Each state protects its citizens through a board of dentistry that holds every dentist accountable for dental care provided in the office(s) they own. Although it’s rare, accountability becomes important when a patient accuses a dentist of a transgression. Today, corporately owned and/or managed dental offices, falling outside the protective clutches of state dental boards, are making patient protection effectiveness more difficult to understand.

 Children Mistreated

In 2012, Bloomberg News reported alleged abuse and overtreatment of children by dentists employed by Private Equity owned dental clinics. In the report, was a story about how a 4 year old boy treated at school suffered baby teeth root canals and crowns that, according to his mother, were not needed and performed without permission. According to the article’s author, Sydney Freedberg, “Management companies are at the center of allegations of…unnecessary procedures, low quality treatment, and the unlicensed practice of dentistry.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-17/dental-abuse-seen-driven-by-private-equity-investments.html. Dental Management Service Organizations, known as DMSOs, are corporations often funded, owned and/or managed by Private Equity companies. State dental boards have no jurisdiction over their activities and do not regulate them.

Regulatory Protection Caught between Teeth & Profits?

Also reported by Bloomberg, U.S. Senators Grassley and Baucus have questioned whether one Private Equity owned dental chain under federal investigation has focused “more on achieving self-imposed quotas via assembly line service than proper patient care,” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-31/republicans-target-dental-bill-that-private-equity-hates.html. Dentists are obligated by law to provide dental care that restores and/or maintains health, and not recommend or provide services beyond patient needs and desires. Accusations are, dentists in corporate dental offices might be providing treatment that patients don’t actually need, placing the profit needs of corporations over of the clinical needs of patients, as in the sad story of the 4 year old boy. Unlike a private practice dentist, a separate corporate entity such as a DMSO operates outside the jurisdiction of state dental board accountability. Continue reading about The UnRegulating of Patient Protection→

Ever had a bad haircut for $10, 50, or even $100 or more? What’s crazy is no matter how much hair cutters charge or their skill level, their state licenses indicate they’re all the same. Of course, we can see a bad haircut, and, hair always grows back. Not so easy with teeth.

What is Quality Dental Care?

As in every walk of life, it should come as no mystery that dentists also vary in knowledge, training, and skills. Further, as a measure of professional integrity, while the vast majority always views their patient’s best interest as foremost, a few might place profits first. That’s why it is important to know that quality dental care will normally be the most comfortable and healthiest, last the longest, and include only what you need and want.

Dental school education includes science classes and training in basic clinical skills. Because our dental school education is limited, clinical knowledge needs to continue well past the four years of structured education. That means one measure of quality will be your dentist’s commitment to continuing education, learning the latest clinical information, techniques, and materials. Of course, while knowledge alone does not guarantee quality dental care, it is always a necessary component.

Another aspect of quality, clinical skills, are most often hidden from sight in dimensions of microns too small to see, affects fit (health) and function (comfort). Clinical skills, dependent upon training, natural abilities, dedication, and experience, help determine all aspects of how well your dentistry will perform. One thing about skills that is universal to all professions is, the more carefully one works, the better the result. To assure high quality, your dentist will only work at a pace that is predictable and comfortable for the two of you.

Patients looking for quality care should always seek a dentist known for having professional integrity, knowledge, and skills. However, because not every dentist abides by the OPT-In Dental Advantage Code of Ethics, listed in the Resource section of our website, www.optindentaladvantage.com, there are certain precautions that should be considered: Continue reading about Quality Dental Care, Know What To Look For→