Concerned Colorado Dentists (CCD) is a safe, confidential source of information and peer support by dentists for dentists who are concerned about problems with alcohol or drugs in themselves or in colleagues. CCD is a committee of the Council on Membership and Membership Services of the Colorado Dental Association. CCD complements the Dentist Peer Assistance Program (DPAP) by providing additional services and support which only peer recovering dentists can provide:
Colleague interventions to urge voluntary corrective action through DPAP before consequences accrue.
Peer support & practice help from dentists who have 'been there'.
Confidential support group meetings for dentists in recovery.
Information about addiction as well as treatment and recovery among dentists.
Speakers for dental, assistant, and hygienist meetings.
CCD members are generally not professionals in the area of chemical dependency treatment. Therefore CCD does not provide professional services such as assessment, evaluation, or diagnosis of chemical dependency or any other disorders. For example, the colleague interventions described later are intended to encourage a dentist to obtain an assessment from Peer Assistance Services Inc (PAS), the current administrator of the Dentist Peer Assistance Program (DPAP), rather than to render a diagnosis or to determine treatment. CCD does not provide counseling, treatment, or monitoring of impairments. Those are functions of PAS, whose staff is trained and skilled in providing such services. Services provided by CCD are meant to be adjuncts to those provided by the DPAP administrator, not as alternatives to it.
Paragraph III.2.D, on page 6 of the ADA 'Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct', states:
It is unethical for a dentist to practice while abusing controlled substances, alcohol or other chemical agents which impair the ability to practice.
All dentists have an ethical obligation to urge chemically impaired colleagues to seek treatment.
Dentists with first-hand knowledge that a colleague is practicing dentistry when so impaired have an ethical responsibility to report such evidence to the professional assistance committee of a dental society.
In Colorado, the professional assistance committee of our dental society is Concerned Colorado Dentists. "Reporting" a dentist to CCD is the first step in what we make every effort to be a kind and caring process out of a seemingly hopeless trap, described on the Interventions page.
CCD activities are meant to be consistent with and supportive of the definition of DPAP, as specified in section 12-35-123.5 of the Dental Practice Law of Colorado. One of CCD's primary roles is to encourage dentists about whom caring others have expressed verifiable concerns of impairment to voluntarily seek assessment from PAS, the current administrator of DPAP. We encourage dentists to take such action before they harm patients or themselves, or incur the consequences of civil, criminal, or Colorado Board of Dental Examiners (CBDE) action.
CCD is a subcouncil of the Council on Membership and Membership Services of the Colorado Dental Association (CDA), whereas PAS is the dental board contractor for DPAP:
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Colorado Dental Association (CDA) |
Colorado Board of Dental Examiners (CBDE) |
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| Membership & Membership Services Committee |
Dentist Peer Assistance Program (DPAP) |
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Concerned Colorado Dentists (CCD) |
Peer Assistance Services, Inc (PAS) |