ublis ig No

At this time of the year the one state in the Union that most typifies the earliest Thanksgiving |-

the state of Massachusetts. That’s why this famou- - state is featured on our front and back covers jt

month.

We hope you have enjoyed our series of state — covers with pertinent information alout dentistry |» each state given on the back cover.

It’s our pleasure to send TIC to you. And it i- also our pleasure te wish you a

Happy Thanksgiving

ANN ARBOR... . . R. M. SHARP DENTAL LABORATORY 2091/, South Fourth Avenue 2-167 BATTLE CREEK . . . .-BATTLE CREEK DENTAL LABORATORY 609-10 Michigan National Bank Bldg. 2-0852 FLINT .... .. . RELIANCE DENTAL LABORATORY 517 Dryden Bldg. 3-511 GRAND RAPIDS . . . DAVIS LABORATORY COMPANY 110 East Fulton Street G. L. 6-542 vie KALAMAZOO .. . . FITCH DENTAL LABORATORY 1502 American National Bank Bldg. 22812 LANSING .... .. LANSING LABORATORY 410 Bank of Lansing Bldg. 2-4354 MARQUETTE . . . . . QUINN DENTAL LABORATORY Nester Block — 2nd: Floor 2572 L PONTIAC ..... . MAINE LABORATORY 512 Pontiac State Bank Bldg. 4-8701

STURGIS ..... . . MAGNUS DENTAL LABORATORY 504 North Prospect 981

7 4 4 — = « | | Our cover this month! | | : tien! 24 inf % j 4 NT! De ist La ON : The lev The hec =. =

2-1676

3-5115 6-542

ublished monthly by TICONIUM g North Pearl St., Albany 1, N. Y. Copyright, 1951, Ticonium

Annual Subscription $2.50

gpitor, Joseph Strack

ONTENTS UNDER NEW

How one dentist helps his pa- tients to meet their health needs before their unessential needs, and to choose Better Dentistry above “the other kind.”.............. 1

TCH YOUR LANGUAGE, DOCTOR “The careless use of certain words and phrases . . . may re- sult in a dentist becoming the defendant in an expensive law- suit aimed at recovering damages for slander or libel.” 4

HISTORY A LA MOOD

One of dentistry’s top humorists,

in protest against current meth-

xls of case recording, writes a

ase history in soap-opera style... 7

TO BEAT GOVERNMENT NTISTRY

Dentists themselves can end any threat of federal control of den- istry.” The 42-year-old Cincin- mati Plan is offered as a formula 0 care for the dental indigent and to keep dentistry free of POVETMMENE CONLLOL. 8

FOR LIVING

The story of a dentist who has

levoted his life to promoting ler understanding among all

12 Y

The saga of a Pekingese and his

pectic impact upon a dignified ollywood dental office................. 15

nions expressed by contributors to Magazine do not necessarily reflect views of the publishers.

ss Printed in U.S.A. by New England Printing and Lithographing Company, Inc.

Cover Artist, John Schuster

A MAGAZINE FOR DENTISTS, DENTAL ASSISTANTS, AND DENTAL HYGIENISTS

DENTISTRY UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

by C. W. Garleb, D.D.S.

Shoemakers, automobile mechanics, and others engaged in making repairs, sell service. A dentist sells service too, but with his service he often gives health, beauty, comfort, youthfulness, pride, peace of mind, morale, reputation, and other valuable personal assets. Besides, a dentist’s services also help people to get and hold better positions, to be more efficient, and, all in all, to get more out of life. There are few services — professional or commercial — if any, that offer so many benefits as dentistry does.

Should any adult, then, ever have to be persuaded to have his teeth repaired? No. Never. Yet —

Psychologists teach us that human nature is sometimes puz- zling; the individual often acts before his mind has thrashed out what is best for him. Most persons acquire first that which they desire most, even if it is not a necessity —a television set, an expensive trip, liquor, and so forth; and acquire last that which they desire least, even though it might be an essential need — dentistry, surgery, a home, and so on. If people actually preferred dentistry to, say, liquor, they would get the dentistry first.

