Dental Editorials Archives - Page 2 of 9

Dental Marketing: Negative Online Review Appears as a Facebook Page

May 19, 2019 By Jim Du Molin Leave a Comment

In the past The Wealthy Dentist has written about negative online reviews in such articles as “Appeals Court Says Yes to Dentist Lawsuit Against Patient for Online Review“ and “When a Dentist’s Relationship Goes Bad on the Internet“ — both stories about harmful dental critiques posted on review sites like Yelp and Angie’s List.

But in August of this year, Chris Cook of Bakersfield, CA, pushed negative online reviews to a new level.

It was reported in dental news site DrBicuspid.com that Mr. Cook took his 5-year-old son to see Bakersfield pediatric dentist Edward Dove, DDS, for a tooth extraction. Mr. Cook claims Dr. Dove mistreated his son during that visit by extracting a tooth before the child was adequately sedated.

According to DrBiCuspid.com, Cook stated that his son vomited up most of the sedative, screamed, and urinated on himself while allegedly being held down by three dental assistants during the procedure. Allegations Dr. Dove vehemently denies.

Chris Cook decided to take matters into his own hands and created the “I Hate Dr. Dove of Bakersfield” page on Facebook, attracting more than 200 members in its first 48 hours.

Luckily for Dr. Dove, Facebook does have a policy for pages with the word “hate” and considers them in strict violation of their terms of service. They swiftly moved to shut down the dental hate page.

Cook was undaunted by the Facebook boot, turned around and created a second Facebook group page, “Bakersfield dentist DOES NOT ROCK!!!!!!!!!” which is still up and active.

Dr. Dove has handled the situation by defending his treatment in the press and pointing to his 23 years in practice without a single disciplinary action. He has chosen not to engage with Chris Cook on his Facebook page, and was quoted in Dr Bicuspid as saying, “I think my reputation will be hurt a little bit, but right now I just want to calm down,” Dr. Dove said, “This guy is going ballistic, he’s trying to smear me, and I’m getting bullied.”

But should Dr. Dove be more concerned?

Just how significant are bad reviews for the future of your dental practice?

A new survey by market analysis firm Cone, Inc., found that four out of five consumers have reversed purchase decisions based on negative reviews found on the Internet. Another survey by Ratepoint found that 40 percent of consumers indicated they are more likely to consider a local business when they respond to a negative online review.

In the case of a Facebook page being dedicated to hating a dental practice, a dentist has little recourse since the unhappy page creator would have to allow the dentist to join the group page in order to issue a response.

Dentists have had little luck in defamation lawsuits when it comes to negative online reviews since the courts tend to look upon unhappy reviews as free speech. In a recent defamation case in California, a dentist has been ordered to pay $80,000 in attorney fees to the parents who posted a negative online review.

So how do you combat something like a negative Facebook page?

By making sure your dental practice has more than one website that appears on the top pages of Google when your business (and personal) name is searched online. Also have your own Facebook page, or pages for each type of treatment you offer. Have a Twitter page and make sure your practice is listed in as many dental directories as you can find. The idea is to control what appears on the first page of Google about your dental practice. Regular press releases help with this too.

For solutions to multiple name search and directory listing go to: www.InternetDentalAlliance.com.

For more on this story see: Facebook Pulls Plug on Angry Dad’s Antidentist Page

Filed Under: The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: Dental Editorials, Dental Management, Dental Marketing, Dental News, dental practice management, dentist, dentistry, dentists, Internet dental marketing, negative online reviews, sedation dentistry

What Makes a Dentist go Bad?

May 19, 2019 By Jim Du Molin Leave a Comment

In recent news, dentist Davinder Singh Jamus failed to effectively sedate a patient as he filed down her teeth at the Kensington Dental Spa clinic in West London, causing her to scream out in agony.

His response was to tell her that, “Nobody screams in my surgery,” while botching her veneer job.

On March 21, the UK General Dental Council listened to story upon story from angry former patients of Dr. Jamus.

When one of the former patients complained about the quality of her dental care, he allegedly told her she had been “very ambitious and naughty.” Apparently he tried to intimidate her into silence by advising that if she tried to take it further he “could guarantee she would lose.”

Jamus is also accused of allegedly fitting one patient with dental crowns to two teeth, instead of providing veneers as agreed, and failing to give another patient enough time to consider treatment before asking for consent while not admitting he had perforated her root canal.

Is this a bad misuse of his position as a medical professional, or an example of a poorly trained dentist?

NHS in the UK saw a 4.4% rise in annual complaints about GP services and dentistry to in 2009 -2010. There are twice as many claims on British dentists as there are on British doctors for poorly done treatment, fraud or excessive fees.

Other complaints are for badly done root canals or broken crowns and bridges.

Some believe the rise in complaints in the UK is due to the rise in the costs of procedures during rough economic times. Davinder Singh Jamus seems to be the exception — not the rule — when it comes to quality dental care.

What are your thoughts on bad dentistry?

For more on the Jamus dental story, see: The Daily Mail.

