Some Dentists In Minnesota Must Attend Patients In Restrooms

St. Paul, Minnesota (PRWEB) May 10, 2007

A new regulation passed by the Minnesota Board of Dentistry requires dentists to remain with certain patients at all times - even if the patient or dentist needs a bathroom break, according to TEAM 1500, a nationwide coalition of healthcare professionals.

The Minnesota regulation, which went into effect March 19th, makes no exceptions for male dentists treating female patients or vice versa. As a result, some adult patients must now anticipate their dentists joining them in the restroom and even in individual toilet stalls, according to TEAM 1500.

Specifically, the rule pertains to those patients who are treated with an increasingly popular form of sedation, known as oral conscious sedation (OCS). This well-established treatment, which leaves a patient awake and responsive, has proven particularly effective in calming patients who otherwise avoid visiting a dentist due to fear and anxiety.

Previously, oral conscious sedation patients were permitted to be escorted to the restroom by same-sex members of a dentist's staff who had received specialized training. But the Minnesota Board's new rules preclude anyone other than the dentist from keeping close watch over patients.

While specific statistics aren't available, several dentists in Minnesota who regularly treat patients with OCS told TEAM 1500 that roughly one out of every two extended-treatment OCS patients do at some point need to use the bathroom.

Although the Minnesota rule seems absurd on its face, TEAM 1500 notes that the American Dental Association has proposed similar guidelines and other states are weighing their own regulations that would require dentists to double as bathroom monitors.

Dean Rotbart, director of TEAM 1500, said he believes the Minnesota rules were passed in a deliberate effort to erect an obstacle between dentists and OCS patients. "Other dentists who are losing patients to those offering OCS see this as a means to trip up their colleagues," Rotbart observed.

"Wait until members of the governor's staff and state legislature discover that their family members had an unexpected bathroom visitor," Rotbart said. "It will be interesting to count how long this ridiculous regulation lasts before it is rescinded."

For more on TEAM 1500 and the Minnesota regulation visit http://www.team1500.org. Or contact Dean Rotbart at 1-866-612-TEAM.

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