With this confusing and regrettable situation prevailing, what can we dentists do to remedy it?

Plenty.

And there was never a more propitious time than now to sell more of the Better Dentistry. Those of us who are too busy can recommend our overflow of patients elsewhere. However, even the busiest dentist has a professional duty to assist in making the world more dental-minded — to help the laity to desire dentistry above unnecessary and nonessential things.

Educate Patients to Choose Better Dentistry

Dentistry can and should be “talked” and “sold” ethically by every practitioner. If we do not inform our clients about a sub- ject of which they know practically nothing, we cannot expect them to have the knowledge needed to choose dentistry over television sets, antiques, and baubles.

| J 4 1951—Vol.X,No.11 : 2-0852 22812 4.

.more expensive mate-

CEC November 1951

If people are “sold” on dentistry, they will pur- chase it, especially if we remind them again and again of the advantages mentioned at the beginning of this article. And they will be more inclined to favor the Better Dentistry if we explain the differ- ence — the difference between amalgam fillings and gold inlays; partials with, and without, metal at- tachments; examinations with, and without, X-rays, and so on. Better Dentistry, with a generous shot of better office management thrown in, is exactly what all this noise is about.

Before acrylics came out, I knew a busy dentist who had one fee and one quality of materials for all of his dentures; thus he cheapened his profession. Think what a lift he could have given dentistry if he had had two, or a half dozen, fees, based upon the quality of workmanship and the types of restora- tions and materials used.

Explain the Difference in Fees

“But why the difference in fees?” the patient might have asked him.

Now he looks, and feels, more guilty. “I’ve neye had them X-rayed.”

He sees that your surprise grows with his answer, You query further. “Have you had a physical checkup recently?”

The patient begins to wonder whether or not he might have a few hidden ailments. “No-o,” he rm plies slowly and somewhat thoughtfully.

“Any pains or other discomfort?” you may ask.

“No — but I feel a bit sluggish now and then,” he might reply. By this time he may begin to realiz that he has neglected his teeth and his general health entirely too long. He is ready to forget about the boat for the time being and to take care of essentials first — his teeth, his health.

A few simple questions about health often can alert the average patient to the dangers of neglect. ing health, without alarming the patient or even mentioning those dangers. The dentist can then give the patient an idea of what is needed and the approximate amount of the fees involved- and the work can get under way on a sound basis,

Soon thereafter such an

The dentist could have replied: “First, it takes more time to do more exacting work; and second, Better Dentistry also means using better,

rials. In the end, the better work looks more attractive and more nat- ural; it lasts longer and gives better service over a longer period of time.”

That dentist's patients would have understood: “You get what you pay for.”

That dentist would

alerted patient may per- suade his wife to have her teeth fixed too, and

WV) may bring along the

youngsters to have their teeth checked. No boat. H) Some dentists may call

this high-pressure sales manship; others might characterize it as crude or even unethical con- duct; but still others say it is good, sound, effective management. As for my: self, in my practice it has made it possible for me to give my patients a

have learned that Better Dentistry pays the dentist as well as the patient. He would have found very convenient the twenty or thirty thousand dollars in added income he could have accumulated in his lifetime practice if he had managed better.

Helping a Patient to Safeguard His Health

Consider an individual dental case, that of a new patient, thirty-five, married. He begins squirming the moment he sits in your chair, hoping you won’t find much wrong with his teeth. You see, right now he wants a boat with an outboard motor — two hun- dred and fifty dollars—as a kid wants a toy at Christmas. (Or he wants something else — every dentist knows the type.) You explore his mouth and find that he needs ninety dollars’ worth of work, or more. You don’t tell him this immediately, for you know that boat is on his mind.

“When did you have your last dental work done?” you ask.

