LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
THE JOURNAL devotes this section to comment by readers on topics of current interest to den tistry. The editor reserves the right to edit all communications to fit available space and requires that all letters be signed. Printed communications do not necessarily reflect the opinion or of ficial policy of the Association. Your participation in this section is invited.
Use rubber dam m T h e a rtic le in th e M a y issu e o f The Journal (p ag e 895) b y Q u islin g , K ang u r, and J a h rs d o e rfe r o n su b c u ta n e o u s e m p h y se m a a fte r a ro u tin e am alg am p re p a ra tio n should b e o f in te re s t to all d e n tists w ho u se a high sp e e d air-tu rb in e drill. It sh o u ld also be o f in te re s t how easily th is situ a tio n c o u ld h a v e b e e n p re v e n te d ; v iz, a w ell-fitting ru b b e r d am . P re v e n tio n o f iatro g en ica lly in d u c e d su b c u ta n e o u s e m p h y se m a is a n o th e r a d d itio n to th e long list o f ru b b e r d a m a d v a n ta g e s. A s long as th e w id e sp re a d n o n -u s e o f th e ru b b e r d am c o n tin u e s, w e can e x p e c t to see m o re c a se re p o rts sim ilar to th e o n e d e sc rib e d in th e a rtic le . T h e fa ct th a t d e a th fro m e m p h y s e m a a fte r u se o f a h ig h -sp eed h a n d p ie c e n e v e r has bee n re p o rte d d o e s n o t p rec lu d e th a t p o ssib ility . T h e a u th o rs su g g e st carefu l use o f th e h ig h -sp eed drill in a re a s o f d is ru p te d oral tissu e s to p re v e n t su b c u ta n e o u s e m p h y se m a . I su g g est p re v en tin g it b y u sin g a w ell-fitting ru b b e r dam . D A V ID M . CASEY, DDS EAST G R E EN B U S H , N Y
Likes editorial m B rav o fo r th o s e k in d w o rd s in th e ed ito ria l, “ A D A n e e d s p e rso n a liz e d m em b ersh ip s e r v ic e s ,” in th e J a n u a ry issu e o f The Journal. 18 ■ JA D A , V o l. 95, J u ly 1977
W hile I h a v e b e e n in v o lv ed in te a c h ing an d w ritin g o f a n d a b o u t d e n tistry , y o u r Journal d o es g et v e ry tire so m e an d a little v arie ty w ould h elp. It is said “ th a t w o rk w ith o u t p lay m ak es J a c k a dull b o y ,” a n d b ein g on a co n s ta n t d ie t o f d e n tistry d o e s p u t you to sleep. I u se a sim p le p ro c e d u re in re a d ing the Journal. I read th e su m m ary o f all th e a rtic le s a n d , if it is in te re stin g to m e, I ’ll go b ac k a n d go th ro u g h th e a rtic le . H o w e v e r, th an k s fo r my th o u g h ts th a t you so a p tly e x p re sse d . H A R R Y A . S IL B E R M A N , DDS JERSEY C IT Y , NJ
Wheelchair transfer ■ C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s f o r p r e s e n tin g p ra c tic a l m e th o d s to im p ro v e d en tal c a re fo r w h e e lc h a ir-b o u n d p eo p le in th e A p r il is s u e o f T he Journal, “ W h e e lc h a ir tr a n s fe r te c h n iq u e s fo r th e d e n tal o ffic e ” (page 719). I w as in te re ste d in th e artic le b o th as th e w ife o f a d e n tist a n d as a p h y si cal th e ra p is t w h o te a c h e s p a tie n ts and th e ir fam ilies tra n s fe r tech n iq u e s. T h e re a re sev e ra l p o in ts w hich m ight be e m p h a siz e d in a d d itio n to th o s e in th e artic le . Be su re to fully u tilize th e p a tie n t’s a n d /o r fam ily ’s k n o w led g e o f an d e x p e rie n c e w ith tran sferrin g . T o p re p a re fo r a safe tra n sfe r, d e te rm in e if th e p a tie n t has one side w h ich is stro n g e r th a n th e o th e r. P la c ing th e w h e e lc h a ir at a slight angle to
