How to Verify a Brazilian Dentist, Surgeon or Clinic Before You Travel

Five checks, all public and free of charge, show whether a professional or a clinic in Brazil is properly licensed: active registration with the professional council (CRM for doctors, CRO for dentists); the registered specialty (RQE in medicine; the specialty on record at the CRO in dentistry); the clinic’s health licence and its entry in the national registry (CNES); hospital accreditation, where surgery is involved; and the history of lawsuits and consumer complaints. None of them guarantees quality — they guarantee the legal minimum, which is the starting point.

1. Active registration with the council

Every practising doctor in Brazil is registered with a Regional Medical Council (CRM), and every dentist with a Regional Dental Council (CRO). The search is public on the websites of the Federal Medical Council (CFM) and the Federal Dental Council (CFO), by name or registration number. Check three things: the status (“active” or “regular”), the state of registration (it must be the state where the professional practises) and any public sanctions, which some councils display in the search itself. A professional who qualified abroad must have had their degree revalidated and be registered with the Brazilian council — without that, they may not practise.

2. Is the specialty registered?

In medicine, a specialty may only be advertised by a doctor holding an RQE (Specialist Qualification Registration), which appears in the CFM’s public search. A “plastic surgeon” must hold an RQE in Plastic Surgery; membership of the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery is an additional indicator, not a requirement. Anaesthesia must be given by a doctor with an RQE in Anaesthesiology.

In dentistry, specialties (implantology, prosthodontics, orthodontics, periodontics and others) are registered with the CRO and appear in the search. “Aesthetic dentist” and “cosmetic dentist” are not recognised specialties. Advertising a specialty one does not hold is an ethical offence — which already says something about the rest.

3. The clinic

Every clinic needs a licence from the health surveillance authority (municipal or state) and an entry in CNES, the National Registry of Health Establishments, which is public and shows the technical director and the services the clinic is authorised to provide. Ask for the licence number and check CNES. Surgical procedures must be performed in a hospital or a clinic licensed for surgery, never in a hotel, an unequipped office or a private home. Products and devices (implants, fillers, prostheses) must be registered with ANVISA.

4. The hospital

If surgery is involved, ask which hospital and check that it appears in CNES and whether it is accredited (ONA, the Brazilian scheme, or JCI, the international one). Accreditation is not compulsory, but it indicates audited safety processes. Confirm that the surgeon has operating privileges at that hospital.

5. Lawsuits and complaints

• Court cases: state courts allow public searches by the name of the clinic or professional. In the State of São Paulo, the search is on the Court of Justice website (e-SAJ). One or two cases over many years of practice is normal; a repeated pattern of malpractice or billing claims is not.
• Consumer complaints: the government platform consumidor.gov.br shows complaints and response rates for registered companies; the state consumer protection office (Procon) also takes complaints; private review sites help identify patterns, bearing in mind that reviews can be manipulated in both directions.
• Ethics proceedings: sanctions imposed by the councils, where public, appear in the registration search.

Warning signs in advertising

Brazilian medical and dental ethics prohibit promises of results, guarantees of success, price as a lure and payment for patient referrals. Be wary of advertisements claiming “guaranteed results”, of “packages” with hotels and tours sold by agents, of pressure to commit quickly and of prices far below the market. Before-and-after photos are subject to their own rules and are no substitute for checking the registration.

Why this article does not recommend clinics

A lawyer who recommended clinics would lose the independence needed to act for the patient against them later — and Brazilian legal ethics prohibit that kind of tie. What a lawyer can do is an objective documentary check: registrations, specialty, licence, accreditation and history, with a written report and no opinion on technical quality, which is a matter for a healthcare professional.

This article is not a medical or dental assessment. The office does not recommend, technically evaluate or have any relationship with clinics, hospitals or healthcare professionals.

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Sources: Doctor search, Federal Medical Council · Federal Dental Council · National registry of health establishments (CNES) · consumidor.gov.br · Case search, São Paulo Court of Justice (e-SAJ).