Golden State Warriors star slams California bill aimed at teledentistry. Here’s why

A bill that would strengthen consumer protections against teledentistry giants passed the Assembly almost unanimously last month. But before it goes up for a Senate vote in the coming weeks, proponents will have to dribble past a new opponent: three-time NBA All Star Draymond Green.

The entrepreneur and Golden State Warriors power forward wrote in a Wednesday letter to lawmakers that the bill would be unfair for low-income Californians by requiring costly X-rays for those without existing medical records. That would drive up the cost of teledentistry, he says, and potentially price some people out of dental care.

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

The NBA athlete has a stake in the outcome. He is an investor in teledentistry leader SmileDirectClub, a Tennessee-based company that promotes itself as a low-cost option for people seeking teeth straightening.

California moved to regulate the self-applied orthodontics industry last year with a law that aimed to crack down on misconduct and lax regulations. State Attorney General Xavier Becerra also filed a 24-page complaint against SmileDirectClub’s top dentist this February, alleging gross negligence toward patients and defrauding state regulators.

So far, California lawmakers and lobbyists for dentists contend SmileDirectClub is not following a mandate that it direct patients to X-rays — an allegation the company calls baseless.

“SDC requires its affiliated network of dentists and orthodontists to comply with all applicable laws and SDC ensures that its teledentistry platform facilitates this compliance,” a SmileDirectClub spokesperson said in a statement.

Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Campbell, said the new bill is mainly focused on giving patients protections if their teledentistry experiences do not go as planned.

According to an Assembly bill analysis, moving forward with teeth straightening without a good look at X-rays could result in “serious harm” — tooth loss, misaligned bite, shortened roots and receded gums.

Still, teledentistry has proven appealing to Californians looking for a cheaper alternative to traditional means of dental work — especially for teeth straightening. SmileDirectClub’s clear aligners promise to fix crooked smiles in less time and for a cheaper price than metal braces.

The company and its allies characterize Low’s bill as an effort “tailored at stifling competition” and a giveaway to brick-and-mortar dentists.

“Draymond is right that this bill would add unnecessary costs and deny access to care for disadvantaged communities, ensuring teeth straightening remains attainable only for those affluent enough to afford it,” a spokesperson said.

In its latest version of Low’s measure, Assembly Bill 1998 would require teeth-straightening patients to get an X-ray if they don’t already have one in their medical records — regardless of whether a dentist thinks it’s clinically necessary. The measure also levels stiff penalties for health workers who fail to review these records.

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

“Maybe affordability is not a big issue to [Low], but it is to me and many people of color who face these barriers every day,” he wrote. “If there is something I’m missing as to why you would consider adopting a bill that would take away doctor discretion to subject a patient to radiation, that would also limit access and significantly increase the cost of dental care then let’s set up a call to discuss.”

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

California Dental Association is supporting Low’s bill. The organization’s vice president for public affairs Richard Stapler said opponents to AB 1998 are “playing a dangerous game of smoke and mirrors that risks patient health.”

“Based on information CDA has obtained, SmileDirectClub is already not following California law governing telehealth and continues staunch opposition to any new law that would require its dentist network to actually evaluate oral health beyond prefilled patient history questionnaires of individuals the dentists never see in person,” he wrote. (Since SmileDirectClub is technically a teledentistry “platform,” a spokesperson said the regulations don’t apply.)

To Low, who represents part of the Silicon Valley, the bill would make sure the billion-dollar companies follow existing guidelines meant to keep patients safe.

“No Californian deserves to be harmed by substandard, profit-hungry care, regardless of whether they’re an NBA champion,” he said.