One of my least favorite organizations, but still good points made.
Protect the public. That’s the deceptively simple mission of any American dental board. But while the mandate may be uncomplicated, its execution is anything but. Critics of board actions say they range from misguided and contradictory to baldly self-interested. Controversial decisions are increasingly putting boards under fire. Among the more common sources of complaint are
unfair and unequal treatment of dentists; failure to quickly address malpractice and the unlawful restraint of competition.Perhaps nowhere is the board under greater fire than in Texas, where the executive director recently resigned. Sherri Meek’s abrupt exit followed a rocky stint punctuated by frequent dispute. In particular Meek was assailed for allowing board members to act as paid expert witnesses in lawsuits against Texas dentists; the practice posed a clear conflict of interest. Long-time opponent Dr. Mark
Stankewitz, a prosthodonist, used YouTube to decry the Texas board as “a good- ole-boys’ network…some dentists receive slaps on the wrists for serious matters and others serious consequences for much less significant offenses.”Dentist-turned-attorney Frank Recker used the same language—a good-ole-boy’s network—to describe his own experience on the Ohio State Dental Board in the early 1980s.
