Strongly oppose change in advertisement regulations

The ADA is in the process for developing new dental specialties and their accreditation requirements. Therefore I fail to see the need for urgency to change regulations/statutes. More importantly, the question should be asked “who does this benefit?”  The answer is obvious – the dentist who does not desire to commit the time or effort to become appropriately trained to treat the patient population at risk who requires the expertise of a specialist. Therefore it is self- serving and ignores the risks and benefits (if any) to the patient.

Dental specialists have a much higher degree of clinical training – a larger fund of medical and clinical knowledge, experience with specific populations and how to manage their risks with treatment or no treatment, better understanding of the health care system to link the dental and medical homes, etc.

Hence, let us continue to do what is in the patient’s best interest i.e. continue to clearly state via advertisement a choice of provider types based on formal credentials.