Joe Hannan

	— Dentist'sMoneyDigest (@DentistsMoney) 

Dentist Extracted Tooth While Riding Hoverboard, Authorities Say

 Yes, you read that right. An anchorage, Alaska dentist is accused of performing a tooth extraction while standing on a hoverboard. If you’re going to do something like that, naturally, you would film it and share it with all your friends — as this dentist is accused of doing. The dentist also allegedly billed Medicaid for about $2 million in unnecessary sedation.

Lock In These Summer Travel Deals While You Still Can

 Go to the beach for less. These three deals offer you more for your money at popular all-inclusive properties in Mexico, a luxury resort in Nevis and a trendy hotel in Miami’s South Beach. But you need to act quickly. Each of these ideal summer vacation deals has an expiration date.

 What services are you getting in return for the state taxes that you pay? In its latest analysis, WalletHub looked at the return on investment taxpayers are getting in each state. Dentist’s Money Digest® previously reported on the study, highlighting 

. Unfortunately for residents in these states, this is where it’s the worst.

Dentists are Bullish on Growth, Technology Investment, Survey Shows

 After several years of lower expectations, dentists once again are opening their checkbooks to make investments in overall practice health, according to a recently released survey from TD Bank. That’s a reflection of the overall optimism dentists feel regarding revenue growth in the coming years. About two-thirds of respondents said they expect their practice revenue to grow in the near term.

The DMD Check-Up: Clear Coffee to Fight Tooth Stains

 Two brothers from the U.K. who grew tired of dealing with coffee stains on their teeth have developed a clear variety. This new coffee tastes like the real deal, with the duo comparing it to a strong cup of cold brew. In other dental news, another fluoride battle is raging in Virginia and Texas is looking to further regulate dental anesthesia. 

Discover more Dentist's Money Digest® news here

Articles

A dentist is accused of performing a tooth extraction while standing on a hoverboard â€“ and videotaping the stunt to share with his friends. A few travel websites have announced last-minute deals for summer vacationers. And taxpayers in these states arenâ€™t getting much in return of the money they pay. Find out what other stories were among our five most popular last week.

The DMD Top 5 for the Week Ending April 28

		Austin dentist will not face disciplinary action for toddler's death 

AUSTIN DENTIST WON’T FACE DISCIPLINARY CHARGES IN TODDLER’S DEATH

An Austin dentist will not face Texas state dental board censure in the death of a toddler who died under anesthesia during a procedure.

CBS Austin updates us on the status of Michael Melanson, D.M.D., who was under review after 14-month-old Daisy Torres died under his care at Austin Children’s Dentistry. Dentist’s Money Digest® previously reported on this tragedy after Daisy’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Melanson.

Texas board examiners dropped the investigation after saying they lacked sufficient evidence to continue, the report says.

In the lawsuit, Daisy’s parents say they were first told she needed two fillings. Then, after the procedure began, they say they were told Daisy would need four root canals and four crowns. Later, Daisy would die after complications from anesthesia.

The parents’ lawsuit says that the procedures were “painful” and “unnecessary.”

The U.S. trade debate may have some implications for dentistry. A recent 

 highlights the fact that nearly 40 percent of restoration products that are used in the U.S. originate in China or Mexico. Bloomberg notes that these cheaper restorative materials sell for a fraction of the price of their U.S.-made equivalents, and help boost profits for group practices and larger corporate entities, such as dental service organizations.

The article details how DSOs have been able to capitalize on their corporate buying power, coupled with overseas mass-production abilities.

“The voracious market for discount choppers, along with industry consolidation and technology advancements, has contributed during the past decade to the closing of about half of U.S. dental labs,” Bloomberg reports.

The article explores the question of whether policy that pushes dentistry away from foreign-made restorations will be a boon for labs in the U.S., and/or whether it will make dental visits more expensive for patients.

		1 Miami News Search Businesses (Battered Wife Empowers Others After Dentist Repairs Her Once Damaged Smile) Mi ... - 

A Miami dentist took community service to a higher level this week when he performed free reconstructive surgery for a woman who lost five teeth after her husband allegedly beat her and threw her from a moving van.

 on Steven Roth, D.M.D, who replaced five of Kariza Fernandes’ missing teeth. Fernandes says her husband trapped her in a van and began striking her. Eventually, her husband accelerated and she was thrown from the vehicle. She was then hospitalized with a broken jaw, nose and the five missing teeth, CBSMiami reports.

