Peter J. Carroll, D.D.S
In November of 2009, licensed dentists in the Philadelphia area received a solicitation from Philadelphia Magazine to vote for the “Top Dentists” in the area. Here is information about how the Society responded to a request from the magazine to provide someone to serve on the magazine’s advisory panel.
In consultation with the Executive Committee, I declined, both personally and on behalf of the Society, a request from the magazine’s health and fitness editor to ‘recommend a few great dentists in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties that might be interested in serving on our dental advisory board for our first-ever issue of Top Dentists coming out this February. We’ll be conducting an online survey of dentists in the area and will be forming an advisory board to look over the results and offer their thoughts as we pick the winners.’ We noted, too, that the magazine requested the names of “great dentists” to provide advice regarding the Top Dentists issue. Needless to say, this could present conflict of interest issues if any of the “great dentists” also turned out to be Top Dentists.
A survey that asks fellow professionals who they would recommend is nothing more than a popularity contest and does not necessarily determine who is the best, or top, dentist. For instance, a general dentist who is part of a large multi-disciplinary group practice may be more likely to be mentioned than perhaps a very good dentist in a small solo practice. A professional society cannot and should not give credence to an “unscientific” popularity poll, whose criteria are not controlled and have no scientific basis.
An appropriate response to anyone in search of a dentist, either a general practitioner or a specialist, should be to find a doctor who is a member of the American Dental Association and, if a specialist, also a member of his/her own specialty organization. Patients may view Tips for Choosing a Dentist by visiting online at http://www.ada.org/public/topics/tips.asp They may also find an ADA member dentist at ADA.org or a PDA member dentist at padental.org
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