I don't really know what that means??? Are you saying since dental care is
not life or death dentists should be more open to giving away their
services? I would think the opposite would be true. People can live without
teeth...no, I don't get this at all.

That figures. Well, hate to break it to you little doggy, but you are
barking up the wrong tree. Your original complaint is about a government run
program that is funded by taxpayers. Your complaint to the dental profession
makes no more sense then if you started protesting outside General Motors
because the public transit system is flawed. They make the bus, but don't
run the agency.

Interesting. I guess you are just a concept person. You come up with the
idea and then claim it is other peoples burden to do the hard work. That
says volumes about your stance on this subject! No, we dentists are all busy
going on vacations and shopping for new houses..better the initiative come
from someone like you who has a better understanding of the issues..

It IS the equivalent. Your suggestion is that it is the burden of the dental
profession to care for those who have no access to dental care. Then you
point to charitable groups and companies that ELECT to help. Do you want me
to show you evidence of the many dental organizations that ELECT to
help...or put you in touch with virtually every dentist I know who provides
charity in his own office, free from government regulations? There are many
dentists who ELECT to help. Your concept, however, is that there is some
ethical burden to do so. Your example of soup kitchens and charity from
Safeway is vastly different. Following YOUR logic, those organizations would
be MANDATED to feed the poor and Safeway would be forced to throw their
doors open to the hungry. See the difference?

And how is this little adventure you speak of going to clarify this issue? I
readily understand the concepts of charity, and forcing one group to bear
the burden of charitable giving ain't what it is all about. I do my
charitable deeds in the quiet of my office. I don't need or want any
government agency telling me who, how, and when I do so.

Your understanding of this issue is limited...you probably base too much on
assumption...just like you assume you are the only one here who understands
the plight and burdens of the poor. That smacks of arrogance. It also leaves
me with the impression that you feel that benefits the government provides
for the poor and sick is an entitlement instead of a privilege. Sadly, that
is just the attitude that turns many off to participating in government
sponsored healthcare programs. I can only speak for myself, but I found that
participating in public assistance dental programs was the least rewarding
work of my career. Most of the patients were unreliable, ungrateful, and
uncooperative and at the end of the day I felt like a fool for helping them.
Perhaps you could put on some scrubs, or a lab coat, and sit in a dental
office or clinic, talk to the dental staff and the patients. Listen and
watch. YOU might view things a lot differently...or, you could just continue
to be judgmental of others based on a very limited understanding of the
dynamics of the situation. Somehow, I think the latter scenario fits better
within your comfort zone.

T

Because we are speaking of 'dental care', not appendectomies.

No

Why don't YOU start such a campaign???  Better it should come from a
professional, yes???

It is NOT equivalent.  The hungry in any major American city have SOME
resources (non-governmental, btw): soup kitchens, food banks,
(supported BY stores like Safeway!), Safeway's dumpster's, and
begging.  All of which will fill their bellies, but NOT their dental
caries!!!

Get real.  Go downtown in your old clothes and live on the street for
just one day, from dawn to dusk.  Sit in the park, the mall.  Take a
ride on the public transit.  Talk to the disenfranchised. Listen and
watch.  Eat your 'evening' meal at the local soup kitchen (they won't
ask you for ID).  It might be the BEST day of your life and you might
view a lot of things just a little differently.

spondee@REMOVEcox.net

Why is it only a dentist's burden to "give a hoot". Have you also posted
this topic to boards that discuss issues such as government spending or
taxation? Why not try to start a campaign to have a referendum placed on the
ballot that asks the citizens of your state if they would agree to some
sacrifice (higher taxes, lower wages...something to provide funding dollars)
to help provide dental care to those who cannot afford it on their own. My
guess is that most would say we are already doing enough. Let me know how
that works out. Until then, laying the burden of this responsibility at the
feet of dentists is unfair. It is the equivalent of protesting outside your
Safeway store and branding them as unethical because people are going
hungry.

T

The reason I've been ignoring you is because YOU just don't get it!  I
HAVE no problem, am NOT seeking a dentist.

The discussion was on the ETHICS of children being in pain from
toothache, elders not being able to eat, because DENTISTS don't seem
to give a hoot.

(Though must admit would truly love to have better quality dentures)

The fact is, Medical IS IN PLACE, and offers SOME (albeit very small)
compensation.  People could be getting BASIC dental care if more
dentists would take some Medical Clients

I haven't the slightest idea of where YOU came up with the thought
that I was an ADVOCATE, or LEAGAL EAGLE.  I am just a 'crusader'.  A
run of the mill writer that can SEE when the emperor is naked.

Why don't YOU take your own suggestions instead of trying to pawn them
off for others to do the work for you???

Feel free to 'ignore' me.  Can't say I really need you in my
cyberspace...
spondee@REMOVEcox.net

    And my point is...  Three times I have tried to point you to the real
source of your proplem and three times you have ignored me completly.  You
obviously have an adgenda of your own and therefore someone to be ignored.

Have a nice day,
Vaughn

    and your point is...?

Vaughn

From:  Houghton Mifflin

eth·ic (eth'ik)

n.
1.
a. A set of principles of right conduct.

b. A theory or a system of moral values: "An ethic of service is at
war with a craving for gain" Gregg Easterbrook.

2. ethics (used with a sing. verb) The study of the general nature of
morals and of the specific moral choices to be made by a person; moral
philosophy.

3. ethics (used with a sing. or pl. verb) The rules or standards
governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession:
medical ethics.
spondee@REMOVEcox.net