InvestigateTV - Season 3; Episode 13
(InvestigateTV) — Troubled dentists are often allowed to surrender their license to avoid more severe discipline. Joce Sterman examined records from the boards responsible for holding these providers accountable. Plus, medical advocates ask for stricter training for dentists to prevent dental deaths.
WHERE TO WATCH ICYMI – Watch last week’s episode.
The Dental Record: You see them for regular cleanings, cavities and checkups – but what dentists do can have a huge impact on your health. And when they screw up – who’s holding them accountable for wrongdoing, injuries and deaths? Our national investigative team drilled into the discipline of dentists across the country. Our analysis of hundreds of records from dental boards in nearly every state in the nation shows that when dentists engage in misconduct that puts patients at risk, act incompetently and mess up procedures, causing harm – or even end up in jail – the punishment for their actions is often less than severe…including some allowed to give up their licenses rather than face significant sanctions from the dental board. InvestigateTV talks with the family of a woman whose daughter was killed by a dentist who illegally gave her dangerous, addictive drugs for months – but was still allowed to surrender his license rather than have it revoked. And we take our questions about accountability and transparency to the association representing dental boards nationwide – and find serious questions worth investigating within that organization.
The Dental Record Part Two: When you’re knocked out for surgery – an anesthesiologist handles your sedation & monitors your vital signs as another doctor focuses on the procedure at hand. But that’s not the case with most dentists tasked with not only managing what’s happening in your mouth but ALSO making sure you come out of the chair alive and unharmed. They’re not always successful – with our team discovering deaths and injuries across the nation, along with a lack of uniform guidelines & standards when it comes to critical training for dentists and staff, monitoring during procedures, case tracking, and reporting requirements when patients are hurt or die. Joce Sterman talks to a Harvard expert leading the call for change in the dental industry and the widow of a prominent cardiologist who died during a routine dental procedure.
‘Death with Dignity’ Law: Physician-assisted suicide or physician-assisted death is controversial and now legal in 10 states and Washington, D.C. But one state opened the door for anyone to travel there to seek assistance with dying. Anna Katayama takes us to Oregon where some are searching for solutions to streamline the process.
Watching Your Wallet – Updating Beneficiaries: It’s one of those things people forget about until they have a life-changing event. But naming the family members who will get your assets in the event of a death is so important. In this Watching Your Wallet, Consumer Investigator Rachel DePompa explains why you should make sure your beneficiaries are up to date to start the new year.
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