a base so that the percentage is m ax im ized. T o take statistical manipula tion one step further, I can conclude th a t if one takes the alternative base, th e percent change in the oral exam fee, th eir figure decreases by 24.5%. T he questions being raised do help em phasize th e im portance of the ef fects of controlled prices and fees. W hile, during the im position of the E conom ic Stabilization A ct, all prices w ere controlled, it is apparent that th e controls were m ore restrictive on dental fees than on the prices o f goods and services represented in the C P I. But to look at the figures presented an d conclude th a t such controls will “ resolve the great unm et dental needs o f our country” is grossly inaccur ate. All can agree that better dental health is a desirable goal and that program s should be developed to aug m ent our achievem ents. Y et these program s m ust w ork w ith the econ om ic system —not against it. T echno logical and productivity advances in d entistry, allowing the pricing func tion to work, are responsible for the best dental health this w orld has seen. T he dentist has an im pressive record. But the dentist cannot alleviate the aggravations of low income by im posing a voluntary Econom ic Stabil ization A ct on dental fees. H istory records too num erous fail u res of such controls. T oday, even the bureaucrats in W ashington look u p o n controls as a total m istake, pro ducing lasting misallocations. DONALD R. HOUSE, PHD SENIOR ECONOMIST ADA BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH AND STATISTICS
of Michigan notified the Council that the survey report had incorrectly in terpreted the program in M ichigan by referring to D elta and Blue C ross and Blue Shield as separate carriers. In • fact, D elta and Blue Cross/Blue Shield, under a tripartite agreem ent, jointly adm inistered th e auto industry dental care program in M ichigan. A n article from the Journal o f the M ich igan D ental A ssociation explaining the responsibilities of each organiza tion in adm inistering the program was sent to the Council, and D elta hoped that a réévaluation o f the survey would occur. N o t only did this not occur, but now an advertisem ent, which repro duces the survey’s conclusions on the general perform ance o f the car riers, has been prepared by an insur ance com pany and is appearing in new spapers throughout the country. We submit that this m isstatem ent contained in the survey is now being exploited in a m assive advertising campaign conducted nationw ide to the serious detrim ent of D elta’s rep utation and goodwill in the industry. A s you may know , D elta’s board o f directors voted to term inate the operating agreem ent with Blue C ross/ Blue Shield at the end of the contract period because of dissatisfaction with the joint adm inistrative relationship. D elta recently was selected to ad m inister the new program s for the U A W m em bers at the C hrysler Corp. and at the G eneral M otors C orp., which are scheduled to begin in early 1977. DANIEL L. PIERRON, DDS PRESIDENT, DELTA DENTAL PLAN OF MICHIGAN LANSING
Survey accuracy questioned C om m ents on denture m aking m T he
A m erican D ental A ssocia tio n ’s Council on D ental Care P ro gram s recently published the findings of its survey on the U nited A uto W orkers/auto m anufacturers dental benefit program throughout the U nited States (N ovem ber JA D A , page 900). U pon receiving a copy of these results in A ugust, D elta D ental Plan
m T he editorial reprint in the D ecem ber Journal (page 1061) concerning “ denturism ” * was m ost interesting, especially since there w ere a couple o f letters in the current A D A N ew s regarding the same topic. T here is, unfortunately, a certain “ inevitability” to som e sort of “ den turism ” coming o nto the dental pre
212 ■ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR / JADA, Vol. 94, February 1977
