Arkansas dentist group pushes back against 'slapdash' state guidelines

LITTLE ROCK (TB&P) — A letter sent to Gov. Asa Hutchinson from an attorney representing the Arkansas State Dental Association is anything but complimentary about state rules allowing dentists to resume procedures. The mandated rules are “Ill-conceived,” “slapdash measures,” and “sow confusion and disorder,” the letter noted.

On May 11 the Arkansas Department of Health issued guidelines for the resumption of elective dental procedures. The long list of guidelines include the wearing of facemasks and other personal protective equipment (PPE), scheduling only a reduced volume of patients to enforce social distancing, following screening guidelines set by ADH for other medical sectors, allow longer patient times to provide for sanitizing and disinfecting, and complete paperwork electronically before or after the visit.

“Last week, Secretary of Health Dr. Nate Smith recommended and issued a directive allowing the resumption of elective dentistry. While we applaud the spirit behind Secretary Smith’s efforts, the manner in which the state bureaucracy has implemented these efforts has been an unmitigated disaster—one that has already led to needless confusion, frustration, and harm,” noted the letter from attorney Jenny Holt Teeter, with the Little Rock-based firm of Gill Ragon Owen.

The ADH guidelines, which often refer dentists between state and federal practices without clear definitions, leave dentists in some jeopardy of unintentionally violating the rules or being subject to differing interpretations by the Arkansas State Board of Dental Examiners, according to Teeter.

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