th e d e n ta l c h a ir, h av e th e fro n t edge c lo s e s t to th e d e n ta l ch a ir to u ch in g th e d e n ta l ch air. T h e p a tie n t’s stro n g e r sid e should be n e x t to th e dental c h a ir. S ee th a t n o t o n ly a re th e brak es se t se c u re ly , b u t th a t th e fo o tp lates a re ra ise d a s w ell as sw u ng o u t to the side. T o p e rfo rm a n y p a tie n t tra n sfe r safely an d c o m fo rta b ly , p ro c e e d slow ly , allow ing th e p a tie n t to d o as m uch fo r h im self as p o ssib le. In a m o b ile p a tie n t tra n sfe r, the p a tie n t w ill b e p iv o tin g o n the foot n e x t to th e d en tal c h air. T h e d en tist c a n p ro v id e m ax im u m a ssista n c e by p lacin g h is fo o t o n th e inside o f the p a tie n t’s p iv o tal fo o t. H is shin should c ro s s th e sh in o f th e p a tie n t an d his k n ee sh o u ld re s t o n th e o u tsid e o f the p a tie n t’s k n e e , fo rm in g an X . T h is will allow th e d e n tist to re a d ily b lock the p a tie n t’s k n e e in e x te n sio n w hile both p iv o t. T h e d e n tist th e n sh o u ld b en d his h ip s an d k n e e s, o b serv in g g o od body m e c h a n ic s an d p e rm ittin g th e thigh a n d hip m u sc les to d o th e w o rk , a v o id ing s tra in o n th e spinal m u sc u latu re. O n c e in th is p o sitio n , h e should g ra sp th e p a tie n t firm ly by th e b a c k o f th e b elt a n d w a istb an d . T h is is p re fe r a b le to a h ig h er g ra s p u n d e r th e arm s b e c a u se th e c e n te r o f g rav ity o f the b o d y is in th e p elv ic a re a ; w hen this is c o n tro lle d , th e re s t o f th e b o d y m ay b e re a d ily c o n tro lle d . I t is also p ref e ra b le b e c a u se th e p a tie n t m ay hav e s h o u ld e r p a in o r w e a k n e ss, as in h em iplegia o r a rth ritis , w h ich c o u ld be ag g ra v a te d b y g rasp in g him firm ly un d e r th e a rm s. In s tru c t th e p a tie n t to b e n d fo r w a rd , g ettin g his h ea d o v e r his k n ees, b ac k fle x e d . O n c e in th is p o sitio n he sh o u ld g ra sp th e arm o f his chair, p u sh in g to sta n d , th e d e n tist assisting him in to th e sta n d in g p o sitio n . T h e p a tie n t an d d e n tist th e n p iv o t, the p a tie n t re a c h in g fo r th e se a t o f the d e n tal c h a ir and sittin g in th e dental ch air. In an im m o b ile p a tie n t tra n sfe r, g o o d b o d y m ech a n ics (bending a t h ip s an d k n e e s) fo r th o se assistin g in th e tr a n s fe r sh o u ld b e stre sse d . In a sliding b o a rd tra n sfe r, th e w h e e lc h a ir sh o u ld b e as clo se a s p o s sible to th e d e n tal c h air. It w ould be help fu l fo r m o st p a tie n ts to h av e the
dentist standing in front o f them dur ing the transfer, prepared to block the patient’s k n ees, if n ecessary, during the sliding phase. PATRICIA BEACH, LPT HILLSIDE HOSPITAL WARREN, OHIO
m e and w as at least a year in dental co lleg e taking m edical cou rses before I w as sure tooth w as spelled with o ’s not u ’s. Y ou don ’t have ev en half the time to listen to m y com plaints. I can only say, it’s about tim e; g o , man! H .L . BARCLAY, JR ., DDS BUFFALO, NY
C o m m e n ts o n b a sic scien ce editorial ■ I am in full agreem ent with your editorial in the M ay issu e o f T h e J o u r nal concerning basic scien ces. I am pleased you have sp ok en out on this subject and I h op e y o u w ill continue to do so. JAMES S. BOYD, DMD WILLIAMSPORT, PA
