Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1387940
9 BECKER'S DENTAL + DSO REVIEW - VOL. 2021 NO. 3 DENTAL PROFESSIONALS Texas Texas A&M University College of Dentistry (Dallas) Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso The University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston University of Texas San Antonio School of Dentistry Utah Roseman University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine (South Jordan) University of Utah School of Dentistry (Salt Lake City) Virginia Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry (Richmond) Washington University of Washington School of Dentistry (Seattle) West Virginia West Virginia University School of Dentistry (Morgantown) Wisconsin Marquette University School of Dentistry (Milwaukee) n Most challenging dental job to recruit for, per dentists By Gabrielle Masson A majority of dentist owners said it has been extremely challenging compared to before the pandemic to fill dental hygienist roles, according to poll findings from the American Dental Association's Health Policy Institute. For the week of May 17, 891 dentist owners actively recruiting dental staff responded to the question, "Compared to before the COVID-19 pandem- ic, how challenging has it been to recruit the position(s) below?" Below is the percentage of dentists responding "extremely challenging" per dental staff role: Dental hygienists: 66.3 percent Dental assistants: 59.2 percent Administrative staff: 44 percent Dentists: 32.2 percent. n 2 Texas dentists pay $3.1M to resolve fraud allegations By Ariana Portalatin T wo Texas-based dentists paid $3.1 million to resolve allegations that they defrauded the state Medicaid program and violated the False Claims Act, according to a May 14 news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas. Dr. Gunjan Dhir and Dr. Gaurav Puri have owned and oper- ated dental management companies and clinics through- out Texas since 2009. The management companies sup- port 35 clinics, which primarily serve low-income children enrolled in the state's Medicaid program, according to the press release. The dentists are accused of defrauding the Texas Medic- aid program between May 30, 2011, and May 30, 2017, by submitting or causing the submission of false claims for payment for fillings that were not performed and used false Medicaid provider numbers that misrepresented dentists who performed procedures. Part of the allegations were filed under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by former employees of the dental management companies and clinics. The former employees will also receive a portion of the settlement. n