He looks guilty. “About five years ago.”

“Did you have your teeth X-rayed then?”

Page Two

better quality of dentis try, and it has given me an added income that I otherwise would not have had. Besides, it has not only helped many patients to become more dental minded but it has developed in them a better ap preciation of, and a higher respect for, dentistry.

Facts First — Fee Later

Patients want to be informed about various kinds of workmanship and materials; better still, they like to see samples. Given a basis for under standing, they seldom select that of minimum quality; usually they are willing to pay more for bet- ter quality. After all, that is true of most people.

I remember one of my patients of years ag® when Richmond crowns were still popular. I told him about preparing the root, cutting and soldering the band and the diaphragm, preparing and fitting the pin, backing and facing and then assembling and soldering all metal parts together, and so om. When I had finished my explanation, and not be- fore, I told him that the fees would be approximate ly a hundred dollars (other work not included).

a t t > LEA a 4 fi ~

> realize general >t about care of

ten can neglect. or even in then ed and olved d basis, uch an ay per o have 0, and ig the e their

nay call > sales. might

crude il con- ers say fective ‘or my: it has for me ents a dentis- that I jas not dental fer ap- itistry.

arious r still, under- imum or bet: eople. ago, I told dering fitting nbling so On. ‘ot be- imate

uded).

November 1951 CEE

“Geel” he exclaimed, “I thought you were going to say about two hundred bucks!”

Once he understood the facts, he was able to ap- preciate what his dental work involved. His accep- tance of this, and of the fee, was therefore a simple matter.

Thus each patient should be prepared, by being given the facts of his case, before the fee is quoted. Through this preparation, a better fee will not seem too high to a patient, for he will understand the why, the wherefore, and the how.

I do not mean to infer that dental fees are high. They are not, considering all the benefits that pa- tients get from good dentistry (again see the begin- ning of this article). Nor am I advocating that the best, most expensive work should be urged upon patients of low income — or on anybody else for that matter — when the dental work needs to last only a few years. That would be unnecessary and there- fore unfair and unethical,

Handle Patients on an Individual Basis

By “hearing out” the patient, a dentist can often learn, or guess, what level of dentistry the patient wants and will pay for. Here is an example:

One of my patients of moderate means was jeal- ous of her sister, who had plenty of money and who boasted about her wonderful teeth.

“I want her to know that I can have good teeth too,” my patient told me.

“In other words,” I replied, talking in her own terms, “you don’t want cheap-looking teeth.”

She agreed enthusiastically. I showed her several samples and quoted approximate fees. She imme- diately selected the best, as I knew she would.

_ There are many somewhat similar situations. For instance, a patient may say, “Don’t give me a funny- looking bridge like Mrs. K’s.”

The dentist might reply, “Then I'll show you samples of the better ones only.” “Selling” good dentistry is not difficult in such a case.

“I want to look natural with my new bridge,” another patient declares. Or, “I have a friend who

FOR SALE

One set false teeth, practic- ally new. They have not been properly fitted so that

can wear them. Paid].

ninety dollars ($90.00) for them; further information upon request, Can be seen at home of

Advertisement from the Cecil Whig, Elkton, Md., April 26, 1951

MALLERY TOY, Chesapeake City,

doesn’t look like herself with her dentures.” These and other comments which criticise and belittle our professional ability and skill are heard too often and too widely. Yet this need not be. All of us, re- flecting upon our past practice, can cite case after case of patients who would have been quite willing to pay more for Better Dentistry if only they had known about it — if only we had told them.

We see inferior dentistry every day, everywhere. At a household show recently I saw a woman behind a demonstration booth exhibiting, not only her product, but her awful upper denture as well. I doubt that it had to be. When she laughed her glistening plastic gum showed three-fourths of an inch between the gingival and her upper lip. It looked as if she had borrowed it or found it; in which event, of course, no one could accuse her dentist of inferior work.

