Audit reveals MassHealth abuse; breast cancer, perio disease linked

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

An audit of dental practitioners who provide care to Medicaid patients in Massachusetts found nearly $6 million in overcharges and other unnecessary costs over a four-year period, according to State Auditor Joe DeNucci.

His report, released November 17, reviewed more than 360,000 claims submitted to MassHealth, the agency that administers the state's Medicaid program. Read more in this latest Practice Management Community feature.

In clinical news, as the body of research linking periodontitis with a host of other disease states -- including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, surgical complications, and risk of fetal death -- a new study has added yet another to the list: breast cancer.

And there were a number of interesting presentations last week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, many related to the need to better educate budding radiologists and nonradiologists on image interpretation. This need led one radiology professor to develop apps for the iPhone and iPad that make learning key craniofacial features in panoramic and cone-beam CT images easier -- and, he says, more fun. Click here to find out more about these unique educational tools.