Free Dentistry for all?


This sounds like a wonderful dream. People ask me "Do you provide free dentistry to the needy? The answer is no, mostly because I can't afford to. Free dentistry is not generally available because staff, landlords, dental supply houses and our dental laboratories, are not on board, even if at times it can be extremely worthwhile.

There are charitable organizations that offer free dentistry that rely for the most part on volunteers to donate their services. One of my colleagues presented a case to our study club featuring a young woman with amelogenesis imperfecta who was being helped by an organization "Donated Dental Services". All of the specialists involved in her care had donated their services and different dental labs donated their services as well.

Another way that dentists can give back is by teaching at dental schools. Part time faculty often volunteer or work for extremely modest salaries. Dental work provided by students, is not free, but is provided at extremely affordable rates . There is a catch....Dental care at dental school usually involves patients investing much more of their time in order to get their treatment. Students take longer to perform their procedures and their work needs to be check by faculty early and often.  Be aware that the quality of care can vary since not all students are equally adept.

Bernie Sanders' proposal of Medicare for all includes dental care, but I haven't seen a thoughtful analysis on how our government will pay for it. Frankly  I am not impressed with  medicaid dentistry in New York since there are a lot of procedures that are not covered or and when treatment is covered, the reimbursements to private dental offices are poor.  While I believe Mr. Sanders is sincerely believes in his proposals I do not believe that I would like to have the government dictating what sort of care I can provide. I believe it would be a giant step backward for most patients.

from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2019/07/free-dentistry-for-all.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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