Quackery, fraud, and denturists.

Denturism is questionable dental practice, even in those few states where it is licensed. Incomplete or incompetent care is quackery. In the early 1980s a few states liberalized their laws to allow denturism to those who were educationally qualified. This experiment has generally failed because all accredited training programs have closed, because prices charged by denturists have about reached parity with dentists' fees, and because of limited demand for denturists' services. Because of the complexity of the message about scientifically-grounded oral health care and the populism of stories about the poor and underserved, dentists must be vigilant regarding their interactions with the media.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Dental Technology.

The Dental Act 1988 included requirements for the registration of clinical dental technicians, a new category of dental health worker. Despite the Act containing provision for a course of training in clinical dental technology, 11 years elapsed before the first candidates would graduate in this discipline. This paper describes the development and implementation of the new Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Dental Technology, PGDipCDTech(Otago). Diplomates of the inaugural course in 1999 were the first students, other than students of dentistry, to obtain a clinical qualification from the School of Dentistry. Overall the course was very successful, but the provisions of the Dental Act inhibit flexible approaches to the teaching of clinical dental technology.

Kentucky legislature releases study on denturism.

The Kentucky study goes on to discuss the economic issues surrounding denturism, including the cost of dentures, insurance coverage and governmental savings through Medicaid. The report also includes a section on public health issues. That section covers competency, analysis of risks and oral health. The final section of the research study explores the various policy options open to the Kentucky General Assembly.

Bill would establish pilot project for denturism in Kentucky.

HB 238 has been reported favorably to the floor of the House of Representatives by the Committee on Licensing and Occupations, but has not yet been acted upon by the full House. When asked whether he thought his legislation would be approved, Representative Burch said he thought the bill had a "50-50" chance of passing the Kentucky legislature this year. Sources within the Kentucky dental laboratory and dental communities disagree on the legislation's chances for passage. Some within the industry feel the legislation simply does not have enough votes to pass the General Assembly, primarily because of opposition from the Kentucky Dental Association. Others speculate that the bill has a better opportunity to be approved this year than it did in the previous years when it was introduced. The Kentucky General Assembly adjourns its session for the year 2000 on April 12, so there will be a quick answer to the question of whether HB 238 will be approved. The May issue of this column will provide details.

[Denturists and the Occupations in Individual Health Care Law]. / Tandprothetici in de Wet-BIG.

The legal position of denturists in the Netherlands will be discussed again in the near future. At the moment it is uncertain what the legal basis will be. It is important for denturists and other dental professionals to investigate the different possibilities in the legislation. Historical research and research of sources of law concerning the development of denturism learned that denturists have a lot of arguments to obtain a solid position in future legislation.

Denturists legalized in The Netherlands.

In 1990 the Dutch Government accepted A law which made it possible for dental prosthetic technicians to manufacture full dentures on patients. The Dutch Dental Association opposed of this law. The authors explain, why this law was accepted and the experience with this law so far.