■ I glanced at your M ay editorial, then scanned it, read it, then really read it. I ev en ch eck ed to see if I w as reading the official publication. There it w a s, in black and w hite, in T h e Jo u rn a l, som eon e w as finally speak in g o u t a b o u t th e stu p id , id io tic , s e n s e le s s , u s e l e s s , u n n e c e s s a r y cou rses forced upon the dental stu dent. B ack in 19471 could tell from a slide under a m icroscop e if the brain tissue w as from that portion having to do w ith m oving th e hand or the foot. I could run a C B C , urinalysis, and cross m atch blood. I w a s trained to diagnose heart sounds and cou ld draw to the sm allest detail th e d igestive sy stem o f a w orm . Y e s, I knew ev ery m uscle, b o n e, and n erve o f the b od y, and had even given a spinal tap to our cadaver. O h, I w as a clev e r guy. T od ay, after 28 years in general practice, I dare not attem pt the re m oval o f an im pacted low er third molar b ecau se I w as not trained in that skill. A n d for the sam e reason, others in m y area d o not extract im pacted third m olars. A malpractice charge w ould n ot ev en go to trial. I n ever had th e opportunity to do ev en on e “ root ca n a l,” but the shark — now there is w here I could really sh ow m y stuff. I spent days and days, even w eek s learning all about the shark. E ndodontics? C om e on, now! I had m y predental training behind
■ A rticles entitled “ A n h on est look a t . . . . ” are usually advocating elim ination o f w hatever it is th ey are ex am ining, and, unfortunately, your M ay editorial on basic scien ces is no excep tion . B asic scien ces should b e in the den tal curriculum, not to lend a ven eer o f r e sp e c ta b ility to d e n tistr y , b u t to teach the student to b eco m e a com peten t practitioner in all ph ases o f dentistry. I f the dentist is entitled to b e a d octor, then he m ust h a v e a sound background and understanding o f w hat he is doing, w hy h e is doing it, arid w hat are the im plications o f his treatm ent in term s o f the patient’s entire health status. If not, then he b eco m es an ancillary o f the medical p rofession . In d eed , the arguments m ost dentists u se against expanded duties for auxiliaries is that the den tist has a b asic scien ce background and the auxiliary d oes not. Y ou cite exam ples o f u seless ma terial such as “ frog p h y sio lo g y ,” on the one hand, saying this is facetiou s, and on the other saying that it is ac tually related to dental education in som e sch o o ls. I really doubt if any dental sch o o l actually teach es frog p h ysiology, and I do not b eliev e frog p h ysiology is a basic scie n c e as such. T h e frog is a u seful to o l for illustra tion o f som e p h ysiological principles, particularly in this day o f lim ited hu man experim entation, ju st as manikins or articulators are u sed to teach radi o lo g y or operative dentistry. B ecau se the procedure w as not done on a hu man d o es not m ake the p h ysiological principle invalid. A dm ittedly, there lik ely is som e “ u se le ss” inform ation in dental sch o o l basic scien ce co u rses. Perhaps if it w eren ’t there, som ething that is “ truly helpful in rendering good den tal treatm ent’ ’ could fill that tim e (gold fo il, R ichm ond crow n?); but that w ill
20 ■ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR / JADA, Vol. 95, July 1977
not so lv e the problem . I su sp ect that w here inappropriate material is over em phasized, it occurs in situations w here b asic scien ces are taught by nondental sch ool faculty w ho do not kn ow w hat is need ed by the students, or, w o rse, d o n ’t care. I f w e are going to take an h on est lo o k at b asic sc ie n c e s, then le t’s do so. It is not sim ply a m atter o f w hat is taught, but h ow it is taught. T h e stu dent m ust have a sound background in the principles so that he truly un derstands the so-called relevant ma terial. I f n ot, he w ill fail in his obliga tion to his patients. GEORGE S. SCHUSTER, DDS AUGUSTA, GA
