Study Estimates More Than 10,000 General Dentists Will Quit ADA Should Group Adopt New Guidelines

DENVER, Sept. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --An independent economic impact study estimates that more than 10,000 general dentists will drop their American Dental Association memberships should a controversial proposal be adopted at the ADA's upcoming annual meeting scheduled for next month in Denver.

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TEAM 1500, a group representing health care providers and others concerned with patients' rights, released the estimate with a warning that, if approved, the ADA proposal known as Resolution 37 would dramatically increase the cost of basic dental care, while driving many general dentists out of practice altogether.

"Although those at the ADA who are pushing for passage of Resolution 37 have had more than a year to study the economic consequences of the proposed revisions, they have turned a blind eye to the impact that Resolution 37 would have on patients and the affordability of dental care," said Dean Rotbart, an award-winning financial journalist who leads TEAM 1500 and who chairs the economic study group.

In 2015, TEAM 1500 released the results of a three-month study that drew on data and calculations obtained from a cross-section of practicing oral health care professionals, dental school academics, regulatory experts, and financial forecasters.

The 2015 economic impact study, known as T1EIS, specifically examined the likely economic impact of what was then known as ADA Resolution 77. That resolution was deferred by the ADA at its 2015 annual meeting, and is once again up for a vote – now known as Resolution 37 – by ADA delegates who attend the October 2016 Denver convention.

"The resolution number may have changed from 77 to 37, but the underlying numbers confirm the exact same dire consequences for dental patients – higher fees, fewer qualified dentists, and a difficult time accessing safe, affordable oral sedation treatments," Rotbart stated.

T1EIS found that fearful and anxious dental patients who require treatments that utilize oral sedation – a patient population that in the U.S. alone numbers in the tens of millions – will have to pay as much as twice current fees if the new guidelines now being considered by the ADA are approved. [Read more about T1EIS at: http://tinyurl.com/team1500EIS]

The cost of standard recommended teeth cleaning, for example, will soar to more than $500 on average per oral sedation dental patient nationwide – and will go even higher in some rural and small town locations.

On July 4, 2016, in protest of the unnecessary financial burden that ADA Resolution 37 would place on dental patients, TEAM 1500 called on general dentists to drop their ADA memberships. TEAM 1500's "Declaration of Independence" (http://tinyurl.com/TEAM1500DOI) notes that, among other grievances, ADA Resolution 37 completely disregards the ADA's long-standing commitment to base the group's  recommended safety guidelines and educational requirements on evidence-based research and science.

"Resolution 37 fails to place the compelling needs of the dental public for access to safe, effective, and affordable dental care ahead of the self-interest of the ADA leadership and a small, but influential, minority of ADA members," TEAM 1500 said. "Sedation dentistry should not become the exclusive privilege of the upper-class."

Since 2006, TEAM 1500 has worked in concert with more than 1,500 dentists and other healthcare providers to ensure that patients of all economic and ethnic backgrounds have equal access to quality medical and dental care.

Current and former ADA members are encouraged by TEAM 1500 to phone their ADA district delegates directly to voice strong opposition to ADA Resolution 37.

"Let the ADA know that you and your patients won't support any organization that puts profits before patients," Rotbart advises.

For additional timely information, visit www.Facebook.com/SaveSedationDentistry.

Media Contact:     
Dean Rotbart
Email
303-800-6081

SOURCE TEAM 1500