Not long ago a man and his wife came into my office. “He doesn’t look like himself,” the woman lamented. “Why, I feel as if I were married to a different man.”

I was at once serious and sympathetic as I studied his unnatural expression. The upper denture pro- truded his lips entirely too much. He fished the lower out of his pocket and put them in his mouth. They aggravated his deformity.

After the examination I said. “You are dissatis- fied with these. Would you mind paying (here I quoted a fee for high-grade dentures) for what I should like to give you?”

“Not at all,” he responded quickly, though he and his wife were buying a new home.

“The fee is agreeable, Doctor,” his wife put in. “I do so much want him to look like my husband again.”

This case was finished and paid for, to the com- plete satisfaction of all concerned.

Without doubt, the first dentist in this case could have constructed satisfactory dentures had he charged enough to pay him for the extra time it always requires to do better work. And there is no doubt, either, that our profession would rate higher with the laity if more of the Better Dentistry were on exhibition in mouths everywhere.

Dentistry Under New Management includes other considerations besides doing more of Better Dentistry, which most of us are capable of doing if we work towards such an end. There is the neat, white-clad D. A., for instance, waiting for those de- serving compliments we have delayed too long to give her. The same goes for patients when they merit appreciation. Then there are the immaculate operating room and the scrupulously clean and at- tractive waiting room. And those old, torn copies of magazines — get rid of them and get new ones. Perhaps a few new-type elevators, forceps, or other instruments and equipment are needed also.

So, while giving due credit to the thousands of dentists who are already tops in all this, may we suggest a Dentistry-Under-New-Management Week for the rest of us— each on his own —to run 365 days every year, from here on out?

Page Three

CEC November 1951

The careless use of certain words and phrases in characterizing patients, friends, acquaintances, or enemies may result in a dentist becoming the defen- dant in an expensive lawsuit aimed at recovering damages for slander or libel.

Because the dentist is not schooled in the legal niceties of collection procedures, he may be tempted on occasion to use unorthodox methods in trying to collect delinquent accounts. He may put aside his natural caution by convincing himself that the end justifies the means. However, he should always pro- ceed with extreme care, lest he find himself on the losing end of a lawsuit brought by one of his pa- tients taking exception to the collection techniques employed.

Because a patient fails to pay his just debts it does not follow that he surrenders all of his rights as an individual, or that, beyond a certain point, he is at the mercy of his creditor. Too many credi- tors fall into this error to their financial undoing.

A debtor may be a deadbeat, but it is a rash den- tist indeed who will characterize the patient as such. A patient may be a crook and rascal, but to dub him so is to invite a slander or libel suit.

Because a dentist is satisfied in his own mind that he is dealing with a sharpy, it is not safe to assume that sharp collection methods are the answer. Within the past few years many states have passed legislation designed to curb unethical collection practices. By interpretation, more and more courts are restricting the actions of creditors in pressing collections. Even the Federal Government frowns on certain misuses of the mails in effecting col- lections.

Ordinarily, there is little danger that a dentist will get entangled in a lawsuit growing out of rou- tine collections and billings. At first glance, the risk may appear s6 slight as to be hardly worth dis- cussion. This ignores the human equation, how- ever; the danger arises from the fact that the dentist may be provoked by a particular situation. Without due thought, he may confront the delinquent debtor in person and say slanderous things, or write him a libelous letter which, on reflection, he would have not done. In a moment of whimsy, he might compose what he thinks is a “cute” note designed to get a response from an indifferent debtor.

Page Four

“OKAY, MRS. SCRUTOFF—OPEN YOUR BIG MOUTH!"

Collection Techniques

To illustrate how a creditor can get involved in an expensive lawsuit by resorting to so-called clever or sharp collection practices consider the following cases:

A creditor, exasperated at his inablity to collet a small debt, sent a postcard to a debtor which read:

“Dear Milford, will be in Lagrange next week Call me at 5693. Love. Mary.”

