UPDATED APRIL 2020
At Ask the Dentist, LLC, our mission is to provide the highest quality, evidence-based information on dental health, sleep, and the mouth-body connection. We commit ourselves to providing easy-to-understand, well-researched, actionable content to guide you and your family to the best possible dental health.
Each article on Ask the Dentist is read and/or reviewed by a qualified dental or other health professional using stringent medical and editorial guidelines to ensure accuracy and clarity to the best of our ability.
One method by which Ask the Dentist is funded is via advertising on our website, social media account, newsletter, and partner editorial content. While these funds allow us to operate, we do not allow it to compromise our commitment to editorial excellence. Our sponsors are not permitted to directly influence our content, including but not limited to opinions about particular products, addition or subtraction of relevant scientific data, or suggestions to improve any particular area of health.
Occasionally, we publish content that was sponsored by a partner. This content is always clearly labeled as partner content and made clear that the partner took a hand in creating it. We detail more of this in section X below.
We follow the standards listed below for each type of advertising used on AsktheDentist.com.
1. Ask the Dentist, LLC reviews and has sole discretion over all advertising content.
Ask the Dentist, LLC maintains sole discretion as to what types and specific ads appear on our website and related media. If we choose to reject, cancel, or remove any ad, we will notify the advertiser as to our decision and the reason for it. We reserve the right to choose where and how ads are placed on our website.
2. No advertisements that appear on AsktheDentist.com are endorsements.
One of the ways we respond to reader intent is by reviewing certain products and recommending the ones that pass our rigorous testing guidelines. However, these suggestions and reviews do not constitute product endorsements of the products or services offered, or for the company that creates, distributes, or markets these products or services. Reviews by the Ask the Dentist, LLC editorial team may include rankings or ratings of certain products or services but these are created solely based on the discretion of the editorial team and have no regard to financial or advertising relationships between Ask the Dentist and the companies which provide these products or services.
In short: We may recommend products or services that we deem worthy of investment. Our recommendations are in no way influenced by any partnership we have with the companies that make or sell these products or services.
3. There are certain ads we do not accept.
Ads in poor taste, containing factually inaccurate or misleading statements/suggestions, or ads that we deem for any reason to be of low quality will not be accepted. Pharmaceutical advertising is only permitted for products indicated for specific use cases by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All products advertised should be simple and ready to purchase.
We will not accept/permit ads for any services or products that are harmful, illegal, or objectionable. No deceptive, fraudulent, or offensive ad content is permitted. This includes content which may misrepresent, mock, or in any way attack individuals or groups on the basis of age, color, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or disability.
No ads will be permitted related to alcohol, ammunition/firearms, fireworks, gambling, pornography, tobacco, extraordinary, unlikely, or extraordinary product/service claims (“miracle” cures, shocking claims of benefits, or other curative benefits that are not indicated by the FDA), strobing/flashing media or messages, or simulated news/emergency alerts. We do not allow ads that are intended to attract children under the age of 13 or any messages or media referencing or advertising video games or content rated “M”.
Each ad we accept clearly identifies its advertiser.
Any ads that may be confused with our free editorial content will be clearly labeled and we will make every effort to clearly separate editorial content from paid advertising. We do not allow ads that deceptively imitate a function of computer or mobile device or in any way would influence the average user to believe there is any necessary reason to click the ad.
4. We make it easy to see what’s an ad and what’s not.
All advertising content is labeled. At the bottom of each ad, there is a “report this ad” option that identifies that content as an ad.
All affiliate product recommendations include a disclosure so that you can easily recognize links to products/companies/services with which we have an affiliate partnership. It looks like this:
5. All sponsored/branded content is clearly labeled and rigorously created.
From time to time, Ask the Dentist partners via sponsorships with companies offering products or services relevant to our audience. Ask the Dentist, LLC receives financial compensation from these partnerships, but our readers also benefit by receiving information about useful products to improve their oral and overall health that have been thoroughly vetted by Ask the Dentist’s editorial team.
Our editorial team reviews each piece of sponsored content according to our stringent editorial guidelines. Content may be provided or influenced by the sponsor indicated, but we clearly indicate sponsored content so that users of Ask the Dentist’s website can clearly distinguish it from our normal editorial content. Ask the Dentist takes strides to ensure that all product or service sponsorships are of the highest quality available and will offer significant value to readers who choose to purchase said products or services. In other words, we do not accept sponsored content from companies unless we are confident in the quality of their product or service as well as the accuracy, information, and nature of the sponsored/branded content provided.
In any social media content that is sponsored or branded, we will use the label #ad and/or #sponsored to clearly differentiate this content at the beginning of any related caption.
6. We recommend affiliate products in some of our content.
As one way to provide value to our readers, we sometimes include links to relevant products and/or services that our editorial team has personally vetted and tried. These products/services are chosen independently and not influenced by the company providing such products/services. If you click a link to one of these affiliate products and purchase it within 24 hours of clicking that link, Ask the Dentist, LLC may receive a commission. This commission and affiliate relationship does not change the price of any items you purchase.
7. We’re open about how we advertise on our site.
Retargeting Ads: From time to time, the Website may engage in remarketing efforts with third-party companies, such as Google, Facebook, or Instagram, in order to market the Website. These companies use cookies to serve ads based on someone’s past visits to the Website. This means, after visiting the Website, you may see an ad for Ask the Dentist’s services. However, your personally identifiable information is not used by any remarketing service other than to present you offers from the Website. Ask the Dentist uses the following third-party service providers for remarketing:
- Facebook: Opt-out of Facebook remarketing here
- Google: Opt-out of Google remarketing here
Display Ads : The Website uses Mediavine to manage all third-party advertising on the Website. Mediavine serves content and advertisements when you visit the Website, which may use cookies. Mediavine may collect IP addresses and location to serve personalized ads. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices to opt-in or opt-out of this data collection, please visit http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp.
Sponsored Content Tracking Pixels: This Website may engage in sponsored campaigns with various influencer networks, brands, and agencies. All sponsored content is duly disclosed in accordance with the FTC’s requirements. From time to time, these sponsored campaigns utilize tracking pixels (aka web beacons), which may contain cookies to collect data regarding usage and audience. This information is collected by the sponsoring company to track the results of the campaign. As stated above, these pixels may capture your IP address on behalf of the content sponsor. No personally identifiable information collected by the Website is used in conjunction with these tracking pixels.
Affiliate Program Participation: The Website may engage in affiliate marketing, which is done by embedding tracking links into the Website. If you click on a link for an affiliate partnership, a cookie will be placed on your browser to track any sales for purposes of commissions.
Ask the Dentist, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and links to Amazon.com. As part of this Amazon Associates program, the Website will post customized links, provided by Amazon, to track the referrals to their website. This program utilizes cookies to track visits for the purposes of assigning commission on these sales.
Newsletters : On the Website, you may subscribe to our newsletter, which may be used for advertising purposes. All newsletters sent may contain tracking pixels. The pixel is embedded in emails and allows an analysis of the success of online marketing campaigns. Because of these tracking pixels, Ask the Dentist may see if and when you open an email and which links within the email you click. Also, this allows Ask the Dentist to adapt the content of future newsletters to the interests of the user. This behavior will not be passed on to third parties.