Wednesday, December 28, 2016

2016 The 32 Most Influential People in Dentistry

Incisal Edge Magazine released their very first “top 32” list.  Not shocking only 14 of the “Most Influential People” are actual dentists. Incisal Edge is published by Benco Dental.

1. Jeffery Slovin – DentsplySirona
2. Rick Workman – Heartland Dental
3. Howard Farran – Dentaltown website – Dentaltown Magazine
4. Stanley Bergman – CEO of Henry Schein
5. Martha Somerman – Dir. of National Institue of Dental and Crainofacial Research
6. Steve Bishop – Group President of Procter & Gamble
7. Marco Gadola – CEO Straumann Holdings
8. Ben Carson – Potential Secretary of Health and Human Services
9. Kathleen O’Loughlin – Executive Director of the American Dental Association
10. Michael Graham – SVP ADA Division of Government and Public Affairs
11. Gordon Christensend – Practical Clinical Courses
12. Amir Aghdaei – Group Ex. VP KaVo Kerr Group/Danaher Corp.
13. “Dr. Doe” – Some plaintiff who is suing Henry Schein, Benco and other suppliers
14. Michael Cohen – Founder of Seattle Study Club
15. Steve Thorne – Founder of Pacific Dental Services
16. Mike Simpson – U.S. Congressman of Idaho’s 2nd Congressional District
17. James Glidewell – CEO Glidewell Laboratories
18. James Ingebrand – President 3M ESPE Dental Division
19. Kevin Jackson – SVP Delta Dental of California
20. John Kois – Founder The Kois Center
21. Don Moody – Partner at Waller, Lansden, Dorth & Nashville
22. Linda Niessen – Dean at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Dental Medicine
23. Michael Helgeson – CEO of Apple Tree Dental
24. Gary Price – CEO Dental Trade Alliance
25. Susannah Schaefer – CEO of Smile Train
26. Jack Dillenberg – Dean of Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health
27. Ed Snyder – Managing Director of Northcoast Research
28. Gwyneth Paltrow (yes the actress) – Oral Cancder Foundation Activist
29. Roger Levin – Founder and CEO of The Levin Group
30. Ann Battrell – CEO of American Dental Hygienists Association
31. Major Gen. Rososevelt Allen – Chief of Dental Corp, USAF
32. Peter Dubois – Executive Director of California Dental Association

My list would have been much different! (or maybe it would have been the title)

Pacific Dental Services Teams with American Dental Assistants Association to Provide Additional Benefits to Dental Assistants

Huh?  Well, that’s the headline of Pacific Dental Service’s (PDS) press release dated December 28, 2016.

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Dental Services® (PDS®) today announced that it is teaming with the American Dental Assistants Association (ADAA) to provide additional membership benefits and services to dental assistants in the PDS-supported environment.

With the common goal of ensuring the public receives the best quality dental care, PDS and the ADAA will continue their shared mission by providing hundreds of dental assistants with additional resources needed to obtain that objective. 

With their ADAA membership, dental assistants in the PDS-supported environment will be offered: free online continuing education; additional insurance coverage options including professional liability, (because they are going to need it!) accidental death and dismemberment; and participation in the ADAA Fellowship and Mastership programs. (huh?) In addition, the dental assistants will receive: a free subscription to the Dental Assistant Journal; the monthly ADAA Update E-newsletter; membership in State and Local Chapters; and leadership position opportunities.

As the oldest, largest professional association for dental assistants in the country, ADAA has been elevating the careers of dental assistants for over 90 years.  Since Juliette A. Southard formed the association in 1925, ADAA has been the foremost advocate for the dental assisting profession and is widely recognized as the voice of the dental assisting profession in America.  One of ADAA's goals is to advance the dental assisting field in a manner which will enhance the delivery of quality dental care to the public. 

Dr. John E. Kasper, ADAA Executive Director, stated, "As the premier dental assisting community in America, ADAA is proud to welcome dental assistants from the PDS-supported environment into the ADAA family.  The partnership with PDS represents a giant step towards advancing the dental assisting profession in America, and ADAA is excited about the wonderful opportunities this relationship provides." (Oh, I bet ADAA and PDS is “excited”, maybe not the actual assistants so much though)

Judith Forsythe, Director of Dental Assistant National Strategy for Pacific Dental Services said, "I am thrilled to be a part of this partnership between Pacific Dental Services and the ADAA. PDS and its supported clinicians value the role of the dental assistant and this partnership is yet another way to show we are always looking to enhance the dental assistant's career within the PDS-supported environment. "

About Pacific Dental Services
Founded in 1994, PDS® is one of the country's leading dental support organizations, providing Supported Autonomy that allows dentists to concentrate on clinical excellence and the highest levels of cost-effective comprehensive patient care. PDS originated the PRIVATE PRACTICE + model to allow dentists to focus on their passion: serving patients.  