“I looked like a dead person walking, totally destroyed,” Fernandes said.

A friend referred her to Roth, CBSMiami reports, who then offered to do the surgery for free.

“Dentistry is an interesting art, and when you have the reward of making somebody smile and making them feel good about themselves, there’s nothing better,” Roth says in the report.

CBSMiami reports that Fernandes has documented every step of her journey in hopes of inspiring other battered women to come forward.

		Is tooth banking the next wave in stem cell treatment? In other words, cryopreserving baby and wisdom teeth 

Prepare for more patients to start asking you about banking baby teeth and wisdom teeth for their stem cells.

 this week on how the trend, which is based on preliminary research, is gaining acceptance in developing countries. The thinking is that the stem cells in the teeth can be saved for later in life when they might be needed for potentially life-saving procedures.

The report, however, highlights the scientific divide over the procedure. Many say it’s just too early to know whether or not we’ll be able to harness these stem cells’ healing abilities in the future.

The Texas dental board has cleared Michael Melanson, D.M.D., of any wrongdoing in the death of 14-month-old Daisy Torress, who died while under anesthesia in the doctorâ€™s practice. A wrongful death lawsuit, filed by Daisyâ€™s parents, is still pending. In the lawsuit, the parents allege that Daisy was given treatment that was excessive and unnecessary, which ultimately led to her death.

DMD Check-Up: Board Clears Dentist in Toddler's Death

A new Dentist’s Money Digest® readership poll shows how dentists feel about Dental Service Organizations.

It seems that dental service organizations have an image problem.

 revealed that more than three quarters of surveyed dentists believe that DSOs have a negative impact on the field of dentistry.

Dentist’s Money Digest® distributed the survey to dentists on its electronic mailing lists, circulated the poll on social media, and posted it on its 

. To be counted in the survey, participants had to self-identify as dentists. The survey included a sample size of 64 dentists and was intended to glean insights about the perception of DSOs among our readers who are practicing dentists.

RELATED: More Practice Management Coverage

Special Report: The Rise of Dental Service Organizations in America

Sleep Apnea in Dentistry: The Business of Treating the Disorder

Survey respondents were asked to rate their perception of DSOs on a scale of one to seven, with one being negative and seven being positive. The findings:

		77 percent thought that DSOs had a negative effect on dentistry.

		21 percent felt that DSOs were positive for dentistry.

In an open-ended portion of the survey, dentists were asked to explain their reasons for disliking DSOs. Some of those reasons included:

		“They are forcing small business people out of the field because we can’t compete with advertising and other money-pooling gimmicks.”

		“I have worked for a few and they are not patient-focused.”

		“Too much money is directed away from dental care; the patient is not the focus.”

The business of dentistry is currently at a crossroads with many dentists having to choose between the traditional, small-business model of dentistry, and partnering with the larger, corporate entities known as DSOs. Both approaches have their advantages, since, as 

Dentist’s Money Digest® reported in its debut February print edition

, the debt load carried by current dental school grads is changing the game.

“You come out of school and you own $300,000 bucks in student loans or more,” Patrick Wood, founder of Wood & Delgado, a dental legal firm in Mission Viejo, California, said in that report. “You can go into the corporate world and right off the bat do fairly well.”

Coupled with that debt load is an unfamiliarity with the skills required to run a dental practice. The survey also looked to determine how prepared dentists are for practice ownership. Using the same one-to-seven scale, with one representing no training and seven representing well-trained, here is what we found:

		42 percent of surveyed dentists said they received little to no business training.

		41 percent said they had some training.

Corporate dentistry also has its appeal to doctors who are near the end of their career, the same report concluded. Maria G. Melone, CPA, CVA, and partner at MORR Dental Solutions in Wesborough, Massachusetts, told Dentist’s Money Digest® that many dentists are fed up with decades of business “headaches.” Selling their practice to a DSO also has its business advantages.

