re: OT Dentists - Over-diagnosing cavities

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How does one distinguish a corporate from private?

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1) Check online for many locations with the same practice name. Aspen, Greenberg, Coast, etc.
2) Ask the office

There are really good dentists at some corporate practices. The new trend for new graduates is to work for a corporate practice. They are growing like weeds. The benefits to the dentists are that they don't have to own and fund the practice and can get their student loans paid off. They still have to follow standards of care so over treating is still unethical and illegal. However, the amounts are so small that no lawyer is going to pursue them. That's true for private practices too. This is the issue with crook dentists. There's really no repercussions and most patients don't know if they are being scammed or not. Each State has a department to take complaints about dentists but most folks don't know that.

If you file a complaint, the dentist has to respond to the State with information that they won't want to share if they did anything unethical.

More patients should do this. Alas, they treat their dentist like an all knowing entity that is as honest as the day is long. That is changing somewhat but it's really slow.

Using a network dentist helps because the company can audit the dentist's records to ensure no fraud is occurring. Dentists hate that too but they shouldn't if they are honest.

Who sees an out of network doctor? Almost no one. Who sees an out of network dentist? Many. The ADA and dentists have done a good job claiming that insurance companies are the devil. What they don't tell you is that most can't afford their services without insurance.

See a network dentist.