About the American Dental Assistants Association (ADAA)
The ADAA is America's oldest and largest dental assisting association serving over 310,000 dental assistants in the United States. It is dedicated to the development and recognition of professionalism through education, membership services and public awareness programs. The ADAA is a strong advocate for legislation mandating credentialing for clinical dental assistants and greater recognition of the assistant's role in the professional dental team.

My takeaway is PDS has sold their dental assitants to the ADAA, in return PDS plans on teaching ALL memebers of the ADAA  the PDS way of milking the cow dry. (the cow being patients).

Like always, I could be wrong.

Smile

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Does The National Black Caucus of State Legislators Support Illegal Business Practices of Dental Service Organization?

Apparently so. It also appears they do NOT care thousands of children are abused and have their mouths mangled by said Dental Serivice Organization. It seems to me, the children have been sold to the DSO’s. Interesting, being that it comes from the Black Causus, right?  Just saying!

From Dentistry IQ:

“As part of its policy priorities for 2017, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) has resolved to support the nation’s leading dental support organizations (DSOs) in their mission to provide affordable, quality dental services to underserved populations across the United States. The policy resolution, “HHS-17-17: A Resolution to Stand in Support of Dental Support Organizations,” was ratified during the NBCSL’s Annual Legislative Conference, held Dec. 2-5, 2016.”

Read the story here

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Corporate Dental Branding- What Dental Consumers Need to Know


Dr. Michael Davis
Dr. Michael W. Davis maintains a general dental practice in Santa Fe, NM. He serves as chairperson for Santa Fe District Dental Society Peer-Review. Dr. Davis also provides a fair amount of dental expert legal work for attorneys. He may be contacted via email: MWDavisDDS@comcast.net
 
   

Corporate Dental Branding- What Dental Consumers Need to Know



A brand is a name, term or symbol which one company uses to differentiate its products and services, from that of another company.1 Corporations employ numbers of different strategies in branding. Healthcare professionals are generally fairly ignorant on corporate branding practices, as this is not an element of their formal education. By contrast, those parties which beneficially own corporate dental practices retain individuals well-skilled and well educated in all forms of retail sales, marketing, and finance. Their abilities include a plethora of differing and complex branding methodology.



In its simplest form, a chain of corporate dental clinics may seek direct brand recognition by consumers. They may market “outstanding dental care at reasonable prices”, all associated with their brand. Branding may be part of a marketing program to generate public goodwill via broad mechanisms, ranging from well-publicized charitable events to sponsoring a NASCAR driver.2 Branding may also be associated with the business model of dental Medicaid care.



Unfortunately for the corporate dental industry, many of their more established brands have become associated with abuses to the public welfare.3-9  

(Author’s note: References only cite a mere handful of well reported abuses generated from corporate dentistry, disclosed by government officials.) 

Dental clinics managed and directed by non-doctor corporate management often have a troubling record, which the public is witnessing. Likewise, dentists who may be employed in such workplaces are also witnessing abuses to the public interest generated and facilitated by brand-name companies in corporate dentistry. As such, many in the public are avoiding dental services offered by branded corporate dental practices. Further, these branded corporate practices are finding employee/doctor attraction and retention increasingly challenging. One corporate chain recently reported over 10% loss in total dentist staff for a one-year period.10



Crowd Sourced Branding-

Numbers of branded corporate dental groups are increasingly discovering their branded identity has negative consequences. In fact, the term “corporate dentistry” is an example of “crowd sourced branding”, in which the public assigns a company a brand (positive or negative), versus the traditional method of branding, in which a company designs their branding scheme.



Some dental corporations have fought back by explicitly marketing their distance from “corporate dentistry”. One such ad from a corporate dental chain openly states, “You Hate Corporate Dentistry and So Do We”. The veracity of their claim seems highly suspect, especially when one views their multiple settlement agreements with multiple states’ attorney generals. However, corporate dental management is evidently far more concerned with negative fallout of crowd sourced branding, versus presenting truth in the public marketplace. 




To further counter the negative public impression of corporate dentistry generated by crowd sourced branding, numbers of corporate dental chains market the misrepresentation of doctors, and not faceless Wall Street types, as owning dental practices. The reality is very different and highly disturbing. 
Numbers of dental chain corporations establish specific individual doctors to act fully as sham-owners, who have no control of management, the sale of “their” asset of the dental practice, or control of clinic bank accounts. In fact, these shame-owner dentists have no idea how the funds generated by “their” dental clinics are allocated; depositions in the Small Smiles mass action lawsuit made that abundantly clear.