serve. We dentists stoutly m aintain we “ provide service, not p ro d u cts,” and yet “ everyone k now s” dentures are plastic objects, not in any way at tached to the body (especially in the mandible). T here are som e 225 million people in the U nited States w ho think this way, and only about 110,000 dentists; guess w ho “ loses” the dis cussion? D entists “ charge a lo t” for den tures, and many denture w earers are unhappy. T he first point can be de bated; the second, I think not. We dentists, suggests one gentlem an in his A D A N ew s letter, should return the fees of those w ho are not pleased. A noble thought but, unlike a “ dentu rist,” every dentist has substantial overhead. I t costs me approxim ately $100 to $125 “ out o f p o ck et” to insert a set of dentures, and I suspect if my total expenses w ere carefully exam ined, I ’d have to up it further. So, to return a fee entirely is a “ double lo ss,” so to speak. M ost “ denturists” might lose 15-20 in the sam e situa tion, a substantial difference, plus they have n ot p ut in 7 to 8 years of training after high school. R eference has been m ade to the “ denture clinic” in South Carolina. It was on a T V show last year. Some patients w ere questioned and seemed pleased with their dentures; after all, they had them some 20 to 30 m inutes and m ost im portantly paid $50 for them . T his is w hat m akes people hap py with their dentures—the bargain aspect or “ beating the system ,” so to speak. W ho is to blame? Partly the pro fession, because the only way to com bat “ denturism ,” as it now approach es, is to provide clinics which will produce dentures, by dentists, for these w ho really need a low -cost ser vice. I do not believe that, ju st to pro vide a bargain, such clinics should allow patients over a certain income level to participate in the service. H ospitals have similar arrangem ents. I also blame the dental schools. We w ere provided at my school with patients who all had “ great ridges,” which approxim ated well (no “ A ndy G um ps” or “ Class I I I ” stuff that I saw), and had to turn out so many
“ F /F ” to graduate. Believe me, doing one set on a “ no-ridge” m outh, even if it took tw o years and was frustrat ing as heck, would have been more useful here on the “ outside,” to me, than those several “ goodies” I com pleted. In root canal I had such an advan tage; my first case was a real hot bi cuspid. It took all day to get into the cham ber, and the instructors really had to “ perform .” But they com m ented on the teaching value of such a case indicating that if I ’d hit it on the outside, it w ould have driven me crazy. I believe m ost dentists are not up set about “ denturism ,” because m ost denture patients are annoying anyw ay, especially the ones who are having rem akes after 20 to 30 years with those “ first plates.” T hey w ant the fit w hich w as present w hen their ridges w ere “ full” and they w ere a lot more “ flexible” to accom m odate them selves to th e dentures! F o r my part, “ denturists” are welcome to m ost denture patients! H ow ever, I ’d be m ost willing to p u t my share of tim e in a clinic run by dentistry for denture services, espe cially if it m eant I ’d finally learn a few valuable “ tricks” of denture w ork— not the stuff which is given in courses, textbooks, or articles, but w orkable hints. R O B E R T W. A L L E N , DDS TRUM BULL, CONN *A “denturist” is a person who is educa tionally unqualified and not licensed, for the necessary protection of the public, to prac tice dentistry in any form on the public. "Denturism" is the unqualified as well as the illegal practice of dentistry in any form on the public.
“R eentry o f A m erican students” m I w as elated to read about the pro
gram w hich has been initiated at the U niversity of T exas D ental Branch at H o uston to help prepare Indo chinese dentists to enter into the main stream o f th e A m erican dental com munity (D ecem ber JA D A , page 1103). K udos to the H E W for its grant of $88,000 to the school to implement this program in which 19 V ietnam ese dentists are currently enrolled. I later
learned from the Bulletin o f D ental E ducation (N ovem ber 1976) that the U niversity of Pittsburgh also has been provided with a contract from the H E W , and that at least 80 Indo chinese dentists will be given instruc tion in English and the basic sciences over a period of six m onths during which the students will be given trav el m oney and a m onthly stipend. Perhaps a sim ilar program can be initiated at some tim e in the future to facilitate the reentry of A m erican students who have found it necessary to enroll in dental program s at foreign universities. I am currently enrolled in my second year at the U niversidad A utonom a de G uadalajara in M exico. I can, therefore, appreciate the prob lems o f preparing for the national board exam inations as well as receiv ing instruction in a second language. I w ish my future colleagues every success in this program . I would also like to request th at the educators at the dental schools in the U nited States take a close look at this program and begin to form ulate a reentry program for the A m erican student abroad. E D W A R D J. P E N ZA YONKERS, N Y
