DENVER, June 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- TEAM 1500, a public-interest coalition of more than 1,500 healthcare providers and others concerned with patient rights, is asking that dentists and their patients immediately send a letter of protest to the American Dental Association.
The ADA has given the public until Monday, June 29th, to comment on proposed revisions to the guidelines it establishes for the use of oral sedation. Oral sedation is the nation's most popular method of treating fearful and anxious dental patients. Millions of Americans have benefitted from oral sedation administered in compliance with the current ADA guidelines, which were adopted in 2007.
A standing committee of the ADA has proposed new oral sedation guidelines that TEAM 1500 says will unnecessarily restrict patient access to oral sedation, while raising the cost of standard dental treatment for all patients.
In a nutshell, the new guidelines would require dentists – even those who have treated hundreds of patients safely and effectively using oral sedation – to return to the classroom for extensive additional training.
Such extra training, TEAM 1500 believes, is superfluous and is being pushed by a small but influential group of ADA dental specialists who feel threatened by the popularity of oral sedation among Main Street dentists and their patients.
If the proposed ADA guidelines are adopted and then enacted by state dental regulators, thousands of dentists will have to cease using oral sedation until they acquire the additional training.
Given the scarcity of available classes, TEAM 1500 says the retraining process could stretch out for years. In the meantime, millions of oral sedation patients would find it difficult – if not impossible – to obtain an appointment with a qualified dentist to serve their oral health needs. Those who will suffer the most from the new guidelines are poor and middle-class patients.
TEAM 1500 details the threat to dental patients on its website at www.TEAM1500.com.
Letters of protest to the ADA must be received no later than Monday, June 29th. Letters should be mailed to:
Dr. James M. Boyle, III, Chair
American Dental Association – Council on Dental Education and Licensure
211 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
Letters to the ADA can also be emailed to: [email protected]
[TEAM 1500 encourages those who do write the ADA to email it copies of their correspondence at [email protected] or fax copies to 303-459-7566.]
Contact: Dean Rotbart 303-800-6081.
SOURCE TEAM 1500
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