New ADA policy 'strongly discourages' direct-to-consumer dental services: 4 things to know

A new American Dental Association policy "strongly discourages" direct-to-consumer dental laboratory services due to the harm it may cause patients.

Here are four things to know:

1. The new policy includes the sale of partial dentures, teeth whitening trays, snoring appliances, veneers and mouth guards in addition to DTC orthodontic services, building upon its 2017 policy "Do-It-Yourself Teeth Straightening."

2. According to the ADA, without the consultation of a dentist, the self-delivered, unsupervised dental treatment may cause damage and irreversible harm.

3. Patients lose quality control checkpoints without the supervision of a dentist when purchasing dental laboratory services.

4. Additionally, if patients experience issues with DTC manufactured dental prosthetics, it can be more difficult to resolve the conflict without a dentist who has prescribed the prosthetic device.

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CDC grants New Hampshire $1.85M to improve dental health

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