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Committee hears bills to bar use of ‘specialist’ title unless practitioner holds specialty license
Summary
Representatives Bierlein and Martis urged the House Health Policy Committee to pass companion bills clarifying that only dentists licensed in recognized specialties may call themselves "specialists" in advertising and on websites, a response to practices that marketers and witnesses said have misled patients.
Representatives Bierlein and Martis presented companion bills, House Bills 45 93 and 45 94, to clarify that only dentists licensed in recognized specialties may market themselves as specialists under Michigan's public health code.
"This package closes the loophole by clarifying that only dentists licensed in a recognized specialty may represent themselves as specialists," Representative Bierlein said, citing patient safety and fairness for legitimately credentialed specialists.
Dr. Doug LeDoux described multiple clinical examples in which parents and patients believed they were seeing pediatric dentists or other specialists based on website content or practice signage, when in fact the clinicians were general dentists. In one example he recounted seeing a child with a draining fistula and telling the mother the tooth was necrotic and needed extraction; the mother later reported another office said the child had no abscess, leaving the family unsure whom to trust. Dr. LeDoux said some practices list pediatric care prominently or keep pediatric dentists on staff intermittently, creating consumer confusion.
"There's no law saying they can't say these things," Dr. LeDoux told the committee, explaining why the bills are designed to address misleading claims.
Dr. Joshleen Betty, a board-certified orthodontist testifying by Zoom, described adult patients who sought treatment believing they were seeing orthodontic specialists and later required retreatment because proper records and specialty evaluation were not performed. She gave an example of a 19‑year‑old whose lower teeth were being moved into a jaw cyst because the treating provider had not taken required records before starting orthodontic therapy.
Witnesses and committee members discussed permissible advertising language. Dr. Betty and others said a general dentist may disclose that they "do orthodontic work" or offer clear aligner therapy, but they should not use the protected term "specialist" unless they hold a specialty license. Committee members confirmed the bills are meant as advertising and consumer‑protection measures and would not themselves prevent general dentists from treating patients who choose to see them.
No committee vote on the bills was taken; witnesses and members indicated the committee will continue working on language and enforcement details.
