Unveiled Report Reveals Dental Industry's Financial Misdirection Strategies
In a recent internal audit report for the Centre for Dentistry (ZZM) at the University of Illinois, several allegations have been made against one of the clinics, the clinic for dental preservation and preventive dentistry run by Professor Thomas Attin. The report, dated January 2025 and made public by "Inside Paradeplatz", has raised concerns about billing practices and the handling of private donors at ZZM.
The report alleges that individual dentists at ZZM manipulated billings with private patients, and a questionable atmosphere where "maneuvering around the cap" can be observed, is criticized. The audit report also claims that around a third of the patient files at Attin's clinic could not be found.
One of the key allegations is the delayed billing for tactical reasons, which was reportedly used to avoid missing out on private fees and circumvent an honorarium cap set by the University of Illinois. According to the report, billing for over 700,000 francs has been missing for at least two months, particularly in the clinic for oral surgery where treatments up to nearly two years old have not been billed.
Professor Attin has rejected all allegations raised in an interview with The Observer, stating they were "without any basis". However, the report adds to a series of critical points previously reported by the Beobachter concerning pressure, intimidation, and lack of contact points at ZZM.
The university has announced extensive measures to address the issues, including monthly checks of internal control systems, immediate feedback on any irregularities, and the introduction of a new clinic information system planned for the second half of 2026.
The Centre for Dentistry deals with a significant amount of money, unlike other university institutions. Last year, private patients paid 3.5 million francs to the university dental centre, of which 2.3 million francs went into the pockets of the dentists. Leading clinic directors, professors, and dentists at ZZM are allowed to run a private practice in addition to their civil servant salary, where they can collect fees.
The audit report also criticizes the handling of private donors at ZZM. Former clinic director Professor Luigi Gallo, in an interview with The Observer, criticized this handling, stating it leads to a struggle for distribution, and the most powerful getting to treat the most private patients.
The new clinic information system aims to make billing transparent and tamper-proof. Despite the search results not providing information about a specific professor named in the ZZM who is considered unreliable according to an internal audit report, the university confirms that 1.2 million francs flowed to the university as an infrastructure contribution from the private patient payments.
The university has not yet released a statement regarding the allegations against a specific professor. However, the issues raised in the audit report have sparked a debate about transparency and accountability within the university's dental centre.
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