Im proper P R on article m T he GK-101 story (D ecem ber J A D A , p 1149) w as covered by tele vision, the St. Louis P ost Dispatch, and by clear-channel radio K M O X . It sounds so w onderful and then some little extra tidbits cam e in, such as, “ T he dentist probably w on’t need to use th e drill anym ore.” R esult? Each day my patients ask me if I have that new “ spray” th at is used to fix up th e teeth w ithout pain? O thers phone in to ask. I ’m so proud that Tufts is research ing this project. But it’s also hard for me to hang my head, in sham e, and say, “ N o, I don’t have the sp ray .” R. K. Z IM M E R M A N DDS C A H O K IA , IL L
■ H ow lucky is the dentist in the “ boonies” in this m odern age. H e no longer needs his Journal to keep up w ith research and new products. All
he has to do is tune in his radio or T V to his favorite news program to learn the latest in caries rem oval, etc. T h en if he wishes to learn m ore he can study the A P and U P I dispatches in his local new spaper to find out the details. A few days later, I received my D ecem b er Journal w ith the first in stallm ent of the new technique. Isn ’t there some w ay to delay such public ity so the practitioner will at least be aw are of th at which the new sm en w rite and about w hich the patients ask? N o w th at I ’ve gone through this m onologue, I ’ll m ention that I ’m re ferring to the extensive lay publicity given the G oldm an-K ronm an paper on good old GK-101. B R O D IE G. SECREST, JR., DD S C A M B R ID G E , O H IO
■ In the D ecem ber issue of The Journal th ere is an article on chemom echanical m eans of rem oving car ies. O ur T u lsa papers carried an ar ticle about this tw o days before we received The Jo u rn a l! Could you explain why new m ethods are re leased to the public before the pro fessional m en? W hen a patient asks ab o u t a procedure th at they have read about, and we have no know ledge of it, w hat kind o f image does that por tray ? M ost people d o n ’t realize that the process is still in the experim ental stage. T h e new spapers painted such a “ rosy picture” th a t the people feel the m ethod should be available now. In m y opinion, the release to th e pub lic was prem ature. I would appreciate your com m ents on this type of press release. C L IN T M IN E R , DD S JENKS, O K L A
E ditor’s note: We too have been displeased with the prem ature press release w hich was done outside of the A D A . T he letters also correctly point o ut that the experim ental procedure has been poorly described by the lay p ress in som e cases. In addition to the press releases m entioned, this experim ent was rep o rted in a Chicago p aper som e six m onths before we had even accepted th e paper for publica tion.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR I JADA, Vol. 94, February 1977 ■ 215
of Michigan notified the Council that the survey report had incorrectly in terpreted the program in M ichigan by referring to D elta and Blue C ross and Blue Shield as separate carriers. In • fact, D elta and Blue Cross/Blue Shield, under a tripartite agreem ent, jointly adm inistered th e auto industry dental care program in M ichigan. A n article from the Journal o f the M ich igan D ental A ssociation explaining the responsibilities of each organiza tion in adm inistering the program was sent to the Council, and D elta hoped that a réévaluation o f the survey would occur. N o t only did this not occur, but now an advertisem ent, which repro duces the survey’s conclusions on the general perform ance o f the car riers, has been prepared by an insur ance com pany and is appearing in new spapers throughout the country. We submit that this m isstatem ent contained in the survey is now being exploited in a m assive advertising campaign conducted nationw ide to the serious detrim ent of D elta’s rep utation and goodwill in the industry. A s you may know , D elta’s board o f directors voted to term inate the operating agreem ent with Blue C ross/ Blue Shield at the end of the contract period because of dissatisfaction with the joint adm inistrative relationship. D elta recently was selected to ad m inister the new program s for the U A W m em bers at the C hrysler Corp. and at the G eneral M otors C orp., which are scheduled to begin in early 1977. DANIEL L. PIERRON, DDS PRESIDENT, DELTA DENTAL PLAN OF MICHIGAN LANSING