■ In regard to your editorial “ T im e for an h on est lo o k at basic sc ie n c e s,” you should contem plate the h yp othes is o f L ouis Pasteur, “ C hance favors the prepared m in d .” Y o u should then seriou sly reconsider your position. D en tistry is probably the m ost rapidly grow ing branch o f the health field s. M o st o f the progress to w hich current practitioners are indebted is the result o f c e a se le ss inquiries by w ell-trained, dedicated scien tists. If on e budding scien tist enrolled in a dental curriculum w as denied the m ost com p lete b asic scien ce training, due to the results o f D ark A g es think ing like yours, it w ould be too great a price to pay for a little ex p ed ience. A fter all, that man or w om an with the proper background could add signifi cantly to our b od y o f know ledge and perhaps put the p rofession clo ser to curing or controlling o n e o f the disor ders dentists treat. A s a first-year dental student, I find you r rhetoric disappointing and discouraging. M any tim es, laym en h ave ask ed m e, “ W hy are yo u getting so m uch scien ce and m edical training if you are going to b e ju st a dentist?” W ith alm ost every day, I am taught new answ ers to that question. Y et you seek to m ake it more difficult for dental students to receive such infor m ation. I f anything, you should argue for increased thoroughness in dental b asic scien ce education. D en tists should be looking with h o p e at the n ew , highly trained m em bers o f the profession. Instead, you ask, “ h o w m any practicing dentists
THE JOURNAL devotes this section to comment by readers on topics of current interest to den tistry. The editor reserves the right to edit all communications to fit available space and requires that all letters be signed. Printed communications do not necessarily reflect the opinion or of ficial policy of the Association. Your participation in this section is invited.
Use rubber dam m T h e a rtic le in th e M a y issu e o f The Journal (p ag e 895) b y Q u islin g , K ang u r, and J a h rs d o e rfe r o n su b c u ta n e o u s e m p h y se m a a fte r a ro u tin e am alg am p re p a ra tio n should b e o f in te re s t to all d e n tists w ho u se a high sp e e d air-tu rb in e drill. It sh o u ld also be o f in te re s t how easily th is situ a tio n c o u ld h a v e b e e n p re v e n te d ; v iz, a w ell-fitting ru b b e r d am . P re v e n tio n o f iatro g en ica lly in d u c e d su b c u ta n e o u s e m p h y se m a is a n o th e r a d d itio n to th e long list o f ru b b e r d a m a d v a n ta g e s. A s long as th e w id e sp re a d n o n -u s e o f th e ru b b e r d am c o n tin u e s, w e can e x p e c t to see m o re c a se re p o rts sim ilar to th e o n e d e sc rib e d in th e a rtic le . T h e fa ct th a t d e a th fro m e m p h y s e m a a fte r u se o f a h ig h -sp eed h a n d p ie c e n e v e r has bee n re p o rte d d o e s n o t p rec lu d e th a t p o ssib ility . T h e a u th o rs su g g e st carefu l use o f th e h ig h -sp eed drill in a re a s o f d is ru p te d oral tissu e s to p re v e n t su b c u ta n e o u s e m p h y se m a . I su g g est p re v en tin g it b y u sin g a w ell-fitting ru b b e r dam . D A V ID M . CASEY, DDS EAST G R E EN B U S H , N Y
