Heath Hendrickson is a general dentist. I guess he liked doing wisdom teeth. He bought a practice from an oral surgeon in Provo that was named Wisdom Teeth Only. Apparently his niche is lower prices, he can do it for less than the specialists. He takes even the crappy insurances. He and his brother now have several offices by that name. Apparently there are so many dentists in Utah that he has put the oral surgeons in more of a pinch.
Here's the back story. Dental school is 4 years after college. You're called a general dentist and you can do root canals, wisdom teeth, whatever you're comfortable with; hopefully only what you do well. After that you can go to school for a few more years and be a specialist- orthodontist, endodontist (root canals), pediatric dentist. Or a few to a lot more years and be an oral surgeon. Most oral surgery programs now give you an MD degree.
The bureaucrats have had endless meetings and decided that a general dentist can say they have a practice "limited to oral surgery." You must tell patients that you are a general dentist and that they have the right to go to a specialist. You also can't use the word special or specialist or specialize. They have also decided that a patient can sue for malpractice if the general dentist did not do what a reasonable specialist would have done.
There are, of course, turf wars. There can be turf wars between oral surgeons and plastic surgeons. One of the big advertising "plastic surgeons" in Utah is actually a dentist who became an oral surgeon. There are turf wars between insecure plastic surgeons and dermatologists.
I think the bottom line is not what degree you have, it's how good you are. Most of us who went to school 20 years ago could no longer describe the front door of the place. I can't and I've been back many times. I've given them lots of money. It's not what you knew 20 years ago, it's what you know now. I have nothing against other oral surgeons. I don't like doing wisdom teeth. I'm not jealous of oral surgeons. I'm glad they're around. I'm pretty impressed with the surgeons that I refer patients to.
A degree is no guarantee. The number of letters after the name is no guarantee. There is an oral surgeon right now in the south valley who has a drug problem. The records are public at dopl.utah.gov. He lost his license in New York, but is on probation here, working every day. There is an oral surgeon in Layton who the records describe as a drug and sex addict. He is not allowed to be alone with a patient of either gender. He's not even on probation anymore. An oral surgeon in Ogden used to have patients wake up with their clothes buttoned up wrong- just like the Seinfield episode! He finally quit. I know a periodontist (gum surgeon) who did so may drugs that she started surgery on a patient after she had forgotten the anesthesia! She is still working in Salt Lake.
The other bottom line is that patients should research anyone who is gong to treat them. Most of the bad news is on google. Things like malpractice, license probation and crimes will show up. A single bad google review is not terrible, it's realistic. Someone gave me a bad review. If there aren't any bad reviews they may be stacking the deck. Good luck choosing, and research carefully
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ReplyDeleteI'm so excited, my blog attracted a troll! I'll go ahead and feed this one. Since you feel free to slam Utah dentists is general, I don't feel the need to be nice.
DeleteI'm sorry that your husband's residency was so painful for you. I loved dental school. This Utah dentist is doing fine, far from your "desperate" accusation.
As I said in the blog, I don't have anything against good Oral Surgeons. I know some great ones, I've been in their chair. Is "chair" not special enough for you? I've been in their "surgical suite."
I know general dentists that are complete idiots. I wouldn't get in their chair for a million bucks.
As I wrote, it depends on which dentist, or which Oral Surgeon. How about that Oklahoma Oral Surgeon that just infected 70 patients with HIV and/or hepatitis C?
How about an Oral Surgeon with a banshee for a wife? You wouldn't want him to be upset while he was operating on you.
How about a surgeon with zero google reviews after 4 years at an office? Like your husband. Could be a red flag. You do have the internet in Missouri don't you?
How about a surgeon who also acts as the anesthetist at the same time? Do you know any other specialty that does that? It's probably OK on young healthy patients. Older, not so healthy, maybe not. Nobody's happy when the patient doesn't wake up.
How about the periodontist (gum surgeon) who just sent me a letter that he removed my patient's wisdom teeth? I thought he was supposed to be a "specialist in periodontics." Business must be tough.
I think a surgeon, or a dentist, with a God complex is dangerous. One who has a failing business could be dangerous.
There are plenty of dentists and surgeons around who are kind, honest, skilled and ethical. Pick one of those.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDental care should always be a part of a healthy lifestyle.It is because Poor dental hygiene can lead to various dental problems such as cavities and gum diseases. It can also lead to infections which can affect your overall health.
ReplyDeleteDental Care in Southern Utah
Any Dentist is legally qualified and liscensed to extract wisdom teeth. A Doctor that has advanced training in Extractions of Wisdom teeth is legally qualified and liscensed to extract wisdom teeth. There are several ways for Doctors of Dental Medicine or Doctors of Dental Surgery to gain advanced (post Doctoral) training in extractions of wisdom teeth. for example Advaced Education in General Dentistry 1 year residency, General Practice Residency 2 year programs, and 4-6 year OMS residency programs. All of these residencys have Hospital training and certifications for I.V. Sedation and Wisdom teeth extractions. How they treat you as a patient can range from arrogent jerks to caring compassionate professionals.
ReplyDeleteSo, are you personally recommending Hendrickson as a good dentist to remove impacted wisdom teeth? I can't tell if you have seen him work or not in your blog and if you do recommend him or not.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have had any of my patients see him. He has 4 stars on google. 2 bad reviews, but I think everybody has one or two nuts leave a bad review, I think it shows they're real. The state licensing division shows no disciplinary action on his license. He gets an A on BBB. You should check those 3 sources before you see ANY doctor.
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