Filed Under: Dental Care Tagged With: Dental Care, Dental Editorials, Dental News, dental practice management, dentist, dentist lawsuits

Your Gift… The New Patient Marketing™Machine

May 19, 2019 By Jim Du Molin Leave a Comment

Jim Du Molin calls it the “New Patient Marketing Machine™“… and it’s his gift to you.

“I’d like to give something back to all the dentists who have helped make my life so great,” says Jim. “So I’m going to do something I’ve never done before…”

“I’ll give the first 1,000 dentists who sign up a general dental website… entirely free for one year. No strings attached,” he explains.

Enjoy the holiday season… and Jim Du Molin’s gift to you. Get your gift now!

Filed Under: Dental Editorials, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: Dental Editorials, dental gifts, Dental Marketing, dentist, dentists, Internet dental marketing, marketing

Right or Wrong: San Jose California About to Fluoridate Drinking Water

May 19, 2019 By Jim Du Molin Leave a Comment

The largest city in U.S. without fluoride, San Jose, is about to add fluoride to their drinking water. The Santa Clara Valley Water District voted on November 15th to support fluoridation to most of the county.

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that it will be at least a year before the water district can secure funding to add fluoride to the water. The fluoridation project is expected to cost anywhere from $4.4 million to $9.5 million, with annual operating expenses at $836,000.

A 1995 law prohibits water companies from passing fluoridation costs on to rate payers. So both the water district and San Jose Water Company must seek outside methods of providing the capital needed to build the infrastructure necessary to fluoridate the water.

Residents who are against the fluoridation project site fears of dental fluorosis, lowered IQ and raised cancer risks. But the National Cancer Institute supports a February 1991 Public Health Service report, where the agency found no evidence of an association between fluoride and cancer in humans. The report, based on a review of more than 50 human epidemiological (population) studies produced over the past 40 years, concluded that optimal fluoridation of drinking water “does not pose a detectable cancer risk to humans” as evidenced by extensive human epidemiological data reported to date.

Dentist Donald Lyman, of the California Department of Public Health tells The Washington Post, “When you fluoridate the water, childhood tooth decay drops 40 percent and among the elderly, tooth loss and decay drops 70 percent.”

The American Dental Association continues to endorse fluoridation of community water supplies as safe and effective for preventing tooth decay. This support has been the Association’s position since policy was first adopted in 1950. The ADA’s policies regarding community water fluoridation are based on the overwhelming weight of peer-reviewed, credible scientific evidence. The ADA, along with state and local dental societies, continues to work with federal, state and local agencies to increase the number of communities benefiting from water fluoridation. (From the ADA website)

New York City cosmetic dentist and Huffington Post contributor, Thomas P. Connelly, D.D.S. writes, “In my years of being a dentist, I’ve found enough to make me feel that fluoride in the water just isn’t worth it. Even if some research is scoffed at, the question itself is enough to make me pause. Especially because I do feel we have enough education on oral health that everyone should be brushing their teeth. And trust me, if you are brushing like you should be (and your dentist is using a topical treatment every so often), then I feel you don’t need fluoride in your water. I’m not a fan of inserting a chemical into our water that most of us simply don’t need to help the few that won’t help themselves.”

What are your thoughts on the use of fluoridation in public water supplies? Leave us a comment or take our most recent survey on fluoridation here.

For more information see: Santa Clara Valley Water District Approves Adding Fluoride to Water in Spite of Objections.

Filed Under: Dental Editorials, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: Dental, Dental Care, Dental Editorials, dental fluorosis, dentist, dentistry, dentists, fluoridated water, fluoride, fluoridized water, water fluoridation

Dental Management: The Value of Entrepreneurism

May 19, 2019 By Jim Du Molin Leave a Comment

Dentists are classic entrepreneurs — they seek to better themselves through education, and take economic risks (the cost of education, the cost of opening and managing a dental practice) in pursuit of a better life for themselves and their families.

According to American Enterprise Institute President Arthur Brooks, “Earned success gives people a sense of meaning about their lives.”

Moreover, by succeeding as entrepreneurs, Dentists keep alive the American Dream that others may likewise create a better life for themselves, if they too elect to take advantage of the opportunities that exist.

The recent marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton, child of two employees-turned-entrepreneurs, broke tradition in Great Britain and brought attention to the value of entrepreneurism.

“The Middletons symbolize the opportunity that exists in a free-market system for those who take advantage of it. It is worth noting that they founded (their business) during the Thatcher era, when the Conservative government focused on lifting barriers to entrepreneurs through lower taxation, less regulation , and privatization,” writes John Berlau, a director at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.

The idea of ordinary people building successful businesses — a concept often called the ‘American Dream’ — is now realized in certain British TV programs.

One study of thousands of British employees revealed that the workers’ perception of happiness actually rose as their demographic group’s average income increases relative to their own. It was the opportunity to advance that mattered.

When William and Kate said ‘I do,’ the royal family of Britain “officially wed the dreams and aspirations of millions of entrepreneurs in the UK, the U.S., and throughout the world” . . . and maybe some dentists too.

For more on this story see: The Entrepreneurs’ Princess