Likes editorial m B rav o fo r th o s e k in d w o rd s in th e ed ito ria l, “ A D A n e e d s p e rso n a liz e d m em b ersh ip s e r v ic e s ,” in th e J a n u a ry issu e o f The Journal. 18 ■ JA D A , V o l. 95, J u ly 1977
W hile I h a v e b e e n in v o lv ed in te a c h ing an d w ritin g o f a n d a b o u t d e n tistry , y o u r Journal d o es g et v e ry tire so m e an d a little v arie ty w ould h elp. It is said “ th a t w o rk w ith o u t p lay m ak es J a c k a dull b o y ,” a n d b ein g on a co n s ta n t d ie t o f d e n tistry d o e s p u t you to sleep. I u se a sim p le p ro c e d u re in re a d ing the Journal. I read th e su m m ary o f all th e a rtic le s a n d , if it is in te re stin g to m e, I ’ll go b ac k a n d go th ro u g h th e a rtic le . H o w e v e r, th an k s fo r my th o u g h ts th a t you so a p tly e x p re sse d . H A R R Y A . S IL B E R M A N , DDS JERSEY C IT Y , NJ
Wheelchair transfer ■ C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s f o r p r e s e n tin g p ra c tic a l m e th o d s to im p ro v e d en tal c a re fo r w h e e lc h a ir-b o u n d p eo p le in th e A p r il is s u e o f T he Journal, “ W h e e lc h a ir tr a n s fe r te c h n iq u e s fo r th e d e n tal o ffic e ” (page 719). I w as in te re ste d in th e artic le b o th as th e w ife o f a d e n tist a n d as a p h y si cal th e ra p is t w h o te a c h e s p a tie n ts and th e ir fam ilies tra n s fe r tech n iq u e s. T h e re a re sev e ra l p o in ts w hich m ight be e m p h a siz e d in a d d itio n to th o s e in th e artic le . Be su re to fully u tilize th e p a tie n t’s a n d /o r fam ily ’s k n o w led g e o f an d e x p e rie n c e w ith tran sferrin g . T o p re p a re fo r a safe tra n sfe r, d e te rm in e if th e p a tie n t has one side w h ich is stro n g e r th a n th e o th e r. P la c ing th e w h e e lc h a ir at a slight angle to
th e d e n ta l c h a ir, h av e th e fro n t edge c lo s e s t to th e d e n ta l ch a ir to u ch in g th e d e n ta l ch air. T h e p a tie n t’s stro n g e r sid e should be n e x t to th e dental c h a ir. S ee th a t n o t o n ly a re th e brak es se t se c u re ly , b u t th a t th e fo o tp lates a re ra ise d a s w ell as sw u ng o u t to the side. T o p e rfo rm a n y p a tie n t tra n sfe r safely an d c o m fo rta b ly , p ro c e e d slow ly , allow ing th e p a tie n t to d o as m uch fo r h im self as p o ssib le. In a m o b ile p a tie n t tra n sfe r, the p a tie n t w ill b e p iv o tin g o n the foot n e x t to th e d en tal c h air. T h e d en tist c a n p ro v id e m ax im u m a ssista n c e by p lacin g h is fo o t o n th e inside o f the p a tie n t’s p iv o tal fo o t. H is shin should c ro s s th e sh in o f th e p a tie n t an d his k n ee sh o u ld re s t o n th e o u tsid e o f the p a tie n t’s k n e e , fo rm in g an X . T h is will allow th e d e n tist to re a d ily b lock the p a tie n t’s k n e e in e x te n sio n w hile both p iv o t. T h e d e n tist th e n sh o u ld b en d his h ip s an d k n e e s, o b serv in g g o od body m e c h a n ic s an d p e rm ittin g th e thigh a n d hip m u sc les to d o th e w o rk , a v o id ing s tra in o n th e spinal m u sc u latu re. O n c e in th is p o sitio n , h e should g ra sp th e p a tie n t firm ly by th e b a c k o f th e b elt a n d w a istb an d . T h is is p re fe r a b le to a h ig h er g ra s p u n d e r th e arm s b e c a u se th e c e n te r o f g rav ity o f the b o d y is in th e p elv ic a re a ; w hen this is c o n tro lle d , th e re s t o f th e b o d y m ay b e re a d ily c o n tro lle d . I t is also p ref e ra b le b e c a u se th e p a tie n t m ay hav e s h o u ld e r p a in o r w e a k n e ss, as in h em iplegia o r