La. lawmakers threaten to oust dental board; CU prof in probe resigns

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

The conflict in Louisiana over whether dentists should be allowed to offer their services in schools across the state has flared up again.

State legislators are threatening to fire the entire Louisiana State Board of Dentistry if the board doesn't pass rules to regulate mobile dentistry by year's end. And last week, a bill that would formally set a January 1, 2011, deadline for the board to pass those rules cleared the state House of Representatives and is now awaiting review by the Senate. Read more.

In other news, one of the central figures in the probe of the University of Colorado Denver School of Dental Medicine's license and prescription policies has resigned from his position as associate clinical professor, saying he's been hamstrung by the state dental board's delay in reactivating his license. Read more.

In clinical news, performing invasive dental procedures on a patient who has undergone bisphosphonate therapy can be tricky enough. But what if the patient is completely unaware of the possible -- and potentially devastating -- side effects? Read more in this Cosmetics Community feature.

And in his latest Coaches Corner column, Dr. Don Deems offers up a lesson in role reversal designed to improve each patient's experience in your practice.