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CDDA and Affiliate Officers will meet in Kissemmee on September 7th and 8th. The program will include new officer orientation on Friday evening and a joint strategic planning session on Saturday. Dr. Alan Friedel will serve as facilitator on Saturday. Dr. Friedel is President of the South Florida District Dental Association and FDA Secretary. He has served the FDA and the dental profession in several capacities and recently conducted workshops on integration of Component and Affiliate programs.
Dentists Concerned About Recent Bill
Both the Florida House and Senate have passed a bill intended to increase a patient's access to alternative or non traditional medical and dental treatment. Concerns emerged last week at the FDA Board of Trustees Meeting in Tampa. First, the new law appears to lift the "Standard of Care" ban on treatments not based on scientific evidence and allows for any treatment the patient or doctor believes will benefit the patient. The bill does call for informed, documented consent, however it may open the door for unethical practitioners to provide untested and unproven treatments. It is still unethical to accept a fee for treatment known by the dentist to be ineffective or harmful. While the new bill may offer some legislative protection to so called "biologic dentists", "anti-amalgamist" and others, adverse effects from non scientific or alternative treatment will be subject to civil liability. Florida is the only State to pass such a law and the full effects will not be known for some time. All of us benefit from 200 years of scientific research and hundreds of treatments and materials proven to be safe and effective. We all lose when one practioner strays from evidence based diagnosis and therapy. The proper place to test new drugs, materials and concepts is in the lab. This bill was supported by all but one legislator. If you have concerns, please read the text of the bill and contact your FDA Delegates.Bill # 1324 (Be sure to enter 1324 where prompted for "Bill Number".
More Dentist Volunteers Needed for Head Start Screening The Child Care Association of Brevard is seeking volunteer dentists to provide early intervention screenings. Examinations take place in local day care centers and transportation may be provided. The Child Care Association makes referrals for dental care based on the preliminary evaluations. Children are then referred to their own local dentist. When necessary a voucher program or Medicaid can be activated to pay for services. This program is very successful and benefits all of us. For information, please contact Lissa Sadler, RN @634-3520 or Jim Antoon @632-3171.
