New Series: Site of the Week
If you’ve been following the Dental Heroes blog for a while now, you’ve probably noticed my freestyle approach to topic selection. Up to this point, I’ve been writing about anything related to dental care that’s on my mind at the time – with little direction. To be honest, I hate that I haven’t been more organized with my articles-writing. Unfortunately, this will only become more important as this blog continues to grow.
So, what am I going to do about it? Well, I’ve decided to begin writing a series each day of the week, with the next part in the series falling on the corresponding day each following week. For example, Tuesdays are going to be “Site of the week” days. Each Tuesday hereafter will also be “Site of the week” days. This way, you’ll hopefully continue to come back for the next part of each series. In any event, I think this new method of organization(hopefully not madness) will become clear within the coming weeks. If it ends up not working out, then I’ll just go back to the freestyle approach.
Site of the Week
So, without further ado, let’s get to the first new series: “Site of the week,” which will appear each Tuesday. The “Site of the week” Series is meant to highlight one dental-related site each week that I find will be of particular interest to you. The sky is the limit here. One week I might feature a specific dental organization website, and the Ripley’s Believe it or Not wacky dental facts website the next.
Week 1: Dental Watch
The inaugural site of the week honor goes to a really cool site called “Dental Watch“. I would liken Dental Watch to the watchdog of the Dental Industry. Dental Watch’s mission is to monitor the Dental Industry with regards to the following areas:
- Investigating questionable claims
- Answering inquiries about products and services
- Advising quackery victims
- Distributing reliable publications
- Debunking pseudoscientific claims
- Reporting illegal marketing
- Assisting or generating consumer-protection lawsuits
- Improving the quality of dental health information on the Internet
- Attacking misleading advertising on the Internet
As you can imagine, doing all of these things is no small task, so Dental Watch has assigned three dentists, Stephen Barrett, MD; Robert Baratz, MD, DDS; and John Dodes, DDS, the duty of operating the site.
Answers Important Dental Questions
Dental Watch is dedicated to providing consumers with the tools they need to make intelligent, informed decisions when it comes to dental care. One way Dental Watch does this is by providing factual information about such topics as: finding a dentist, caring for your teeth, and fighting gum disease.
Questionable Practices
Have a question about a particular dental practice, or trend within the Dental Industry? Dental Watch provides information about practices they consider questionable – meaning they can’t validate the effectiveness or safety of that particular practice. If you’re unsure of a practice you’ve hear about, check here first.
Disciplinary Actions
Want to know about disgraced dentists and their misdeeds? Of course you do. We all love gossip, right? Check out the “disciplinary actions” section for all the dirt you can feast your eyes on.
Stay Informed About Heated Issues
Probably my favorite feature on the Dental Watch website is their collection of links dedicated to providing factual information about issues that are hotly contested within the dental industry, such as: amalgam and fluoridation. This is a great aggregation of relevant information regarding these issues and others as well. Can’t decide which side of a debate you fall on? This is a great place to become educated, and make a decision.
Consumer Protection
One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the general ignorance consumers have when it comes to their rights. This transcends dental care as well. Most people simply don’t know where to turn if they have a complaint they want to file against a particular dentist, or dental organization. Good News! Dental Watch discussed the proper way to file complaints, and provides links to state licensing boards where you can validate the legitimacy of your dentists license.
Final Thoughts
As with any industry, not everyone has your best interests in mind. The Dental Industry is no exception. To avoid these bad apples, arming yourself with the consumer-conscious information provided by Dental Watch is a great start!
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