Dental One Partners commits malpractice for profit says Dentists and North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners

DentalWorks Chain Misdiagnosed for Money, Dentists Say
March 13, 2013, 10:28 am ET by Sarah Childress

DentalWorks, a national dental-care chain, is facing two lawsuits in North Carolina claiming that it unlawfully practiced dentistry and deceptive practices.

A lawsuit filed by the state dental board alleges that the company lied about its operations. A second lawsuit, filed by dentists who worked for the chain, alleges that it pushed staff to inappropriately diagnose patients in order to bill them for more costly procedures.

DentalWorks is one of several dental-care companies facing scrutiny of its practices recently.

In last June’s Dollars and Dentists, FRONTLINE and the Center for Public Integrity reported that Kool Smiles, which serves children covered by Medicaid, has been accused in several states of providing unnecessary treatment for children in order to bill more money. Kool Smiles has denied the allegations in an extensive response.

Last July, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said his office was probing Kool Smiles, Small Smiles and ReachOut HealthCare America, which all serve poor children on Medicaid.

And Aspen Dental, one of the nation’s largest corporate dental chains, was accused in a class-action lawsuit in October of deceiving patients and illegally owning dental practices. Aspen Dental, which denies the allegations, filed a motion to dismiss the case. Attorneys representing former patients in January filed an amended complaint (pdf) in January that added 13 more pages of allegations, which Aspen Dental has since filed to dismiss.

The Latest Lawsuits

DentalWorks is the trade name of DentalOne Partners, Inc., a national dental company operating in 14 states. The suit filed by the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners accuses (pdf) DentalOne Partners of influencing clinical policies, including pushing for inappropriate diagnoses in order to bill for unnecessary treatment.

Why would a Florida state representative, who is a CPA, own a business that contracts with Private Equity financed corporate dental practices to train their dental hygiene departments?

Let’s start here -
Does anyone find it the least bit odd that:
Douglas W. Brown of  Dental Works, Dental One, Dental Care Partners Dental Works and Secretary of the Dental Group Practice Association owns Regional Clinical Consultants, a company designed to train hygienists the art of upselling.

“Hygiene at DentalCare Partners (DCP) has experienced a huge paradigm shift in recent years, from the hygienists being“prophy queens” to “periodontal therapists.”Doug Brown, CEO, hired a consulting group in 2004 that worked with DCP-affiliated dentists to develop the first periodontal protocol.  Brown knew that the investment to provide training and development to all hygienists throughout DCP, as well as comprehensive care to doctors and auxiliary staff, would pay off.  This company wide initiative occurred from 2004 to 2005 and was worth every penny in not only monetary rewards but by fostering patient stability and improving quality of care. n 2005, Brown created the Regional Clinical Consultant position at DCP.