a rth ritis , w h ich c o u ld be ag g ra v a te d b y g rasp in g him firm ly un d e r th e a rm s. In s tru c t th e p a tie n t to b e n d fo r w a rd , g ettin g his h ea d o v e r his k n ees, b ac k fle x e d . O n c e in th is p o sitio n he sh o u ld g ra sp th e arm o f his chair, p u sh in g to sta n d , th e d e n tist assisting him in to th e sta n d in g p o sitio n . T h e p a tie n t an d d e n tist th e n p iv o t, the p a tie n t re a c h in g fo r th e se a t o f the d e n tal c h a ir and sittin g in th e dental ch air. In an im m o b ile p a tie n t tra n sfe r, g o o d b o d y m ech a n ics (bending a t h ip s an d k n e e s) fo r th o se assistin g in th e tr a n s fe r sh o u ld b e stre sse d . In a sliding b o a rd tra n sfe r, th e w h e e lc h a ir sh o u ld b e as clo se a s p o s sible to th e d e n tal c h air. It w ould be help fu l fo r m o st p a tie n ts to h av e the
dentist standing in front o f them dur ing the transfer, prepared to block the patient’s k n ees, if n ecessary, during the sliding phase. PATRICIA BEACH, LPT HILLSIDE HOSPITAL WARREN, OHIO
m e and w as at least a year in dental co lleg e taking m edical cou rses before I w as sure tooth w as spelled with o ’s not u ’s. Y ou don ’t have ev en half the time to listen to m y com plaints. I can only say, it’s about tim e; g o , man! H .L . BARCLAY, JR ., DDS BUFFALO, NY
C o m m e n ts o n b a sic scien ce editorial ■ I am in full agreem ent with your editorial in the M ay issu e o f T h e J o u r nal concerning basic scien ces. I am pleased you have sp ok en out on this subject and I h op e y o u w ill continue to do so. JAMES S. BOYD, DMD WILLIAMSPORT, PA
■ I glanced at your M ay editorial, then scanned it, read it, then really read it. I ev en ch eck ed to see if I w as reading the official publication. There it w a s, in black and w hite, in T h e Jo u rn a l, som eon e w as finally speak in g o u t a b o u t th e stu p id , id io tic , s e n s e le s s , u s e l e s s , u n n e c e s s a r y cou rses forced upon the dental stu dent. B ack in 19471 could tell from a slide under a m icroscop e if the brain tissue w as from that portion having to do w ith m oving th e hand or the foot. I could run a C B C , urinalysis, and cross m atch blood. I w a s trained to diagnose heart sounds and cou ld draw to the sm allest detail th e d igestive sy stem o f a w orm . Y e s, I knew ev ery m uscle, b o n e, and n erve o f the b od y, and had even given a spinal tap to our cadaver. O h, I w as a clev e r guy. T od ay, after 28 years in general practice, I dare not attem pt the re m oval o f an im pacted low er third molar b ecau se I w as not trained in that skill. A n d for the sam e reason, others in m y area d o not extract im pacted third m olars. A malpractice charge w ould n ot ev en go to trial. I n ever had th e opportunity to do ev en on e “ root ca n a l,” but the shark — now there is w here I could really sh ow m y stuff. I spent days and days, even w eek s learning all about the shark. E ndodontics? C om e on, now! I had m y predental training behind
■ A rticles entitled “ A n h on est look a t . . . . ” are usually advocating elim ination o f w hatever it is th ey are ex am ining, and, unfortunately, your M ay editorial on basic scien ces is no excep tion . B asic scien ces should b e in the den tal curriculum, not to lend a ven eer o f r e sp e c ta b ility to d e n tistr y , b u t to teach the student to b eco m e a com peten t practitioner in all ph ases o f dentistry. I f the dentist is entitled to b e a d octor, then he m ust h a v e a sound background and understanding o f w hat he is doing, w hy