, so check the policy status of each campaign in your account.
Should I upload my patient list to Facebook or Google for targeting?
We advise against it. Google does not allow Customer Match for promotions in sensitive health categories, and Meta flags custom audiences that suggest health conditions. Location, keywords and broad audiences reach new patients without any patient data. For questions about privacy law, ask your own attorney.
What wording gets dental ads rejected on Facebook and Instagram?
Copy that asserts or implies something about the reader's health, such as a question asking whether they have gum disease or missing teeth. Meta's personal attributes standard asks ads to describe the service instead, for example a line about implant consultations at your office.
Can I run before and after photos in Meta ads?
Meta allows before and after images for cosmetic procedures when the ad is targeted to people 18 or older, and it bars copy that attacks someone's appearance or hygiene. Use only real photos of your own work with the patient's written permission, and avoid promising a result by a set date.
Is Google Search or Meta easier for health-related practice ads?
Search is usually simpler, because keyword ads match what someone typed rather than an audience you built, so the audience restrictions matter less. Meta depends more on clear, policy-safe creative, location and age settings, and broad audiences.