Another Dentist Gives Up

A friend of mine is a dentist in New Mexico. He is a very good dentist and was extremely honest and ethical. He always made sure that when there was corruption or unethical behavior any where in the country, that he would present it on the ACE forum so that everyone knew when the profession was being impacted negatively.

He told me today that he had given up the fight to remain a fee for service dentist and would now begin participating with dental insurance companies. There were not a sufficient group of patients who wanted excellent dental care and would rather have a lower quality of dentistry than pay for treatment out of pocket.

What does this exactly mean? And how will his patients be affected?

1. The quality of care will decline because he will lower his fees.
2. He will spend less time with each patient.
3. He will use a lower quality of dental materials.
3. He will use cheaper dental labs.
4. He will see twice as many patients in a day than he usually does so that he can earn the same living that he is used to earning.

How will his patients be better served by paying less? They will lose more teeth and have more tooth structure removed so that he will be able to earn more by placing more crowns.

This is how this game is played. You pay less and you get less.

Every time a physician or dentists gives up and becomes, in effect, an agent of the insurance company, we all lose because excellence is one step closer to extinction.

The day that I am forced to become an insurance dentist is the day that I will close my office. And everyone will lose.