Such a mysterious message, the creditor reasoned, should certainly get a response. It did —a lawsuit asking for $25,000 damages from the creditor. The trial brought out the following facts:

Prior to receipt of the postcard, the debtor was happily married and the father of two children. However, when the postcard arrived the wife read the message and demanded an explanation from her husband. He was unable to give any. So his wile left him.

Then the husband called the number, and the creditor answered. The creditor said the card was just his way of contacting the debtor about his account.

However, the debtor's wife had become distrust ful and suspicious of her husabnd ever since, accor ing to the plaintiff, and had left him on several occasions. The court awarded the plaintiff fie thousand dollars and court costs.

The debt that started all this trouble for both debtor and creditor was exactly four dollars.

Frequently, a creditor may be tempted to us defamatory language in the hope of so angering @ debtor that the latter will be prompted to pay. Not only is it questionable whether such tactics will get

olved in ed clever ollowing

o collect r which

xt week.

easoned, lawsuit or. The

was hildren. rife read rom her his wile

and the ard was yout his

distrust- accord:

several tiff five

or both irs.

to use ering @ ay. Not will get

November 1951 CEE’

the money, but there is the ever-present danger that such abusiveness may lay the basis for a slander or libel suit.

Writing and Speaking :

In regard to the choice of language, a creditor does not have any special privilege not enjoyed. by others. A word or phrase is slanderous or libelous, in itself, if it tends to degrade, disgrace, or hold up to contempt or ridicule.

A debtor may promise to make payment on a certain date and fail to do so. Nonetheless, accusing him of having uttered a falsehood may be libelous.

Words and phrases used against a person, debtor or otherwise, which may form the basis of a slander or libel suit include charges of embezzlement, black- mail, extortion, and false pretenses; and the use of such defamatory terms as crook, deadbeat, and rob- ber, as well as their synonyms.

It is dangerous to cast aspersions on a person’s business ability or his professional skill, or to ques- tion his honesty. Implying or saying that a person is bankrupt or on the verge of it, or otherwise im- pairing his credit status, is also unwise.

Derogatory remarks may be written or oral. If oral, they may form the basis for a slander suit; if written, a libel suit. In the former case, the remarks must be uttered within the hearing of a third person to lay the basis for damage.

In a libel suit, the remarks must be “published.” However, the term “published” has a special mean- ing in law, one which is much broader than the layman realizes. The sending of a telegram has been ruled as a “publication” in that a third person, the one taking or sending the message, must have read it. Dictated letters have also been ruled to constitute “publication” in that the stenographer had to read the communication in writing it. In some lawsuits, courts have ruled that a corporation is a single entity and that, therefore, there is no publication. This is legalistic hair-splitting that can’t be counted on, however, as not all courts see eye to eye on this point.

Even where the creditor writes the letter him- self, the communication may still be “published” and be actionable if it can be shown that he has reason to believe it will be opened and will be read by a third person. It is not actionable if the person to whom the letter is addressed opens it first and then passes it along to a third person.

It is risky to demand payment on threat of bank- ruptcy proceedings or criminal prosecution. Courts may interpret this as extortion.

Until a few years ago, it was not uncommon for creditors, either singly or as a group, to publish or threaten to publish lists of delinquent debtors in local newspapers. Courts now consider such pub- lished lists as libelous per se. Advertising accounts for sale falls in substantially the same category. Courts take the view that such accounts are not ad- vertised for sale in good faith, but that such adver- tisement is merely a thinly concealed device to com- pel payment by holding debtors up to public ridi- cule and humiliation, and that this constitutes libel.

Although such collection devices are not used by dentists in effecting collections, they are outlined here to underscore the fact that there are certain definite rules of conduct in collecting bills and that

to violate these rules is to invite legal trouble.

Dentists are solicited to purchase and use form collection letters prepared by commercial compa- nies. If such letters are used, they should be care- fully scrutinized to make certain that none are libelous. There is no assurance that all such form letters offered for sale have been exatnined by com- petent legal counsel. In at least one instance, a set of such form letters was found to be libelous.

