Dr Paul Huddleston Discusses Black Market Dental Products
Dear Patients, Authenticity. What a great word. It prompts me to think of other words like purity, trust, stability, and honesty. Authenticity is the conduit to clear understanding, emotional integrity, and positive self-worth. It is the “real thing”, be it material or spiritual. For me, the practice of dentistry is a natural expression of authenticity. Authenticity moves it’s hand throughout all that I do: determining objective diagnoses of problems and disease, presenting thoughtful solutions to improve the lives of my patients, and fueling a pure desire to provide the best, always. I can’t imagine practicing my craft in any other way. So why is it that I include a link to the article entitled “Grey and Black Market Dental Products: Are You At Risk?”? Amazingly, authenticity seems to be pervasively and quietly undermined by compromises being made throughout the dental profession, ultimately at the expense of patients and for the sole purpose of increasing the bottom line. The article describes how some dental products that are placed in your body are not what they seem to be. Instead of using materials that meet federal guidelines and scrutiny, some dentists are placing materials that have been repackaged, expired, contaminated, or concocted in widespread locations around the world without regulation. Unbelievable! While I am sure that some dentists are well aware of this deceptive practice, I do believe that many dentists are naive participants who believe the “knock off” products are legitimate. At the end of the day, it is the dentist’s responsibility to purchase product from reputable companies with trusted supply chains. As a matter of full disclosure, my dental office orders the great majority of our supplies through Henry Schein, a medical and dental supply company with a longstanding and highly regarded reputation. Our laboratory products are supplied by Patterson Dental and Kymata Dental Arts, the latter being a dental laboratory closely affiliated with our practice and located in the office next to us. All of our crowns, onlays, bridges, and implants are produced on site and undergo a high level of quality assurance and supervision by master laboratory technicians and the dentists prescribing them. Only the best materials are used and all products and components are made locally, every time. I can assure you, the relationships we have with our vendors are calculated and intentional for all the right reasons. In this economy, temptations to reduce overhead abound. I am proud to say, though, that our office strengthens its integrity as we deliver care with the best of our abilities and ethical choices of materials. We thank you for your continued trust. Paul Huddleston, DDS