AAID sues Texas dental board; NC eyes tougher regs on dental management firms

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

The American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) is suing the Texas Board of Dental Examiners in an effort to overturn a Texas regulation that severely restricts dentists from advertising their AAID credentials in implant dentistry.

The AAID has previously won verdicts overturning similar rules in Florida and California, where the presiding judges ruled that such advertising restrictions violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Read more in this Restoratives Community breaking news story.

In other news, as North Carolina legislators consider imposing stricter regulations on out-of-state dental management companies, supporters and opponents of the proposed bill have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into media campaigns and political contributions to sway lawmakers when it comes up for a vote this month.

The bill would give the state dental board more control over contracts between dentists and dental chains, but opponents contend the state's rules are already overly restrictive. Read more.

And in Oregon, fearing they may become the subject of malpractice litigation or licensing violations, some dentists are reportedly opting not to treat patients who refuse to be x-rayed before routine cleaning appointments. Click here to read the state dental board's response.

Meanwhile, over in the Hygiene Community, Listerine Antiseptic was found to penetrate plaque biofilm better than competing mouth rinses in a study presented at the recent American Association for Dental Research annual meeting. What sets it apart from the competition? Read more.

And with the incidence of caries on the rise in certain patient groups, one dentist wonders if it's time for the dental community to return to viewing and treating caries as a medical condition -- as G.V. Black proposed and practiced more than 100 years ago. Read more in this Second Opinion piece by Dr. Steve Duffin.