One of the many arguments for DSOs is that they enable dentists to focus on providing better patient care while worrying less about the business side of running a practice. More than half of respondents — 53 percent – considered DSOs a viable option for dentists with limited business acumen, while only 25 percent said DSOs allow dentists to be more attentive to patient care.

Currently, the American Dental Association estimates that 7.8 percent of dentists are part of a DSO. In the Dentist’s Money Digest® February report, Dave Preble, D.D.S., vice president of the ADA’s practice institute, said the association feels the public is best served by practices that are owned by dentists, though it counts dentists belonging to DSOs or dentists who own DSOs among its members.

“Currently, that’s the only way to have any legitimate oversight on making sure they’re doing the right thing,” Preble said.

The Dentist’s Money Digest® February report also included insights from DSO dentists who refuted the idea that DSOs direct clinical decisions.

“You hear the word ‘quotas’ a lot,” said Lorne Yasbin, D.M.D., of Dental One Associates in Frederick, Maryland. “Like, ‘You have to do this many procedures’ or ‘Why aren’t you doing this?’ I’ve been here for 15 years; I own the practice. All the clinical decisions are made by the clinicians.” There’s never been any input or discussion about clinical decisions from non-clinical personnel, he added.

Reporting contributed by Dentist’s Money Digest writer P. Croatto

Dentist’s Money Digest® managing editor Joe Hannan can be reached at 

Discover more Dentist’s Money Digest® practice management coverage here

A poll of Dentistâ€™s Money DigestÂ® readers revealed that 77 percent of dentists held negative views of dental service organizations, saying that DSOs hurt dentistry. The news comes at a time when the business of dentistry is at a crossroads, with dentists having to choose between the traditional, small-business model of dentistry and the new, corporate approach of DSOs. DSO proponents say they allow dentists to worry less about the business side of running a practice and focus more on dentistry. Detractors say they are too profit-driven and do not have the patientsâ€™ best interest at heart.

Dentists Hold Negative View of DSOs, Survey Shows

Good news for your coffee-loving patients who are concerned about keeping their teeth white. A company called CLR CFF has debuted a clear version of the beloved beverage that tastes like cold-brewed coffee.

The brew was created by two U.K. brothers, Esquire reports

, “We are heavy coffee drinkers. Like many other people, we struggled with teeth stains caused by it. There was nothing on the market that would suit our needs, so we decided to create our own recipe.”

That recipe, Esquire reports, uses “high-quality Arabica coffee beans” and brewing “methods which have never been used before.” Esquire also says that bartenders are using the beverage to whip up some innovative cocktails.

EPA and the ADA firmly supporting fluoride

, a water authority in Virginia has decided to remove the mineral from the public water supply.

 that the Bedford Regional Water Authority voted on Thursday night to take fluoride out of its water, citing community complaints and logistics. WSLS10 quotes a local dentist, 

, as saying that the authority has set up thousands of children for cavities.

“It seems like a no-brainer,” Libbey says in the report. “This is a very inexpensive, effective way to reduce our patients’ rate of cavities.”

		Push made for tougher laws in dentist offices after dozens die under anesthesia 

TEXAS LOOKS TO TOUGHEN ANESTHESIA REQUIREMENTS

Citing a spate of recent deaths while under dental anesthesia, a Texas state senator has proposed legislation that would bolster regulations for dentists who offer anesthesia for patients.

 that Sen. Charles Schwertner, who is also an orthopedic surgeon, proposed the legislation, citing “public outrage” around the death of a 39-old-man who went under anesthesia in 2011, and around an October incident that left another girl with severe brain damage.

The legislation, if approved by the state House and signed by the Texas governor, would require more education for dentists who wish to offer anesthesia, and establish a permitting process.

Got a news tip for the DMD Check-Up? Email managing editor Joe Hannan: 

Two brothers from the U.K. who grew tired of dealing with coffee stains on their teeth have developed a clear variety. This new coffee tastes like the real deal, with the duo comparing it to a strong cup of cold brew. In other dental news, another fluoride battle is raging in Virginia and Texas is looking to further regulate dental anesthesia.