Concerned Wisconsin Dentists Circulate Petition to the State’s Dentistry Examining Board
An informal group of Wisconsin dentists is petitioning the Wisconsin Dentistry Examining Board to carefully consider a proposal that would raise the cost of dental treatments using oral sedation without providing patients any additional safety or service.
MADISON, Wis.— An informal group of Wisconsin dentists is petitioning the Wisconsin Dentistry Examining Board to carefully consider a proposal that would raise the cost of dental treatments using oral sedation without providing patients any additional safety or service.
Calling themselves the Concerned Dentists of Wisconsin (CDW), the group contends that if the proposed changes are approved, the resulting higher dental fees “will only drive patients away, especially lower-income patients who often are most in need of sedation dental care.”
The CDW is asking other Wisconsin dentists to express their concern by adding their name to the online petition, which is available at: https://forms.gle/FTTUDntjxQTZka6X8.
What makes CDW’s appeal especially noteworthy is that many members of the group would not be subject to the new regulations themselves since there is a provision to “grandfather in” existing oral sedation permit holders. Instead, the CDW dentists seek to protect the state’s patients, as well as dentists who in the future may wish to utilize oral sedation dentistry to treat fearful and anxious patients. Under terms of the proposal pending before the Board, to obtain a permit to provide ‘moderate oral sedation,’ future Wisconsin dentists would have to undergo the same rigorous sedation training as IV Sedation-permitted dentists.
The newly proposed regulations rubber stamp guidelines approved in 2016 by the American Dental Association (ADA). However, more than 20 states have already said “No” to the ADA’s updated guidelines. Instead, these states continue to rely on rules that resemble those Wisconsin already has in place.
The 2016 ADA guidelines and the proposed regulations in Wisconsin have won the support of a small but influential group of dental specialists, including oral surgeons, who many general dentists believe are acting more out of their economic self-interest than the desire to protect patients.
If Wisconsin regulators require general dentists who administer oral sedation to receive the same training as those who administer IV Sedation, CDW says it will force many patients who need sedation dentistry to seek high-priced specialists or skip their dental care altogether.
CDW emphasizes that there is no scientific or clinical evidence that patients in those states that have not embraced the ADA guidelines have any higher incidents of patient injuries.
