Patient Management
A patient's willingness and knowledgeable agreement to have dental procedures performed on him/her is necessary if you are to avoid being charged with malpractice or misconduct. Your ability to effectively explain procedures, answer questions, and offer alternatives will be vital to avoiding costly litigation.
DIY Dentistry
The MDS has communicated its concerns in 2019 regarding DIY or remote orthodontics in letters to the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Dentistry and the Massachusetts Attorney General.
How to Talk to Patients About DIY Orthodontics
The MDS encourages you to educate your patients about the benefits of an office visit and the potential risks of these remote DIY options, including bone loss and receding gums, loose teeth, a misaligned bite, and other issues.
Q: If my patient tells me they are considering DIY orthodontics and remote treatment through an online company, what should I tell them?
A: While many patients believe that direct-to-consumer orthodontics sounds simple, the American Association of Orthodontists has published a flier listing questions patients may first want to consider. You can download and print the flier to share with your patients or direct them to the list of questions posted at massdental.org/DIY. You can also share with patients the Summer/Fall 2019 edition of Word of Mouth, which features the cover story, "Online Orthodontics: Too Good To Be True?"
Q: What if my patients have already undergone DIY treatment and encountered problems?
A: If you have seen patients who have experienced injury or adverse results from using mail-order orthodontic devices or other DIY dental treatments, the MDS Dental Practice and Benefits Committee encourages you to direct them to the MDS website at massdental.org/DIY, where they can locate contact information for reporting the issue to state and federal regulators.
Clinical Practice Guidelines
Dismissing a Patient
Informed Consent
Preventing Opioid Misuse
Record Keeping
X-ray Frequency Recommendation
Terminating Network Participation
Deciding to terminate a relationship with an insurance company is a difficult decision. If you decide to move forward with terminating network participation, it is important that you inform your patients of your reasons for this decision. Most insurance providers will send letters to your patients suggesting the patient changes to a "network dentist" so don't let them have the last word.
Send a letter to your corresponding patient base informing them that you are terminating participation, and explain your decision, what the change will mean, and the high value you place on the dentist-patient relationship. You may use the sample template provided here.
What to include in your letter:
- Thank you for being my patient. The relationship between a dentist and patient is a vitally important one based on trust, comfort, and communication.
- My patient philosophy is [...]
- After long and careful consideration, I want to share with you that starting [insert date], I have decided to end my practice’s relationship with [company]. Most importantly, this decision does not change our relationship. Your insurance will still be accepted here. I will still continue to offer you all the advantages my practice has to offer. We will continue to work with you to process your benefit claims.
- I decided to end my practice's relationship with [company] because [...]
- Here’s what the change will mean for you. Because I am no longer an in-network provider, there could be an increase in treatment costs. Also, because [company] does not allow its members to assign benefits directly to their dental care providers, your insurance company may pay your benefits directly to you, which means that we may invoice you for payment. We can discuss these changes now or the next time we meet. But please know that we will continue to have your best interests in mind and value the relationship we have built.