Alberta Dental Authority Neglecting Patient Rights to Refunds

EDMONTON, Alberta - June 9, 2023 - PRLog -- According to retired dentist Michael Y Zuk DDS, multiple patients have contacted him with concerns the Alberta dental authority failed to consider refund powers as detailed in the Health Professions Act and states an outside audit is overdue. Zuk says, "In simple terms, the dental complaint system has the mechanism to force a dentist found guilty of substandard treatment or unnecessary procedures to refund a patient what they paid. This appears to be the last priority of the newly divided College of Dental Surgeons of Alberta which reportedly has had a complaint backlog of 5-9 years and a focus on getting everyone else paid but the victim. A government-ordered audit, such as the one done in BC would confirm the failure of this public protection agency."

How the self-governing dental system is supposed to work is a complaint made by a patient about their dentist should be promptly investigated for merit and level of seriousness. If there seems to be cause for concern the matter, if serious, should be directed to a tribunal for a decision on whether the dentist provided improper or faulty treatment. If extremely serious- such as a case of life-threatening complications or intoxication in the workplace- the dental professional can be immediately suspended or limited to certain procedures.

Zuk says the current situation is broken and cites various examples:

• A dental office remained open for weeks following the report of a serious sedation complication for an Edmonton child. Many other children were treated in the facility for weeks by the same team who later were found to responsible for the brain injury.
• Patients are surprised to find after waiting for years for a decision of guilt for their dentist that lawyers settle a case with the dentist on costs of the investigation and tribunal without an order to refund the patient.
• The patient has no right to appeal the decision of the dental tribunal and is not given the expert report for reference. The dentist does have a right to appeal and is provided the expert report. Nearly 100% of dentists are found guilty of misconduct in Alberta dental tribunals (as compared to 62% of cases in Canadian courts). Guilty dentists have been expected to fund the investigators, lawyers and tribunal members for the process. The system does not give the dentist the right to be awarded costs when found not guilty and limits the insurance available to help.
• The costs of the investigations by the Alberta dental authority compared with other health authorities across the country appear to be excessive and a recent court ruling stated the authority should bear most of the burden.
• Conflicts of interests, bias, public members and dentist tribunal beyond reasonable term limits, professional violations of tribunal members, witness intimidation and jury tampering complaints have been ignored.
• Statistics on processing times and refunds relative to total budget are not posted.
• Dentists who have been reported for 'over-treatment' are allowed to continue drilling for years as the complaint process slowly drags on, and in one recent example was able to relocate into another province prior to even having the Alberta decision finalized.
• The Alberta dental system became backlogged when its administration decided to focus on advertising regulation - allowing competitors to misuse the complaint system for vexatious means, which is a violation of the Health Professions Act. Almost no patients complained about dentist advertising and yet more money was allocated to policing of advertising than to mistreatment of patients.
• The authority seems to feel a generic ethics course and suspension are sufficient to re-train dentists guilty of professional misconduct. Zuk says dentists could easily be made safer with immediate limited license restrictions that focus on the specific issue, when it is a matter related to a particular skill.
• Dental complaint investigators- who now appear to be mostly composed of ex-police officers- lack dental backgrounds which would help streamline the process.
• Experts chosen by the dental authority may sometimes be biased or unqualified for the particular issue. Zuk, who is a former elected official on the dental authority, claims it is often who the authority expert knows rather than what they know that gets them the job.
• The local authority has failed to address reports of concerns with dentists trained by a certain Nevada-based dental seminar program that appears associated with problematic patterns of conduct.
• The College of Dental Surgeons of Alberta website lacked any reference to the powers to order a refund from a dentist. Zuk says he contacted them and was told the website was in the process of being updated but found the staff providing misinformation on the subject. He recommends recording all phone calls with the dental authority for reference.
• Zuk claims less than 1% of the money within the system goes to patient refunds and feels the authority and/or the separate association should set up a fund to help victims when the dentist is unable to provide the refund as in the case of a bankruptcy, relocation or death. He cites an example being a Calgary orthodontist who suddenly closed his business leaving hundreds who paid without reimbursement struggling to get help from other specialists. The specialist was later disciplined for the situation and was somehow expected to know when to stop taking new clients when financial issues made the business insolvent.

The former dental council member claims he has made numerous attempts to raise these concerns with the Alberta Health Ministers of the past, even resorting to writing books and using publicity stunts. Zuk says he looks forward to discussing this subject with the new Health Minister Adriana LaGrange of Red Deer North and is optimistic patients with similar concerns will also support calls for serious pressure on the dental authority. "The lack of respect for patient refund rights is just the tip of the iceberg in this mess, and the authority doesn't seem to be making much progress following the government-imposed separation of the college and association," adds Zuk.

The retired dentist posts regularly on http://www.albertadentalassociationproblems.com and appeared on CBC Marketplace (episode Money Where Your Mouth Is) discussing the wide range in fees for dental treatment.