Survey accuracy questioned C om m ents on denture m aking m T he
A m erican D ental A ssocia tio n ’s Council on D ental Care P ro gram s recently published the findings of its survey on the U nited A uto W orkers/auto m anufacturers dental benefit program throughout the U nited States (N ovem ber JA D A , page 900). U pon receiving a copy of these results in A ugust, D elta D ental Plan
m T he editorial reprint in the D ecem ber Journal (page 1061) concerning “ denturism ” * was m ost interesting, especially since there w ere a couple o f letters in the current A D A N ew s regarding the same topic. T here is, unfortunately, a certain “ inevitability” to som e sort of “ den turism ” coming o nto the dental pre
212 ■ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR / JADA, Vol. 94, February 1977
serve. We dentists stoutly m aintain we “ provide service, not p ro d u cts,” and yet “ everyone k now s” dentures are plastic objects, not in any way at tached to the body (especially in the mandible). T here are som e 225 million people in the U nited States w ho think this way, and only about 110,000 dentists; guess w ho “ loses” the dis cussion? D entists “ charge a lo t” for den tures, and many denture w earers are unhappy. T he first point can be de bated; the second, I think not. We dentists, suggests one gentlem an in his A D A N ew s letter, should return the fees of those w ho are not pleased. A noble thought but, unlike a “ dentu rist,” every dentist has substantial overhead. I t costs me approxim ately $100 to $125 “ out o f p o ck et” to insert a set of dentures, and I suspect if my total expenses w ere carefully exam ined, I ’d have to up it further. So, to return a fee entirely is a “ double lo ss,” so to speak. M ost “ denturists” might lose 15-20 in the sam e situa tion, a substantial difference, plus they have n ot p ut in 7 to 8 years of training after high school. R eference has been m ade to the “ denture clinic” in South Carolina. It was on a T V show last year. Some patients w ere questioned and seemed pleased with their dentures; after all, they had them some 20 to 30 m inutes and m ost im portantly paid $50 for them . T his is w hat m akes people hap py with their dentures—the bargain aspect or “ beating the system ,” so to speak. W ho is to blame? Partly the pro fession, because the only way to com bat “ denturism ,” as it now approach es, is to provide clinics which will produce dentures, by dentists, for these w ho really need a low -cost ser vice. I do not believe that, ju st to pro vide a bargain, such clinics should allow patients over a certain income level to participate in the service. H ospitals have similar arrangem ents. I also blame the dental schools. We w ere provided at my school with patients who all had “ great ridges,” which approxim ated well (no “ A ndy G um ps” or “ Class I I I ” stuff that I saw), and had to turn out so many
“ F /F ” to graduate. Believe me, doing one set on a “ no-ridge” m outh, even if it took tw o years and was frustrat ing as heck, would have been more useful here on the “ outside,” to me, than those several “ goodies” I com pleted. In root canal I had such an advan tage; my first case was a real hot bi cuspid. It took all day to get into the cham ber, and the instructors really had to “ perform .” But they com m ented on the teaching value of such a case indicating that if I ’d hit it on the outside, it w ould have driven me crazy. I believe m ost dentists are not up set about “ denturism ,” because m ost denture patients are annoying anyw ay, especially the ones who are having rem akes after 20 to 30 years with those “ first plates.” T hey w ant the fit w hich w as present w hen their ridges w ere “ full” and they w ere a lot more “ flexible” to accom m odate them selves to th e dentures! F o r my part, “ denturists” are welcome to m ost denture patients! H ow ever, I ’d be m ost willing to p u t my share of tim e in a clinic run by dentistry for denture services, espe cially if it m eant I ’d finally learn a few valuable “ tricks” of denture w ork— not the stuff which is given in courses, textbooks, or articles, but w orkable hints. R O B E R T W. A L L E N , DDS TRUM BULL, CONN *A “denturist” is a person who is educa tionally unqualified and not licensed, for the necessary protection of the public, to prac tice dentistry in any form on the public. "Denturism" is the unqualified as well as the illegal practice of dentistry in any form on the public.
