Tag Archives: dental board

Investigation reveals dental board’s lack of transparency

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Image by SalFlako via flickr.

Image by SalFlako via flickr.

How transparent is your state dental board when it comes to helping patients find out more about their dentists?

In Arizona, the state board of dental examiners has taken actions against hundreds of dentists in recent years. But it can be difficult for a patient in the state to find out if his or her dentist has been in trouble.

Linda Holt started worrying about the quality of her dental care after suffering complications from an implant procedure, Phoenix-based ABC-15 television explained in one part of a recent investigative series.

But if she had checked the profile of her dentist, Glenn Featherman, on the Arizona Board of Dental Examiner’s website she would not have been able to tell that he had recently been cited by the board for problems that arose with an implant procedure he performed on another patient. Continue reading →

Mary Otto, a Washington, D.C.-based freelancer, is AHCJ's topic leader on oral health and the author of "Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America." She can be reached at mary@healthjournalism.org.

Legal feud over dental service shows no sign of lightening up

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Mark Blevis via Flickr

Mark Blevis via Flickr

A long feud between North Carolina’s state dental board and a group of non-dentists who provide teeth-whitening services may have wider implications for the dental and medical boards that regulate the health professions nationwide.

The case of North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission is headed for the U.S. Supreme Court, with oral arguments are scheduled for Oct. 14. At issue is whether non-dentists should be allowed to bleach teeth.

Dental whitening has grown into a multibillion dollar business and many dentists offer the service, which involves applying peroxide-containing preparations to the teeth.

Do-it-yourself whitening kits are available in pharmacies. In some states, retail salons and mall kiosks offer teeth-whitening services.

In at least 25 states, dental boards have taken steps to shut down these establishments, according to a report by the Institute for Justice (IJ) a non-profit libertarian law firm. Since 2005, at least 14 states have changed their laws and regulations and now ban all but licensed dentists, hygienists and assistants from performing tooth-whitening procedures, according to the IJ.

Dental organizations back such restrictions, arguing that the retailers are practicing dentistry without a license and contending they could be putting customers at risk.

The details of the cases vary from state to state. But the Supreme Court’s decision in the North Carolina case could have wider implications for tooth-whitening shops – and for the dental and medical boards that regulate the health professions nationwide.

See this new tip sheet on the legal battles over teeth whitening, including details of the situation in a number of states, relevant court cases, statements and other useful coverage.

And be sure to watch Covering Health for coverage of the Oct. 14 Supreme Court arguments.

Mary Otto, a Washington, D.C.-based freelancer, is AHCJ's topic leader on oral health and the author of "Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America." She can be reached at mary@healthjournalism.org.

Dental complaints in California pile up unseen

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Rachel Cook

Rachel Cook

Reporter Rachel Cook’s “Dental Dangers” series, published this summer in The Bakersfield Californian, explores a long history of complaints and lawsuits against Robert Tupac, D.D.S., who, as a board-certified prosthodontist, specializes in the restoration and replacement of teeth.

Over three decades, more than a dozen of Tupac’s patients claimed his shoddy work left them with troubles ranging from bone loss to drooling, Cook recounted in her project. Yet her reporting uncovered a state dental board system that allowed the alleged problems with the dentist to pile up outside public view. “A potential patient searching for competent dental care would never know about many of Tupac’s alleged professional shortcomings — or those of any other California dentist — without undertaking extensive and often difficult research,” Cook wrote.

In a Q and A, Cook reflects on how this project unfolded, how she addressed the challenges she encountered along the way and the reactions she has received since the stories ran. She also shares some wisdom on the usefulness of bringing a portable scanner to the courthouse.

Mary Otto, a Washington, D.C.-based freelancer, is AHCJ's topic leader on oral health and the author of "Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America." She can be reached at mary@healthjournalism.org.

Calif. dental board allows complaints to accumulate outside public view

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Photo by courtney0609 via Flickr.

Photo by courtney0609 via Flickr.

Reporter Rachel Cook took a long and detailed look at the career of one Bakersfield, Calif., dentist and ended up with a series called “Dental Dangers,” recently published in The Bakersfield Californian.

The stories examine a history of complaints and lawsuits against Robert Tupac, who, as a board-certified prosthodontist, specializes in the restoration and replacement of teeth. Over three decades, more than a dozen of Tupac’s patients claimed his shoddy work left them with troubles ranging from bone loss to drooling, Cook wrote, and some patients reported that it would take thousands of dollars worth of corrective work to undo the harm.

In her reporting – done as a 2013 California Health Journalism Fellow – Cook described a state dental board system that allowed the alleged problems with the dentist to pile up outside public view. “A potential patient searching for competent dental care would never know about many of Tupac’s alleged professional shortcomings — or those of any other California dentist — without undertaking extensive and often difficult research,” Cook wrote. Continue reading →

Mary Otto, a Washington, D.C.-based freelancer, is AHCJ's topic leader on oral health and the author of "Teeth: The Story of Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America." She can be reached at mary@healthjournalism.org.