h e is doing it, arid w hat are the im plications o f his treatm ent in term s o f the patient’s entire health status. If not, then he b eco m es an ancillary o f the medical p rofession . In d eed , the arguments m ost dentists u se against expanded duties for auxiliaries is that the den tist has a b asic scien ce background and the auxiliary d oes not. Y ou cite exam ples o f u seless ma terial such as “ frog p h y sio lo g y ,” on the one hand, saying this is facetiou s, and on the other saying that it is ac tually related to dental education in som e sch o o ls. I really doubt if any dental sch o o l actually teach es frog p h ysiology, and I do not b eliev e frog p h ysiology is a basic scie n c e as such. T h e frog is a u seful to o l for illustra tion o f som e p h ysiological principles, particularly in this day o f lim ited hu man experim entation, ju st as manikins or articulators are u sed to teach radi o lo g y or operative dentistry. B ecau se the procedure w as not done on a hu man d o es not m ake the p h ysiological principle invalid. A dm ittedly, there lik ely is som e “ u se le ss” inform ation in dental sch o o l basic scien ce co u rses. Perhaps if it w eren ’t there, som ething that is “ truly helpful in rendering good den tal treatm ent’ ’ could fill that tim e (gold fo il, R ichm ond crow n?); but that w ill
20 ■ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR / JADA, Vol. 95, July 1977
not so lv e the problem . I su sp ect that w here inappropriate material is over em phasized, it occurs in situations w here b asic scien ces are taught by nondental sch ool faculty w ho do not kn ow w hat is need ed by the students, or, w o rse, d o n ’t care. I f w e are going to take an h on est lo o k at b asic sc ie n c e s, then le t’s do so. It is not sim ply a m atter o f w hat is taught, but h ow it is taught. T h e stu dent m ust have a sound background in the principles so that he truly un derstands the so-called relevant ma terial. I f n ot, he w ill fail in his obliga tion to his patients. GEORGE S. SCHUSTER, DDS AUGUSTA, GA
■ In regard to your editorial “ T im e for an h on est lo o k at basic sc ie n c e s,” you should contem plate the h yp othes is o f L ouis Pasteur, “ C hance favors the prepared m in d .” Y o u should then seriou sly reconsider your position. D en tistry is probably the m ost rapidly grow ing branch o f the health field s. M o st o f the progress to w hich current practitioners are indebted is the result o f c e a se le ss inquiries by w ell-trained, dedicated scien tists. If on e budding scien tist enrolled in a dental curriculum w as denied the m ost com p lete b asic scien ce training, due to the results o f D ark A g es think ing like yours, it w ould be too great a price to pay for a little ex p ed ience. A fter all, that man or w om an with the proper background could add signifi cantly to our b od y o f know ledge and perhaps put the p rofession clo ser to curing or controlling o n e o f the disor ders dentists treat. A s a first-year dental student, I find you r rhetoric disappointing and discouraging. M any tim es, laym en h ave ask ed m e, “ W hy are yo u getting so m uch scien ce and m edical training if you are going to b e ju st a dentist?” W ith alm ost every day, I am taught new answ ers to that question. Y et you seek to m ake it more difficult for dental students to receive such infor m ation. I f anything, you should argue for increased thoroughness in dental b asic scien ce education. D en tists should be looking with h o p e at the n ew , highly trained m em bers o f the profession. Instead, you ask, “ h o w m any practicing dentists
