The Top 7 Dental News Stories of 2015

As the year winds down, now is the perfect time to look back at 2015 and the dental news stories that stole the show. From hygiene breaches to legal decisions to insurance fraud and cyber attacks, dentistry graced the headlines frequently (and no, we aren't talking about Cecil the lion!). 

Developments in dental insurance and antitrust laws, new ADA guidlines ... there were plenty of stories to choose from that had nothing to do with dentists shooting lions or behaving badly (for those stories, check out our Top 10 weirdest dental news stories of 2015!). However, there were seven news stories that jumped out at us and our readers this year that we felt contained important information and insight for the dental community. 

Continue to the next page to check out the biggest newsworthy stories of the year.

11,000 patients potentially exposed to HIV, hepatitis in clinic hygiene breaches

Almost 11,000 patients in Australia were warned that they may have been exposed to blood-borne diseases due to appalling hygiene negligence in Sydney dental clinics.

Dental practices targeted in cyber ransom attacks

Electronic records can protect patient files from office catastrophes such as fire or natural disasters, but storing your patient database electronically poses other dangers. In a story that is becoming all too familiar, a Minnesota dentist learned this the hard way after his patient data was held hostage by computer hackers.

Man who aspirated drill bit loses $430K court case

A New York man was left gnashing his teeth in frustration this year when he lost a malpractice judgment against a local dentist on appeal. The malpractice incident in question? An aspirated drill bit.

American Dental Association releases new guidelines on gum disease treatment

According to new guidelines from the ADA, dentists treating patients with chronic periodontitis, a severe form of gum disease that can lead to tooth loss, are advised to use scaling and root planing, deep cleaning of the teeth, as initial treatment.

329 California dentists suspected of profiting from unneccessary dental treatments on kids

State inspectors discovered that 329 general dentists and six orthodontists in California charged $117 million in questionable billing for 2012 Medicaid pediatric dental services.

New bill before Congress targest dental insurance plans

A bill was recently introduced titled "Dental and Optometric Care Access Act (DOC Access Act)" that would address conflicts between dentists and eyecare providers and insurance providers.  

Supreme Court dental regulatory board case examines federal antitrust laws

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a case regarding whether state-established boards of practitioners, such as those for dentists, made up of members of the profession they are overseeing can properly regular the profession without running afoul of federal antitrust laws.