Refined Forms of Harassment

It should be obvious that physical force is never justified in the collection of a debt, and no dentist would so debase himself or his profession. However, there are refined forms of harassment which may result in physical injury or mental suffering. An increasing number of courts are taking notice of such tactics in effecting collections.

In one case a court observed that creditors “should refrain from conduct intended or likely to cause physical illness.”

Some years ago in a short story that appeared in one of the nation’s biggest magazines, the hero, a businessman, triumphed over adversity by his unique collection methods. One way was to picket delinquent debtors by carrying a sign calling atten- tion to their indebtedness. The sequel to this fasci- nating business fiction was that several readers took the story seriously. They actually picketed their debtors. There followed a series of damage suits that didn’t have any happy endings for the ill- advised creditors.

Using Postcards

Postcards may be used to solicit payment of cur- rent accounts, or as simple reminders of accounts

“BEFORE WE START, DOCTOR, I'D LIKE TO TELL YOU ALL THE CUTE THINGS JUNIOR SAID ABOUT TEETH!"

DUTHI" TER WA | mw \ Page Five

CEC November 1951

payable, though such cheap billings are certainly questionable in the profession. However, cards that are so phrased as to indicate accounts are past due, and which, therefore, reflect on the debtor, are unmailable, according to the rules and regulations of the Post Office Department. The same postal regulations forbid the use of postcards that threaten suit, garnishment of wages, or other action to en- force collection.

The danger of becoming involved in a libel or slander action is not confined to collection prac- tices, however. A tight curb needs to be kept on one’s tongue at all times, lest one, in a thoughtless moment, give voice to.certain secretly held opinions that are libelous or slanderous.

“Idle Gossip"

So-called idle gossip may not be so idle if it results in injury or damage to the victim of the gossip. Rumor, when put to the test in court, may prove to be just that — with the rumor-bearer far out on a limb.

REPLY ENVELOPES

CAN SPEED COLLECTIONS

Printed reply envelopes can be a practical aid in effecting collections more easily and more quickly. Dentists who are having difficulties with collections may find that a small outlay for return envelopes is a sound investment.

Many a payment is delayed for lack of an en- velope. In the case of patients who are overbought, those creditors who supply reply envelopes fre- quently get paid first. Unpaid creditors are often determined so by debtors because of the lack of reply envelopes. So a reply envelope becomes not only a courtesy but a payment expediter.

In one test, a large credit house found that col- lections were improved by 15 percent when reply envelopes were furnished to customers. In another survey made to test the value of reply envelopes, it

Page Six

Wives may also need to be briefed on the of slander and libel in respect to their own as wel as their husband’s financial security. This does ng apply only to talking or writing to, or about, jm tients. Among housewives there may be an open season on tradesmen, but it can be a dangerous Sport if certain rules are not carefully observed.

The local butcher may be suspected of having, heavy thumb, but it is risky to make a charge tha his scales are fixed or that he is short-weighing o meat, or that he is adulterating it. Until prove otherwise, a tradesman is entitled to his pest name in the community and in his trade, just as is the dentist. Carelessly making other charges of practices against tradesmen is equally libelous o slanderous.

In guarding against the danger of a slander o libel suit, it is a pretty good rule to credit other with the same good intentions and integrity om claims for oneself. It is a sound safeguard, even if one has certain mental reservations. It is at the point of verbal declaration when trouble is apt to ensue.

“THESE NEW PLASTIC BILLHEADS CAN'T BE CRUMPLED AND THROWN AWAY. THEY WON'T BURN. THEY'RE TOO BIG TO HIDE. THERE'S NOTHING THE PATIENT CAN DO BUT PAY THEMI"

was found that 82 percent of credit customers pit ferred to have the firms with which they dealt supply reply envelopes.

