Question:
As I read it, I thought that increased borrowing against home equity (2nd
mortgages) might be paying for dental care.
Sure enough, it is mentioned in the article.
Homeowner equity is at an all-time low. A downturn can increase credit card
debt , etc.etc.etc.
See the connection to dentistry?
Answer:
At the risk of having the swat team show up at my door for
contributing to an off-topic thread, I would like to add a few thoughts.
There has been a great increase in self-directed retirement plans over the
last few years. One common feature of these plans is that the money is
available for loan directly to the owner. A simple fact that eludes far too
many people is that if you "borrow" the money from your own retirement plan,
it is no longer there! That means it is not growing and, should you not pay
it back, you will be living exclusively off of Social Security after
retirement. The percentage of workers who mortgage their futures in this
manner is astounding. I have seen my fellow workers prematurely burn up
their retirement nest-eggs buying new cars, paying off credit card debt
(only to build up new debt on their plastic) and making similar unwise
choices.
Why should you care? Retirees with no disposable income seldom visit
the dentist and even seldomer consent to expensive treatment plans.
We do it every day of the week. We doctors refer our patients to other
doctors. We collaborate in the patient care. Denturists should realize that
collaboration in direct patient care would always require the services of a
doctor.
We agree. Last time I checked, denturists were not all that well trained in
biochemistry, pathology, histology, and a few other disciplines that are
necessary in evaluating or even recognizing pathologic conditions!
If one wants that training, one can always apply to, and then attend dental
school. A patient has a certain right to know if a life-theatening condition
exists. Sometimes the diagnosis can be tricky.
The next factor is the whole TMJ issue. Is the bite appropriate for the
patient? Dentists are pretty knowledgeable with regards physiology. So if
you cut the dentist out of the equation entirely, you are going to be losing
something!
Oops, I missed the word *first*; as in specialsit first then GP. We refer
all the time too. Perhaps you could enlighten me as to why "direct patient
care always require the services of a doctor". $$$$ in your pocket?
X-rays are not within my legal scope of practice. I therefore have to focus
more on the other tools available to arrive at an assessment of the
situation. Al Pacino portrays this phenomenon very well in the movie "Scent
of a Woman". I do not need an x-ray to measure tooth mobility, nor gingival
recession, nor inflammation, nor bleeding, nor exudate etc., these are all
things that indicate the need for a proper diagnosis and treatment by other
members of the health care team.
Barrels are wider in the middle and have natural "undercuts", drums on the
other hand do not. The design of each case is based on what is presented.
Sometimes all that is need is minimally invasive enamelplasty where a crown
would be overtreatment. The dentists I work with have no problem
participating in developing a treatment plan that is best for the patient.
