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Fake Dentist, Real Risk Campaign
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) and the Illinois State Dental Society (ISDS) have launched the “Fake Dentist, Real Risk” campaign. This campaign seeks to educate the public on the importance of only seeking dental care from licensed dentists and comes in response to a troubling rise in reported unlicensed dental practices across Illinois.
These unlicensed practices have resulted in harm to patients, including chipped teeth, fake braces, and permanent damage and infections.
The campaign goals include three key steps:
1. Only choose a licensed dentist for your dental care. Fake dentists often operate in unsafe conditions, lack proper training, and neglect knowledge on proper care and treatment, leading to severe health risks like infections, irreversible damage, and financial scams. You can check if a dentist is licensed with IDPFR by using the Department’s online License Lookup Tool at https://online-dfpr.micropact.com/lookup/licenselookup.aspx.
2. Know how and where to verify your dentist's license. Spotting a real or fake dentist involves paying attention to their licensing, office environment, professionalism, communication, payment practices, and use of quality dental instruments.
3. Report suspected unlicensed activities. Don’t wait. Report any suspicious or unlicensed dental activities immediately to ensure quick identification and patient protection. Unlicensed activity may be reported to IDFPR by filing a complaint at: https://idfpr.illinois.gov/admin/dpr/dprcomplaint.html.
