PBS report questions dental chain practices; does psoriasis up perio risks?

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

Some of the most challenging issues in dentistry these days -- namely, access to care for low-income patients and the rise of corporate dental chains that target these populations -- are increasingly the subject of mainstream media reports.

A documentary that aired last night on PBS "Frontline" took a long, hard look at a "ruptured" U.S. dental care system in which the poor have little access to care outside of public clinics and hospital emergency rooms, prompting them to turn to dental chains that appear to put more emphasis on profits than appropriate patient care.

Click here to read our coverage, including a link to the PBS documentary and to a live chat with the "Frontline" reporters that runs through 3:45 p.m. Eastern time today.

In conjunction with the "Frontline" investigation, the Center for Public Integrity this week released a two-part investigative series on the same issues that reached many of the same conclusions. Read part one here.

In a related op-ed piece, Dr. William T. Brown responds to the recent introduction of sweeping healthcare reforms by two U.S. senators with an important question: What about prevention?

Meanwhile, in Hygiene Community news, recent studies examining the link between psoriasis and oral health have suggested there is a connection. But a new study in the Journal of Periodontology found no difference in the experience or risk of dental caries and periodontitis between those with or without psoriasis.

Finally, Dr. Marty Jablow offers his advice on what to do when a patient has an implant placed by a dentist you did not refer the patient to, without contact from the surgeon prior to the implant placement, and involving an implant you typically don't like to restore.