Re: Greed and dentistry.


"George Chatzipetros" <chpetros@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1126997497.547425.239100@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> You have no idea what you're talking about, have you? Do you really
> expect someone who went on 5 years of dental school training with no
> income, graduated with a huge debt, then took another huge loan to
> equip their practices to be on the "average" income? Do you really
> expect a simple assistant to be on the same pay rate as a highly
> qualified dentist? Last time I checked, bank managers did not get the
> same bucks as cashiers.
> As I said, your ire should be directed to the state, for lack of
> provision of basic dental services, or to your dental "insurance" that
> doesn't seem to be doing a lot. Leave private individuals with their
> own businesses alone.
>
> George
>

You know that is a hard concept to grasp when you are in pain. Truth is the
person that is making 28k a year is close to 1/4 million dollars ahead of
the dentist that has spent 4 yrs college and 4 yrs dent school and now days
another year or two refining your skills in a GP residency etc.. Then tack
on another 400+ k with school debts and setting up a practice and you can be
easily over 1/2 million in the hole the first day you open your door for
patients.

No, this doesn't address the person in pain that truly cannot pay for tx.
There should be a balance between a capitalist fee for service and those
that fall between the cracks. Everything that I see shows organised
dentistry does its part in trying to address this. It is a complex problem
and certainly the states (read not federal government) need to find a better
way to provide care for the *truly needy*.

Certainly there are callous dentists that don't care, there are in every
profession and trade. But, most are not equipped adequately to judge which
patient that comes in is truly destitute by simply relying on their word.
Now back to the 400k, many say big deal you're making XX dollars, you can
afford it. Some older ones can that have an established practice, many
pushing 40 are still dealing with or recovering from their debt. There were
only a handfull out of the 470 including my class and the one ahead and
behind that had that silver spoon.

The simple facts are that you can only provide so much pro bono service.
If you don't pay attention to this there comes a point that one day you
cannot pay rent, or staff salaries if you indiscriminately provide free
service to everyone that comes in and says "I can't pay". . I have been
there and done that - it was a long time ago but I will never forget it.

This isn't an excuse but an explaination, *free treatment* always costs the
dentist money. It is not just a matter of saying we won't charge you.

I'm sorry someone in your family is in pain. Now, tell us where you live
and what options you have investigated so far. There's a good bunch here
that will offer what we can if you don't jump on us right off the bat.

carabelli


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Lady Vet Pleads No Contest to Killing Airman Husband
    ... way thru vet school, and supported her while she estab'd her practice, I ... bet she'd have had to pay him something substantial. ... airman husband with drugs used to euthanize animals pleaded no ... How many years is vet ...
    (alt.true-crime)
  • Re: Property Tax Cut and School Reforms - Special Session Complete
    ... equal protection clauses and rich versus poor school districts. ... school taxes to make up for any shortfalls. ... they have a property tax crisis as that is the way they pay ... What does military spending, which occurs on a national level, have to ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: In the News: Science, faith clash in class
    ... >>> math and science taught well is the desire from parents and school ... > school boards and parents. ... But we're not willing to pay any ... > 300 essays per hour is much cheaper than grading 10 per hour. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Dentists workmanship
    ... Are you willing to pay $800-$1000 more per month in taxes to achieve this? ... > infected and don't really cover routine dental work (in my school, ... > were unable to pay were refered to low-cost clinics, dentistry schools ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Re: Property Tax Cut and School Reforms - Special Session Complete
    ... school taxes to make up for any shortfalls. ... In other words the taxing will shift right back to the school districts. ... But we recognize that ALL citizens need to pay the costs for them because BOTH serve the needs of society and our Democratic form of Government. ...
    (soc.retirement)
Quantcast