Bios of Dr. Joel Berg and Dr. Michael Davis.
Dr. Joel Berg is current president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and named dean of the University of Washington’s School of Dentistry in 2012. He was previously an executive at Philips Oral Healthcare and 3M’s ESPE Dental. Dr. Berg is an inventor and has authored numerous articles and manuscripts. He is also co-editor of the textbook on early childhood oral health. His latest invention is the Pediatric Bur Block for DVI.
He is a fellow of the American College of Dentists and International College of Dentists, as well as a board director of the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry. In 2011, he was named the Washington Dental Service Foundation Distinguished Professor for Dentistry.
Dr. Michael W. Davis has achieved national recognition as an expert dental lecturer and author. His current private practice, SMILES OF SANTA FE, has successfully helped hundreds of patients achieve and maintain spectacular smiles and optimal oral health since 2003. Dr. Davis holds membership in the Academy of General Dentistry, the American Dental Association, and the New Mexico Dental Association. His presentations include speaking for the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, Association of Cosmetic Practices, Cruise and Learn Alaska Seminar, and the International AACD in San Antonio. As an author, Dr. Davis' articles have appeared in many respected publications, including Dental Economics, Dentistry Today, Journal of Cosmetic Dentistry, and Journal of the American Dental Association. He also serves on the editorial review board for the Journal of Cosmetic Dentistry.
Interview of American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry President, Dr. Joel Berg
Dr. Davis: We continue to see a disturbing degree of misrepresentations in dental marketing and advertising, in which general dentists attempt to represent themselves as specialists. Sometimes, this is seen with individual practitioners, and sometimes we see these misrepresentations from larger interstate dental providers. We can’t expect the public to have our degree of sophistication and professional knowledge, to read fact from fiction. How can the public best be protected from these unprofessional charlatans?
Dr. Berg: A big part of the answer is for state dental boards to enforce the laws and regulations that are currently on the books concerning the criteria for specialty advertising (namely, that a dentist cannot state or imply specialization absent appropriate training in one of the nine recognized dental specialties). The AAPD provides guidance on advertising to our affiliate (general dentist) members and we have also shared this with state dental boards. We applaud those general dentists who take care of children and do so in accordance with AAPD’s clinical guidelines. For purposes of advertising, the AAPD believes the following terms are acceptable by a general dentist: Family Dentistry, General Dentistry for Children or General Dentistry for Children and Families. However, the AAPD believes the following phrases are confusing to the public and contrary to the membership obligations of the Affiliate category: Child Dentistry, Children’s Dentistry, Dentistry for Children, Dentistry for Kids or Pediatric Dentistry. Affiliate members using such terms are subject to disciplinary action by the AAPD. We are aware that some corporate chains have names that are misleading, and we believe that state dental boards should appropriately regulate such advertising.
