When can a dental clinic start promotion? Licence, opening and first announcement order
In Turkey, a dental clinic can start promotion once it holds its licence (ruhsatname) from the provincial health directorate: no facility may operate without it, and a health service that is not yet operating cannot be promoted. The Regulation on Promotion and Information Activities in Health Services, in force since 12 November 2025, lets a newly opened health facility run rule-compliant sponsored promotion for the first month after opening. After that month, sponsored promotion closes; unsponsored listings and information continue.
The right order has four steps: licence, opening day, the first 30 days, and everything after month two. Fees, discounts, campaigns and patient thank-you messages stay out of promotion at every step. Before you build the plan, check the regulation, the provincial health directorate and your chamber of dentists; the calendar below does not replace that check.
Does the promotion clock start with the licence?
Yes. Private facilities offering oral and dental health services cannot operate without a licence. The promotion regulation covers private health facilities and health professionals. So any announcement made before the licence arrives promotes a facility that does not yet exist. The licensing period is for preparation that stays offline.
Private practice: straight to the licence application
If you open a practice in your own name, you apply to the provincial health directorate with the required documents. File review and on-site inspection are counted in working days; ask the directorate for current timings.
Polyclinic and centre: preliminary permit first, then licence
Since the 2024 amendment, a polyclinic first obtains a preliminary permit; under the regulation it is issued within 15 working days at most. Once the investment matches the permit, the licence application follows, and the responsible manager certificate comes up at this stage.
What can and cannot be done before the licence?
The time before the licence is preparation time; every outward-facing step waits until afterwards. The table below puts the two lists side by side. If a step falls into a grey area, ask the provincial health directorate or your chamber in writing. This is a working list, not legal advice.
| Allowed before the licence (offline) | Not allowed before the licence |
|---|---|
| Registering a domain, building the site draft offline | Publishing the site with service descriptions |
| Writing dentists’ CVs and titles from official documents | Sponsored “opening soon” posts on social media |
| Taking photos, designing the sign | Putting up the sign before the licensed name is final |
| Collecting Google Business Profile details as a draft | Pre-registration, discounts or opening-price offers |
The sign carries the licensed name
The facility’s name is the one written on the licence; use the same name on the sign, the website and the map. A mismatch hurts in inspections and in patient trust.
No unsolicited calls or messages
The regulation bans promotion by phone calls, text messages or emails sent without the person’s consent. A bulk “we are open” message to a list without consent falls under this too.
Which doors open on opening day?
With the licence in hand, three doors open together on opening day: the sign, the website and the Google Business Profile. When the site goes live, add the two items the regulation requires: the day the page was last updated and contact details for the site’s editor. On the profile, entering the correct opening date lets patients see you as new.
Google Business Profile and the opening date
According to Google’s help page, once you enter a future opening date and verify the business, the profile can appear up to 90 days before opening and carries a “recently opened” label for 90 days afterwards. For a health facility, do not make the profile visible before the licence; enter the opening date once the licence is settled.
The right category from day one
The profile’s primary category decides which searches you appear in. We go through each field of a new clinic’s profile in the right Google category for a dental clinic.
Why is the first month a separate window?
Because the 2025 regulation lets a newly opened health facility run sponsored promotion on all platforms for the first month after opening, provided it complies with the regulation. The permission is used once and the clock starts at opening. Content rules still apply in that month: no fees, discounts, patient thank-you messages or promised results.
What changes after month two?
When the first month ends, sponsored promotion closes. Health facilities may still register on social media platforms and search engines without sponsorship; keywords used in search engines and the information on results pages must also follow the regulation’s principles.
An ad recipe stays within the first month
If you set up an ad campaign, plan it to close on the last day of the first month. A three-month domestic ad plan falls outside the rules for a health facility.
The lasting base: site, profile, information
After month two, patients arrive through a profile in the right category, the dentist’s name showing up when searched, and informative pages that answer patients’ questions. When nobody walks through the door, look at this base first.
What it means for you: how do you build the opening calendar?
Build the calendar backwards from the expected licence date. Fit the preparation into the licensing period, open all three doors on opening day, use the first month for a one-off announcement, and enter month two with a lasting base. We plan the first 90 days of a new practice as a whole in new dentist practice.
Say you are opening a two-chair polyclinic in Beylikdüzü and the licence reaches you on 3 November. If you open the door on 10 November, the sponsored announcement window runs until about 10 December.
- Apply for the licence and put the expected date in the calendar.
- Prepare the site and profile drafts offline.
- When the licence arrives, put up the sign with the licensed name.
- On opening day, publish the website and the Google Business Profile.
- During the first month, run the rule-compliant sponsored announcement.
- On the month’s last day, close everything sponsored and continue with information.
For a general business, see new business first 30 days digital setup; a health facility reads it with the rules above. The full promotion framework sits in new dental clinic promotion.
If you want the site and profile for opening day prepared at a fixed price, look at the Get Visible Online campaign. The Website Recipe covers a mobile-friendly sales page, contact buttons, Google Business Profile, basic SEO and visitor tracking, and needs no ad budget. The price is TRY 36,000 + VAT, paid upfront at a fixed price for a 3-month period; with 20 percent VAT it is TRY 43,200, and you should check the current rate on your invoice.
Quick Summary
- Promotion starts with the licence; no licence, no operation and no promotion.
- A private practice applies for the licence directly; a polyclinic needs a preliminary permit first.
- On opening day the sign, website and Google Business Profile open together.
- Sponsored promotion is allowed in the first month after opening.
- After month two, only unsponsored listings and information remain.
- Fees, discounts and patient thank-you messages are never used.
Short Glossary
Licence (ruhsatname): The licence is the permit issued by the provincial health directorate that a private health facility needs before it can start operating.
Preliminary permit: A preliminary permit is the document used for facilities such as polyclinics to show suitability before the investment starts.
Sponsored promotion: Sponsored promotion is the publishing format used to show a post to more people in return for payment.
Next Step
If your calendar is ready, the next step is the base that goes live on opening day. Apply to the Get Visible Online campaign and learn which recipe fits your needs form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Source: Google Business Profile Help — Add a business opening date
Sık Sorulan Sorular
Keep the site draft offline, write dentists’ titles exactly as on official documents, and take the photos. You do not dress the shop window before the shutters go up, but you can stock the shelves.
The regulation says “the first month after opening”. Ask the provincial health directorate in writing how the opening day is determined, and file the answer.
An opening announcement is limited to information such as the address, opening hours, dentists’ titles and the areas of service. We collect rule-compliant sample texts in dental clinic opening announcement.
No. A facility cannot operate without a licence, and a health service that is not operating cannot be promoted. Use this period only for offline preparation.
Under the 2025 regulation, sponsored promotion is allowed for the first month after opening, provided it complies with the regulation. Ask the provincial health directorate how the opening day is determined.
You fill in the needs form, Adapte recommends the right recipe, and delivery starts with payment. Results are reviewed together at the end of the first month. If you have a coupon code, just mention it when applying or in the meeting.
Updated: October 2026