Ohio is suffering a dental health gap. And the usual suspects are at it again.
Of course, none of this is free market, it’s all interventionism. But the arguments are telling of the problem in general.
Unbeknownst to me, Ohio has 59 federally designated dental-shortage areas. That the federal government designates such a status is the first hint that something is wrong. Regardless, as any statist knows, gaps in dental care must be addressed — and addressed by state action.
So the Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio, whose mission is “is to achieve (attain) high quality, accessible, affordable health care for all Ohioans” through the coercive power of the state, proposes legislation allowing dental therapists to provide dental care for those without access to licensed dentists.
Of course, “the Ohio Dental Association opposes the idea.” No stretch here.
Now, I have no issue with dental therapist providing dental care. Just like I have no issue with my neighbor doing the same. It’s the politics — interventions on top of interventions — that is my concern.
The battle is political, with the state deciding winners and losers.
But doesn’t it just seem — like it always seems — that it is the consumer who will lose in the end?
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Ohio is 89% fluoridated. Dentists patted themselves on the back saying they were the only profession willing to put themselves out of business. Yeah Right. Despite 65+ years of water fluoridation, 55+ years of fluoridated toothpaste, a glut of fluoride in our food supply and many new fluoridated dental products, we have 41% of adolescents with fluoride overdose symptoms (dental fluorosis or discolored teeth), Yet, tooth decay is a growing problem, needing more dental professionals, more dental schools, many government reports, too many meetings, oral health coalitions in almost every state and many cities, dental directors in almost every state, an oral health division of the CDC, national institute of dental research, and millions of dollars in research to find out why Americans have tooth decay.
Rotten diets make rotten teeth and people need to have those cavities fixed. That’s all there is. Dentists need to be mandated to treat more low income people. 80% of them refuse Medicaid patients and 100 million Americans don’t have dental insurance. Even those with dental insurance can’t afford dentistry’s high fees when insurance pays only for partial coverage.
Instead organized dentistry acts like the super salespeople for the industries that make money off of fluoride and tooth decay. Then they lobby against any viable groups willing to fix the teeth of those people dentists refuse to treat. They would rather people live in pain then potentially have business taken away from them.
The American Dental Association is a union that represents the best interests of its members – not the American public, yet they have so much power with our legislators that might have to do with their very fat wallets.
Fluoridation is something I am greatly opposed to, because it removes choice from the consumer of water. He is left with the choice of inexpensive water with fluoride in it, expensive bottled water (with its own issues), or an expensive reverse-osmosis filtration system. Since he is forced to pay for the municipal water system, he should be able to get water without added fluoride. Anyone who wants fluoride in it can add it with fluoride tablets. I found a great posting of further argument against it, well worth a read.
Nothing causes pain like neglecting your teeth for a few years, then going to the dentist and finding out you needs lots of work because of your neglect. Even with good insurance, a crown can set me back several hundred dollars. And there is an annual maximum, so if I blow that, it’s many more hundreds of dollars.
This is the kind of incentive that pushes people like me to floss every day, even when I don’t really feel like it, and to get my regular cleanings and checkups. And that is exactly the kind of market pressure in a free society that tends to minimize waste but still allow for service when needed. Without insurance, a couple of cleanings and checkups per year are affordable for almost anyone. One could take the money that would have been spent on pop and candy, and buy some floss instead.
Thank goodness there is still some semblance of private market forces in dentistry. Much has been written about the awfulness of the system in the UK, and we don’t need to head any farther in that socialist direction.
” Dentists need to be mandated to treat more low income people.”
You’re not a dentist are you.
As long as dentists meddle in our water supply, using their power and money to MANDATE fluoride into every American’s body via the water supply and, hence, the food and beverages made with that fluoridated water, then they are, in effect, saying “we love mandates.”
Of course, dentists don’t like mandates for themselves. They just use our government and our taxes to give the illusion they care about the low income people who aren’t welcomed in their dental chairs.
People need to take back their water supplies from the selfish special-interest group and demand that fluoridation end. For more info: http://www.FluorideAction.Net
You will never hear better information on fluoride than here:
http://www.MaeBrussell.com
Just go to the bottom of the homepage. Dr. John Lee, Dr. John Yiamouyannis, and Dr. Phyllis Mullenix describe the history, origin, and health hazards of this toxic waste. It is no wonder that most countries around the world have banned water fluoridation. The audio is 75 minutes long. Hopefully people will make a cd of it and spread it around. Good luck.
The real problem is that people brush too frequently and improperly. It’s constantly rammed into our heads to brush right after meals. This is a bad idea because the acid in the food softens the enamel and brushing just wears it away. It’s better to drink water afterward and wait a few hours. Brushing should be focused around the gums with only light brushing on the teeth themselves. Flossing is meant to be the primary method of plaque removal as floss is less harmful to enamel.
Fastidious cleanliness is causing most of our dental issues.
No way I will allow a dental therapist put a machine inside my mouth. Just the thought of going to see a dentist is more than enough. Imagine if I’m told that person doing the filling is no really qualify!
I believe the dental system and dentists in general needs more support from the government. It is one of the reason why running a dental clinic or a career as a dentists could be becoming more like any other business career
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