Other corporate dental chains establish a group of dentists acting as sham-owners, via the accounting mechanism of a professional corporation (PC). Again, these doctors have no true and valid ownership privileges of dental practices, as beneficial ownership passes to non-doctor corporations, often private equity investment firms. Some of the world’s largest and most well-known private equity firms currently are or formerly have been the beneficial holders of corporate dental chains, which direct patient dental care. Examples include Morgan Stanley11, Valour Investments Ltd.12, Carlyle Group13, American Capital Strategies13, FFL Partners14, Gryphon Investors15, MSD Capital (holdings of Michael Dell  family)16,17, etc. 

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

DentaQuest Back in the Texas Medicaid Business?

Is DentaQuest back in the Texas Medicaid business?

Apparently so.

According to DFW Dental Team, who operates out of the newly licensed (Sep 2016) DFW Children’s Surgery Center dentist can “refer” patients and right there on their very interesting website is a link to DentaQuest forms.

161122-DFW Dental Team - DentaQuest screen shot

 

 

 

There is so much more to this story so expect an indepth look VERY soon.

Just for a sneal peek, let’s just say it involves a couple of Harvard grads (Brian Walker and Jonathan Jardine),  some Brigham Young University grads, a very proud Harvard professor and a bunch of dentists whom I would say are ethically challenged; a former Kool Smiles dentist, Dr. Diaa Zora and another “owner” dentist,  Dr. Ketan Sukkawala, being just two of the many.

It involves several business names such as:

North End Health Care http://www.nehc.com/ (Note the Harvardesque logo)
North End Capital, LLC Eagle, Idaho
Blue Cloud Pediatric Surgery Centers http://txcpa.lookupbook.net/blue-cloud-pediatric-surgery-centers-llc-houston-tx
HCDC Professionals, PLLC
San Antonio Children’s Ambulatory Surgical Center http://sachildrenssurgical.com/
SACS Professionals, PLLC
San Antonio Dental Team http://sadentalteam.com/ (ignore the statement that the surgery center is owned separtely)
DFW Children’s Surgery Center http://dfwchildrens.com/
DFW Dental Team http://dfwdentalteam.com/ (ignore the statement that the surgery center is owned separtely)
Referral Care, Inc http://www.nehc.com/affiliates.html

If you can’t wait you can check out:

North End HealthCare: Pediatric Ambulatory Surgery Center Expansion Strategy (don’t miss the disclaimer on page one)

Oh, and at the end (Strategic Decision) where Brian is asking himself questions..the answer is not only no, but hell no!

Friday, November 18, 2016

Broken Arrow, OK: Mother questions dentist's decision to cap, fill more than a dozen baby teeth at Super Smiles Dental

BROKEN ARROW - A Broken Arrow mother reached out to 2 Works for You after a popular Broken Arrow dental practice presented her with an estimate for more than $5,000 to fix her toddler's baby teeth.

Sarah Powell said she felt like she had failed her three-year-old son, Jaxon, when a dental practice told her he had 13 cavities in his temporary baby teeth.

"I was mortified," Powell said, "I couldn't fathom how he could have that many issues and no pain."

Powell said the dental assistant at Super Smiles Dental Office in Broken Arrow rattled off a list of work Jaxon needed and numbers Powell needed to call, then stopped and said, "Oh, you have private insurance. This is going to be expensive," according to Powell.

Because Powell said she had been regularly brushing Jaxon's teeth since they popped up, and that she took him for regular check-ups since he was 18 months old, she sensed something had to be wrong.

Read entire story here


Super Smiles - Broken Arrow-OK-logo

 

Despit Super Smiles logo, it doesn’t seem to be exactly a “Fun Place For Teeth”, does it?

Wish I could report EVAN D CLOTHIER DDS, was some sort of corporate dentistry thug, but I can’t. I guess he’s just a thug.  His Oklahoma dental license is current and there are no reported sanction listed. But that doesn’t mean much since so often they are never reported by the dental board.

EVAN D CLOTHIER DDS-Super Smiles-Oklahoma

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

TEXAS: 10.45% Reduction in Medicaid Reimbursement to Ambulatory Surgery Centers Likley To Be Catastrophic for Pediatric Dental Patients

On Wednesday of this week (November 16, 2016) at 1:30 there is to be a public hearing held by Texas Health and Human Services (THHSC) in the Brown-Heady Building, 4900 North Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX. The purpose of the public hearing is to receive comments related to a 10.45% reduction in reimbursement to Ambulatory Surgical Centers for Dental Rehabilitation and Restoration. My sourse says this reduction is spear headed by the Dental Service Organizations (DSO') whose target patients are children on Medicaid and is to take effect January 1, 2017.

