DENTISTS' CHARGES

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 31, 7 February 1922, Page 6

DENTISTS' CHARGES

Regarding the suggestion mad© in tho House of Representatives that dentists should be prevented, from exploiting patients by charging' excessive fees, a correspondent ("A Dentist") writes asking The. Post to present "another yiew~" of the case." After pointing out tho difficulties and obstruction raiaed by some patients against paying accounts, thus increasing "overhead costs. whioh have necessarily to be passed on to , the people who do pay," the correspondent comments: "An M.P. ,■. thinking that dentistry is simply tooth-pulling, challenges all-comers to a contest. He would do better to devise some scheme to make dental education cheaper, so that more experts could serve the/ public and endeavour to persuade patients that 'a clean tooth, seldom decays,' and attention to diet will build up an internal resistance to decay. Many valuable teeth will then be sAved, and general health greatly benefited. Interesting experiments by Drs. M'Callum and Howo in America have definitely proved it. A visit,to the Mayo Clinic makes one realise the enormous damage to health that bad teeth and bad dentistry cause. So let us have more experienced dentists. Philanthropists in Americ* have endowed medical and dental-colleges so that good teachers are available, \ and fine equipment. Students can thus be trained for nominal amounts, and the American publib have tho luck to get the benefit of fine services from the excellent dentist: turned out. A great^many of us are trying to persuade people to co-operate with us in endeavouring to prevent trouble, and consequently there will bo less repair work to pay for. Oval prophylaxis is interesting, and the results most gratifying to both patient and dentist. I personally look to our 6ohool dental scheme to be of inoaloulable benefit to the rising generation."