It would not be the first time that a down economy has produced tradesmen and specialists out of thin air that profess to have an expertise in just about everything from building homes to laying new tile in your bathroom. In hard times, everyone is looking to putting food on the table and jobs are often scarce for what was previously an individual’s selected profession. Unfortunately, the dental profession is no different. As discretionary funds are redistributed by patients to other more critical life-sustaining items, the professional in both dentistry and medicine may begin looking to taking on treatments that he or she may otherwise not have considered doing or at the very least would have sent to a specialist. In its worst form this practice can result in a fraudulent misrepresentation of the professional’s education, ability and even licensure as it relates to what they are providing for the patient.
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Observations
Do You Know Who Your Oral Surgeon Is?
Jack of All Trades, Master of None
Is it just because I am a specialist and have chosen to focus my attention on a single area of expertise that disgruntles me about a “jack of all trades” or is it that as a specialist, I am the melting pot for the screw-ups of all the local “wannabe” oral and maxillofacial surgeons out there? As the failing economy continues to turn itself downward and bleeds the population of discretionary funds healthcare is not immune from taking its own hit. Many patients who once were enthusiastic about improving their health with one procedure or another may now consider such treatment to be unnecessary or simply “elective.” A natural albeit unfortunate outcome in many cases is the general practitioner who suddenly feels the need to take a bigger bite of the pie than he can swallow. Nowhere in the healthcare professions is this seen more prevalently than in the field of dentistry.
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Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons vs. Periodontists
A patient is often conflicted by where they should seek implant dental care. While their dentist may have referred them to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, they may have a periodontist that they have been seeing for minor gum surgery that has volunteered to take on this task.
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Dental Implants… Not Rocket Science
More than just a few of our hard earned tax dollars have been spent lately in the midst of a recession on attempting to make something out of nothing. While I can’t say this is anything new, one is compelled to bring reality into focus when looking over the taxpayer funded marketing used recently by the University to manufacture a “Dental Implant Center” out of thin air in an effort to profit a small self-aggrandized team of providers.
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