“R eentry o f A m erican students” m I w as elated to read about the pro
gram w hich has been initiated at the U niversity of T exas D ental Branch at H o uston to help prepare Indo chinese dentists to enter into the main stream o f th e A m erican dental com munity (D ecem ber JA D A , page 1103). K udos to the H E W for its grant of $88,000 to the school to implement this program in which 19 V ietnam ese dentists are currently enrolled. I later
learned from the Bulletin o f D ental E ducation (N ovem ber 1976) that the U niversity of Pittsburgh also has been provided with a contract from the H E W , and that at least 80 Indo chinese dentists will be given instruc tion in English and the basic sciences over a period of six m onths during which the students will be given trav el m oney and a m onthly stipend. Perhaps a sim ilar program can be initiated at some tim e in the future to facilitate the reentry of A m erican students who have found it necessary to enroll in dental program s at foreign universities. I am currently enrolled in my second year at the U niversidad A utonom a de G uadalajara in M exico. I can, therefore, appreciate the prob lems o f preparing for the national board exam inations as well as receiv ing instruction in a second language. I w ish my future colleagues every success in this program . I would also like to request th at the educators at the dental schools in the U nited States take a close look at this program and begin to form ulate a reentry program for the A m erican student abroad. E D W A R D J. P E N ZA YONKERS, N Y
Im proper P R on article m T he GK-101 story (D ecem ber J A D A , p 1149) w as covered by tele vision, the St. Louis P ost Dispatch, and by clear-channel radio K M O X . It sounds so w onderful and then some little extra tidbits cam e in, such as, “ T he dentist probably w on’t need to use th e drill anym ore.” R esult? Each day my patients ask me if I have that new “ spray” th at is used to fix up th e teeth w ithout pain? O thers phone in to ask. I ’m so proud that Tufts is research ing this project. But it’s also hard for me to hang my head, in sham e, and say, “ N o, I don’t have the sp ray .” R. K. Z IM M E R M A N DDS C A H O K IA , IL L
■ H ow lucky is the dentist in the “ boonies” in this m odern age. H e no longer needs his Journal to keep up w ith research and new products. All
he has to do is tune in his radio or T V to his favorite news program to learn the latest in caries rem oval, etc. T h en if he wishes to learn m ore he can study the A P and U P I dispatches in his local new spaper to find out the details. A few days later, I received my D ecem b er Journal w ith the first in stallm ent of the new technique. Isn ’t there some w ay to delay such public ity so the practitioner will at least be aw are of th at which the new sm en w rite and about w hich the patients ask? N o w th at I ’ve gone through this m onologue, I ’ll m ention that I ’m re ferring to the extensive lay publicity given the G oldm an-K ronm an paper on good old GK-101. B R O D IE G. SECREST, JR., DD S C A M B R ID G E , O H IO
■ In the D ecem ber issue of The Journal th ere is an article on chemom echanical m eans of rem oving car ies. O ur T u lsa papers carried an ar ticle about this tw o days before we received The Jo u rn a l! Could you explain why new m ethods are re leased to the public before the pro fessional m en? W hen a patient asks ab o u t a procedure th at they have read about, and we have no know ledge of it, w hat kind o f image does that por tray ? M ost people d o n ’t realize that the process is still in the experim ental stage. T h e new spapers painted such a “ rosy picture” th a t the people feel the m ethod should be available now. In m y opinion, the release to th e pub lic was prem ature. I would appreciate your com m ents on this type of press release. C L IN T M IN E R , DD S JENKS, O K L A
E ditor’s note: We too have been displeased with the prem ature press release w hich was done outside of the A D A . T he letters also correctly point o ut that the experim ental procedure has been poorly described by the lay p ress in som e cases. In addition to the press releases m entioned, this experim ent was rep o rted in a Chicago p aper som e six m onths before we had even accepted th e paper for publica tion.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR I JADA, Vol. 94, February 1977 ■ 215
