we often believe in protecting ourselves at all times. The core principle of defensive driving is that you cannot trust other people to do what they are supposed to do behind the wheel or a car. So when someone makes an agreement to have dental work done and pay at a later day should we trust them or give them an antibiotic and tell them to come back when they have the cash in hand?

I originally told James to never trust anyone who makes promises like Ashton. After some reflection I realized I was telling a little kid you can’t trust people at their word. A day after Ashton “threw away” the bracelet, I told James my story and told him that we need to try to trust people when we can. That a dollar is just a dollar, and giving up on people before they have even had a chance is wrong. Someday people’s word may mean something again. But, don’t make any deals again with Ashton ever again! I want to believe we can trust people, but I worry that someday very soon I may be burned so many times I will change my mind. Then, James and I will have both lost another part of our innocence.

So this really is another access issue. Den- tistry people are constantly arguing about access to dental care. The proposed solution to improve access in many industries seems to be more intervention from the govern- ment, more rules, more commissions and more power to un-elected regulatory groups. Just look to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state dental boards (see article on page 26). The Supreme Court just ruled the FTC is able to charge dentist-dominated state boards with anti-competitive and unfair actions. This effectively gives the FTC power over decisions made by all state regulatory boards. OSHA and the Office of Civil Rights through HIPAA exert more authority and create more rules and regulations every year. You would think we could learn something from other industries, but things seem to keep repeating. f

CONTACT DR. NAIL at editorial@modental.org with comments or questions on this editorial or other Focus articles and topics.

January 15-16

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