Procoal - Clinical Review & Fact Checking
Client: Procoal / Bayagan Group
Project type: Commercial oral-health clinical review
Audience: Consumer / patient-facing
Role: Dental Clinical Reviewer
Period: 2019
Relevant services: Clinical Review & Dental Consultancy • Medical & Dental Writing
Project overview
Procoal commissioned me as a freelance dental professional to clinically review and fact check existing consumer oral health content.
The project covered seven webpages: five oral health articles and FAQ content contained within two commercial product pages. My role was to assess and amend the clinical information rather than endorse the products being sold.
The challenge
Procoal wanted to improve the accuracy of its existing oral care content for its readers while also supporting the quality of the information available through its website.
This created an important distinction between clinical review and commercial endorsement. The client explicitly stated that I was not being asked to vouch for its products; my responsibility was to review the factual dental and oral-health information within the content.
My role
I reviewed material covering topics including:
tooth whitening.
extrinsic stain removal.
activated charcoal.
fluoride.
dental caries and restorations.
oral hygiene.
product-related dental claims.
Rather than simply proofreading the material, I directly amended the copy from a dental perspective and questioned claims where appropriate.
One important area was maintaining the distinction between true alteration of tooth colour and removal of extrinsic surface staining, including challenging whitening-related claims where the information provided did not justify how they were presented.
My approach
Procoal supplied links to the existing live webpages.
I created a dedicated Google Drive workspace and an individual working document for each page. The live copy was transferred into these documents, clinically reviewed and directly amended before the completed folder was shared with the client. This provided Procoal with clinically amended copy that could then be implemented on its website.
An important aspect of the work was maintaining professional independence within a commercial setting. I questioned claims where appropriate and requested evidence for claims I did not feel should simply be accepted.
Deliverables
The commission comprised clinical review and amendment of seven existing webpages:
five consumer oral health articles.
FAQ/informational content on two commercial oral-care product pages.
Outcome
The completed working documents were supplied to Procoal and amendments from my review were subsequently incorporated into published content, although not every recommendation was necessarily implemented.
I was also named and credited on the website in association with the reviewed material.
Professional reflection
This was an early commercial clinical review commission, and my approach to evidence review has developed considerably since 2019. Today, I would establish a more explicit evidence review methodology from the outset, including clearer evidence hierarchy, source recording and an audit trail between clinical claims and supporting evidence.
The project also reinforced an important principle that remains central to my approach to commercial clinical review: the role of a healthcare professional is to independently assess the clinical information and evidence, rather than lend professional credibility to predetermined marketing claims.
Skills demonstrated
Clinical fact checking
Claims review
Clinical editing
Dental subject matter expertise
Consumer health communication
Commercial healthcare communications
Professional independence