Most banks and finance companies now supply these printed reply envelopes. An envelope 8 mailed with each receipt or with each credit account book. Even public utilities have adopted reply ¢ velopes to speed up collections and cut down loss.

Dentists might well lift this idea with profit themselves. Fewer billings because of prompt pay ment will quickly pay for the cost of envelopes.

H, J.A.

| ZA I N

ghing on proven od name

arity one l, even if is at the is apt to

BE ON'T

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ners pie: ey dealt

y supply elope 1s account eply en n losses. profit to npt pay pes.

H, J.A.

November 1951 CEE’

CASE HISTORY A LA MOOD

by Maurice J. Teitelbaum, D.D.S.

Pick up any one of your scientific dental journals and read one of the case histories. A week later try and remember what it was all about. It’s a contra- angle to a box of carding wax you can’t. Why? Be- cause it’s dull reading. There’s no style or imagina- tion in it. Read one case history of an impacted molar and you've read them all. With the use of a little imagination to create the proper atmosphere and mood, and with just a little bit of literary style, a case history would cling to your memory as tena- ciously as an Ellery Queen murder mystery. A case history a la mood might conceivably go something like this:

Patient: Mrs. Emily Newlywed

Age: 29 years

Present Complaint: After hours of questioning, Emily, ashamed and in tears, decided to tell all. It was her husband’s idea, she cried, the man she had married just two months ago.

“Your husband?” I asked. “But I don’t under- stand.”

“You see, Doctor, he complains that — that —” Her voice choked up; she couldn’t go on.

“Please, Mrs. Newlywed, try to control yourself. We want to help you and we can’t help you if you won't cooperate with us. Come, now, tell us every- thing and it will be held in the strictest confidence.”

She braced herself, wiped her tear-stained face with a daintily embroidered handkerchief, and con- tinued. It was her husband, she repeated — he had stopped making love to her. He had said that he couldn’t go on with the marriage, for every time he tried to kiss her he suffered severe pain and lacer- ations of his lip. A terrible situation, indeed, but unfortunately true! For even an untrained observer with the most casual glance couldn’t help but notice the mass of fang-like upper anterior teeth that pro- truded a full three inches from the mouth of the unhappy young woman.

Diagnosis: The secret was out at last and Mrs. Newlywed was relieved of the burden that had weighed her down these past eight weeks. She tried to relax but it was impossible. As hard as she tried, she could not bring her lips together. They had been strangers all her adult life, held apart by the huge protruding maxillary teeth, and they refused to come together, even now. There was but one solution, removal of the uppers, a radical alveolectomy, and the insertion of an immediate

denture. And in her heart Emily knew that she must make a choice. It was either her teeth, or her hus- band! She weighed the decision carefully. Her teeth she thought had been part of her very being for twenty years — firm, steady, and outstanding in their duty. And her husband — she had knewn him but a short time, yet it was with him that she had to build her future life. Finally, the hour of decision had arrived, her mind was made up — the teeth must go!

Operative Procedure: The denture had been pre- pared a few days before, and now it was time for the operation. Nervous and distraught, Emily seated herself in the chair. This was a great moment in her life. Had she made the right choice? She wondered. Would her husband, John, love her after the opera- tion as he had before they were married? Was it really those mammoth teeth that had driven them apart, or was it something else? — or someone else! Suddenly she thought of Helen, John’s secretary. Helen would stop at nothing to take John away from her. Panic seized her. She wanted to run out of the office, to run away from John, from herself. Then she stopped struggling; her breathing became even and regular as the nitrous oxide anesthesia dragged her down into the blackened, swirling whirlpool of the subconscious. The incision was made quickly and the tissue was laid back exposing the alveolus. Cold steel was laid upon the coronal portion of each tooth and they were removed un- eventfully. Then with the rongeur and bone file the dense buccal plate was clipped and trimmed.

