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By Sheldon Spackman

Integrity At Stake

Retired dentist claims new evidence exposes authority’s concern with overtreatment

May 4, 2021 | 3:16 PM

A retired Red Deer dentist says he’s found evidence the industry’s governing body in Alberta has known of patient overtreatment concerns for years, prior to censoring his 2010 book bringing attention to those concerns.

Michael Zuk says the Alberta Dental Association & College (ADA&C) took an extreme step when it launched a disciplinary case against him, and his book, ‘Confessions of a Former Cosmetic Dentist.’

“I had always known the ADA&C published an article, ‘I Have Had Enough,’ in 2007 prior to my 2010 book on the same subject of overtreatment. It was very critical and also discussed how dentists should not trust seminar content,” explains Zuk.

Michael Zuk

“It was irritating to repeatedly request a copy of the article which would have questioned the authority’s criticism of my book. It was not until February 2021 that a local dentist responded to my pleas for anyone with a collection of old Alberta dental authority newsletters to search for the article.”

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Zuk feels it’s an example of lawyer misconduct – withholding exculpatory evidence and preserving the integrity of the profession above the truth.

“The dental profession continues to struggle with the negative influences of seminar sponsors who use presentations to change the way dentists use their drills and forceps. Many experts have connected a higher risk of malpractice and discipline complaints to attendance at a certain Las Vegas seminar series which has been heavily promoted by a large Canadian dental lab based in Calgary,” says Zuk. “Dentists would be taught to use full mouth porcelain crowns as a cure-all…initially for cosmetics but lately more for headaches and TMJ problems.”

Zuk says this same seminar program has been linked to complaints in Alberta for over two decades.

“Unfortunately the seminar promoter was the ADA&C’s main advertiser in its newsletters, so there has always been reluctance to address the concerns head-on which is what Ontario and Manitoba have done,” remarks Zuk.

A few days after receiving the missing article from 2007, Zuk says he was contacted by a Calgary dental patient who had just had her complaint processed by a tribunal.

“She had waited five years and in just over an hour, the committee reached a decision that gave the lawyers $30,000 and nothing to her, even though her ‘Las Vegas’ -trained dentist was found guilty of misconduct,” says Zuk.

“I told her to ask why she didn’t get consideration for a refund of her dental costs which were even more than the legal fees and she was told, ‘Thank you for your email. The admission of unprofessional conduct will not result in a refund to you. Hearings such as this one do not typically result in a refund of fees.’”

Zuk says this response suggests that lawyers and insiders such as tribunal members and expert witnesses are exploiting a lack of oversight.

“My criticism of the ADA&C and its actors have attracted multiple lawsuits which make whistleblowing a very expensive hobby. The public would be amazed that even emailing a complaint to an MLA about a dentist can find its way into a defamation lawsuit,” warns Zuk. “This is unacceptable and the public is at greater risk of harm because whistleblowers are raked through the legal system which has proven to give authorities the benefit of the doubt.”

In response to a letter requesting some form of whistleblower protection for Alberta dentists, Zuk says Health Minister Tyler Shandro told him his proposal was interesting.

“However, it would be necessary to fully consider the implications of such a change,” wrote Shandro. “Given other initiatives involving the ADA&C and other regulatory colleges, I believe this is a matter for future consideration if necessary.”

“The ADA&C decided to breach legal ethics and its fiduciary responsibility to protect the public and put the public’s safety above the truth,” concludes Zuk. “The embarrassment to the profession by over-drilling dentists and the authority itself for not stopping it, are the things harming the integrity of the dental profession- not my book.”

In a statement to rdnewsNOW, the ADA&C says the primary mandate of the organization is to protect the public.

“The ADA&C takes all complaints very seriously. After a complaint is received it is thoroughly reviewed. If an investigation is commenced, we would assess whether the treatment provided was appropriate for the individual patient’s presenting circumstances and was provided with patient consent,” the statement reads. “Under the Health Professions Act, the purpose of an investigation is to determine if there is enough evidence to warrant the referral of the matter to a Hearing Tribunal. In the event a dentist is referred to a Hearing Tribunal, there is publication on our public website.”