I love the poster I see in some offices that says: "Patients aren't the problem.  They are the reason we are here".  It is  well known that up to 40% of patients avoid necessary dentistry due to fear. Patients manifest their fear by: arriving late, not showing up at all, calling to cancel at the last minute because of "illness", defensive and aggressive behavior, arguing over fees, and not following up with the treatment plan.  And of course we are all familiar with panic attacks in the chair, fainting, and patients bolting for the door in the middle of treatment.

Dentists understand that they have an extremely stressful profession; a quick literature search on "Dentists and Stress" gives thousands of hits. We as dentists are placed in the unenviable position of creating something lasting and lovely for patients, a beautiful smile, while often causing emotional and perhaps physical pain through no fault of our own. Dental phobia is real, profound, and I would offer as the single most overwhelming cause of stress to dentists. So, what can we do about it?

November 1, 2009 New Deadline for FTC Red Flags Rule

"The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)  announced  they are further delaying enforcement of the Red Flags Rule until November 1, 2009.  The intent of the delay is to enable businesses to gain a better understanding of the Rule and any obligations they may have under it.  The FTC is creating a special link on the Red Flags Rule website for small and low-risk entities with materials that will provide guidance and direction regarding the Rule. 
In addition,  federal  legislation has been introduced (House Resolution 2345) that would exclude health care practices with 20 or fewer employees.  CDA is monitoring this issue closely and will provide updates as appropriate."

The CDA says that to be exempt from the regulation, dental practices must comply with all of the following conditions:

• The dental practice does not perform dental procedures on patients with aerosol ATDs or who are suspected ATD cases.
• The dental practice's Injury and Ilness Prevention Plan includes a written procedure for screening patients for ATDs that is consistent with current CDC guidelines for infection control in dental settings, and this procedure is followed before performing any dental procedure on a patient to determine whether the patient may present an ATD exposure risk.
• Employees have been trained in the screening procedure. (This can be easily incorporated into existing infection control or Cal/OSHA training, and does not require a separate class dedicated to ATDs.)
• Aerosol generating dental procedures are not performed on a patient identified through the screening procedure as presenting a possible ATD exposure risk unless a licensed physician determines that the patient does not currently have an ATD.

The CDA Practice Support Center has updated its sample Injury and Ilness Prevention Plan to help your practice comply with the new requirements.  Members can download the free sample plan from cdacompass.com.  User registration and log-in is required on this Web site.  After log-in, use the Search box for the term "injury and illness."