Action | Amendment to restriction on advertising dental specialties |
Stage | NOIRA |
Comment Period | Ended on 9/5/2018 |
The advertising laws regarding dental specialist should be strengthened, not eliminated. The public does not always understand what it means to be a dental specialist. In the absence of knowledge, marketing is king. Allowing general dentists to advertise orthodontics service is deceiving to the average patient. I see general dentists doing this all the time. They underdiagnosis or overdiagnosis frequently, sometimes knowingly and sometimes unknowingly. When something goes wrong, they expect the real specialist to fix it at the patient's expense. Terms like Invisalign Certified confuse patients into thinking that any one that is Invisalign Certified is an Orthodontist. The Board of Dentistry should be addressing this. Allowing general dentisty to advertise as orthodontist is putting proffits above patient care and the patient's best interest. Too many general dentists think that they can attend a few weekend courses and then be equivalent to a university trainined orthodontist. They don't realize what they don't know, and patients are paying the price. Please change your focus to strengthen the advertising laws, not elimate them. Thank you! Julie Staggers