Recognizing his right to petition his state dental board, in October 2017 Virginia AAO member Dr. Edward Snyder (known to many as “Chopper”) submitted a letter on his own to the Virginia Board of Dentistry, reflecting his thoughts and opinions about SmileDirectClub.
After sending his letter, Dr. Snyder was included on the agenda for the Board of Dentistry’s December 15, 2017 meeting. During the Board’s Public Comment period, both Dr. Snyder and AAO Associate General Counsel Sean Murphy commented on SmileDirectClub. SmileDirectClub’s lawyer along with its dentist, Jeffrey Sulitzer, also participated in the public comment period. We are still awaiting the Virginia Board of Dentistry’s response.
You (as a citizen of and licensed dental provider in your state) have the right, independently and individually, to express your own opinions about any public health and safety issue to your state dental board. If you feel so compelled, contact your state’s dental board to discuss such matters with them. Contact information for state dental boards can be found at https://www.aaoinfo.org/aao/state-dental-board-info.
Likewise, if you have patients who believe they have been injured or otherwise harmed by dental services or advertising, you can inform them about the process by which the patient can file a complaint with your state’s dental board should they wish to do so: https://www.aaoinfo.org/aao/state-dental-board-info.
If you are aware of any state dental board hearing related to orthodontics, feel free to inform the AAO by sending an email to [email protected].
