Dental peer review boards have disappointed half of dentists, this survey found. Remarkably, though 51% of general dentists reported problems with dental boards, only 14% of specialists did.
“Far better than getting involved in the judicial system!” opined an endodontist..
“As a peer reviewer, I have seen colleagues who have truly committed malpractice,” said a prosthodontist. “However, they are unwilling to admit their errors to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict with their patient. They would rather force the patient into litigation on the chance that the patient would not have the financial means to sue them.”
“I had a new patient to my practice who had 4 dental implants (2 per side) placed into the inferior alveloar nerve bilaterally, causing permanent numbness on her lower jaw on both sides,” said one dentist. “I immediately referred her to an oral surgeon who removed 2 tooth implants and was monitoring the other 2. The patient took the former dentist to peer review, and the dentist got off because peer review said there were worse things going on by other dentists!”
Read more: Dental Peer Review