(Why aren’t these “hearing” held at a time when the actual public or interested parties are available? It shall be interesting to see who is there to offer “public comments”.  THHSC website indicatged the hearing will be webcast and available to watch here: http://legacy-hhsc.hhsc.state.tx.us/news/webcasting.asp.)

The source states the long term plan is to reduce the number of licensed pediatric dentists and oral surgeons from accepting children who currently require sedation for treatment, whereby those dentists will drop out of the program thereby limiting the access to quality care for the children. This is outrageous!

I’m told the DSO's plan to hire young new graduates carrying loads of student debt general dentists to perform these procedures, The source hinted a system is already in place to make sure all children meet the qualifications to require sedation.

As it was told to me, it is planned to be much like the orthodontic scam that took place in Texas just a couple of years ago whereby nearly all children suddenly qualified for braces and the per-authorization process was to rubber stamp and approve every child!

(Let’s not forget how dentists were trained on how to scam the system by Dr. James (Jim) Orr and attorney Robert (Bob) Anderton, in Anderton’s private office.  Orr, at the time was Dental Director of the claims agent for Texas. In sworn testimony before the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) witnesses stated Orr and Anderton taught them how to “utilize” the HDL scoring system in place to qualify children for orthodontic braces. In addition the processors, who worked from home, were paid $50 for each approved application! For more on there click here.)

No doubt the Ambulatory Surgical Center’s are not going to complain too much about a reimbursement rate reduction when they expect their patient volume to skyrocket. Win, Win for everyone, right?  Well except the children who are needlessly sedated for what is likley to be unnecessary dental procedures, like 4 year old Navaeh Hall who was left brain damaged or Daisy Lynn Torres or 3 year old Marvelena Rady who both died this year.

For the public who would like to make comments by mail:

Health and Human Services Commission
Attention: Rate Analysis, Mail Code H-400
P.O. Box 149030
Austin, TX 78714-9030

Overnight mail, special delivery mail, or hand delivery:
Health and Human Services Commission
Attention: Rate Analysis, Mail Code H-400
Brown-Heatly Building
4900 North Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78751
Phone number for package delivery: 512-730-7401
Fax: Attention:  Rate Analysis at 512-730-7475

 

Related Links:

November 16, 2016 Hearing Briefing Package
Link to Webcast page

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Thursday, October 27, 2016

57 children who underwent baby tooth root canals, or pulpotomies, at Children’s Dental Group have been hospitalized

CHOC given $150,000 to treat children sickened in dental clinic infection outbreak
By COURTNEY PERKES / STAFF WRITER
Contact the writer:
cperkes@scng.com 714-796-3686
So far, 57 children who underwent baby tooth root canals, or pulpotomies, at Children’s Dental Group have been hospitalized at CHOC with confirmed or probable mycobacterial infections, said Dr. Jasjit Singh, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Orange hospital. About 21 patients need to take a tightly regulated drug typically used to treat leprosy, she said.
Ordering the oral antibiotic, clofazimine, from the Food and Drug Administration requires a lengthy approval process for each child. CHOC will be expanding a part-time nurse’s hours to full-time to oversee the process.
“It’s a much more rigorous process than writing a prescription for an antibiotic,” Singh said. “That process requires some administrative and logistical work. It requires filling out those FDA forms.”
…“This is a nightmare,” Morales said. “I stay awake at times picturing her with a hearing aid or with kidney problems. That’s why I asked the nurse what would happen if we didn’t give this to her. She said she could die.”
READ THE ENTIRE UPDATE HERE

In related news, Christine Curtis brought her three children to Children’s Dental Group of Anaheim and says dentists perfromed up to 11 baby root canals on her children, all while they were strapped down and restrained.  Curtis now believes the work was unnecessary and along with a growing number of parents has contacted Texas Attorney, Jim Moriarty for help.
Wayne Dolcefino, President of Investigative Communications firm, Dolcefino Consulting spoke with Moriarty:
“This assembly line dentistry uncovered in at Children’s Dental Group smacks of Medicaid Fraud,” says Moriarty. “A Full state and federal investigation is owed to U.S. taxpayers.  I believe Children’t Dental is over treating these childdren to make a buch using higher cost stainless steel crowns, and falsifying the need for baby root canals to increase the cost of taxpayers.”
“I beleive the infection outbreat in California could lead to proving Children’s Dental Group is systematically abusing children.”
Moriarty was the legal architect behind the groundbreaking lawsuit against the Small Smiles Dental chain, and now represents the family of 4-year old Neveah Hall, the little girl left severely brain damaged by a bad dentist.

Related Links:
Law Offices of James R. Moriarty Facebook
Law Offices of James R. Moriarty Website