Draymond Green lobby against CA law aimed at SmileDirectClub

A bill that would strengthen consumer protections against teledentistry giants approved the assembly almost unanimously last month. But before he gets to the Senate election in the coming weeks, supporters will have to dribble a new opponent: the three-time NBA All Star Draymond Green.

The entrepreneur and the power of Golden State Warriors wrote in a letter to lawmakers on Wednesday that the bill would be unfair to low-income Californians by requiring expensive X-rays for those who don’t have existing medical records. That would mean increasing the costs of teledentistry, he says, and potentially excluding some people from dental care.

“For me, I can’t see it in any other way than blocking access to minorities,” wrote Connie Leyva, D-Chino, in the letter to the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development.

The NBA athlete has an interest in the outcome. He is an investor in the leader of Teledentistry SmileDirectClub, a Tennessee-based company that promotes itself as a low-cost option for people looking to straighten their teeth.

California moved to regulate the self-applied orthodontic industry last year with a law that aimed to crack down on the rules of misconduct and laxity. Attorney General Xavier Becerra also filed a 24-page complaint against SmileDirectClub’s best dentist this February, accusing serious patient negligence and defrauding state regulators.

So far, California lawmakers and lobbyists for dentists argue that SmileDirectClub is not following a mandate that directs patients to X-rays – an accusation that the company calls unfounded.

“The SDC requires that its network of affiliated dentists and orthodontists comply with all applicable laws and the DSC ensures that its teledentery platform facilitates this compliance,” said a SmileDirectClub spokesman in a statement.

Evan Low MP D-Campbell said the new bill focuses mainly on protecting patients if their teledentery experiences don’t go as planned.

According to an analysis of the Assembly’s bill, going ahead with straightening teeth without looking good at X-rays could cause “serious damage”: loss of teeth, misaligned bite, shortened roots and receding gums.

However, teledentistry has proven to be attractive to Californians looking for a cheaper alternative to traditional means of dental work, particularly for straightening teeth. The clear aligners of SmileDirectClub promise to correct crooked smiles in less time and at a cheaper price than metal braces.

The company and its allies characterize Low’s account as a “tailor-made effort to stifle competition” and a tribute to brick and mortar dentists.

“Draymond is right that this bill would add unnecessary costs and deny access to care for disadvantaged communities, ensuring that straightening of the teeth remains achievable only for those who are wealthy enough to afford it,” said a spokesman.

In the latest version of Low’s measure, Assembly Bill 1998 would require teeth straightening patients to take an X-ray if they don’t already have one. in their medical records, regardless of whether a dentist believes it is clinically necessary. The measure also levels out stiff penalties for healthcare professionals who fail to review these registers.

But Green wrote in his letter that mandatory imaging would be an excessive burden for minorities and low-income Californians across the state. He wore braces as a teenager and remembered how his mother strove to pay for them, he wrote in his letter to lawmakers.

“Maybe economic accessibility isn’t a big deal [Low], but it’s for me and many black people who face these barriers every day, “he wrote.” If there is something I’m missing about why you might consider adopting a bill that would take away discretion of the doctor to subject a patient to radiation, which would also limit access and significantly increase the cost of dental care, so let’s have a call discuss. “

Green has joined the American Teledentistry Association, the NAACP and the Greater Sacramento Urban League in opposition to the bill.

The California Dental Association supports Low’s bill. Vice President of Public Affairs Organization Richard Stapler said that opponents of AB 1998 are “playing a dangerous game of smoking and mirrors that risk patient health.”

“Based on information obtained from CDA, SmileDirectClub is not already following California’s telehealth law and continues strong opposition to any new law that would require its network of dentists to actually assess oral health beyond pre-filled questionnaires. about the medical history of patients that dentists never see in person, “he wrote. (Since SmileDirectClub is technically a teledentistry “platform”, a spokesman said the rules do not apply.)

A Low, which is part of Silicon Valley, the bill would cause billions of dollars to follow existing guidelines to protect patients.

“No Californian deserves to be harmed by poor, profit-hungry cures, regardless of whether they are an NBA champion,” he said.