To Emily, the humming noise became louder as the hazy colors floating by took on the appearance of dancing figures. Her head was bursting with joy- ful laughter as headless faces rushed on past her. Then teeth showered down from the sky and danced around her in a frenzy, gnashing at her as they dipped and turned. Horrified, Emily tried to run away, but her feet froze. The more she struggled to free herself, the firmer did she become entrenched in the earth. The noise grew louder and louder, and then she screamed. Formless people came rushing to her assistance. She could hear them talking to her, asking her how she felt, begging her to wake up, and telling her that it was all over. Then she smiled. She did not know why, but she smiled. Slowly, Emily opened her eyes. The smile was still on her lips. As tears flooded her eyes, she saw pleasant, smiling faces around her. She started to cry quietly. Then her head cleared and she knew it was all over. There was a strange feeling in her mouth. She parted her parched lips and then closed them. They touched! — at last she could bring her lips together! What did it look like without the protruding teeth? What would John think about her now? Was the operation a complete success?

To find out what happened, read next month's issue of the Journal for the complete prognosis re- port of this interesting case. In the meantime, tell your friends about it. They won’t want to miss the concluding chapter of this story, and the beginning of a new case history entitled “How Green Was My Foramen Ovale.”

Page Seven

1€ danger N as wel does no bout, pa- an Open ‘OUS sport having a arge that as is the of sharp elous oF ‘ander or lit others 4

Happy representatives of a class that has achieved full dental health through the Cincinnati plan. (Photo, Times-Star: J. R. Schmidt)

Cincinnati’s Unique Plan

The Cincinnati plan that Dr. Lytle refers to (see next column) is unique in many ways. It was estab- lished when there was little, if any, public or pro- fessional interest in preventive dentistry. Today it enjoys such public confidence that federal control of the program would be unthinkable.

It is unusual in another respect: Unlike all other programs, it has an unbroken record of 42 years of service — working cooperatively and fruitfully with local government to raise the dental health of the community.

It is unique, too, in that it is financed by the Board of Education and the Community Chest, but is both managed and administered by dentists — with no strings attached.

Furthermore, the number of children it serves in proportion to the area covered makes the Cincinnati program the most comprehensive of all dentistry- controlled programs operating in large cities.

One Year's Achievements

A brief report of the achievements of the program last year shows it treated 3,319 children in seven free clinics. The services included 13,333 fillings; 4,597 extractions; 2,644 prophylactic treatments; and 600 other treatments. Of this, more later.

One hundred unsalaried dentists enlisted by the Society worked half-days at temporary clinics in every part of the city. They thoroughly examined the mouths of 4,039 out of a possible 5,220 pre- school children — a gratifying 77.3 percent response to an entirely voluntary call.

Examinations revealed 59.5 percent of the chil- dren required dental attention; and approximately 80 percent of them did obtain such attention, vol- untarily, before starting school.

These pre-school efforts, examinations, and rec- ommendations—without diagnosis—are considered

Page Eight

Service Society.

Dr. Lytle (Photo, James Mancuso)

for government-controlled services.

The threat to the present practice of dal services for the indigent, and dentists intmm setting up dental services, in cooperation

"No one can deny the responsibility ofiam who cannot purchase health services for #iemmm year after year. Our population is steqgiia™ Consequently, the pressures for dental senmmm dentistry-controlled programs to relieve fim controlled’ programs. In Cincinnati, we dam program that is helped by local governmammm

PROJECT

Plastic pins made by dentists’ wives for distribution to youngsters

who are good clinic patients.

How Governm

Dentists themselves can, This is the belief of Dp

Moreover, Dr. Lytle program of action for den achieve this important god

Here, in essence, is Dr.

Dentists should accept# should provide for the deni

Recognizing their duty should themselves adminisiel

Every dentist in the come do so. Without the contin cannot succeed in realizing their twin objedil

has

4 | —

o Beat at Dentistry

W. Keith

threat of federal control of dentistry. 3. Lytle, president of the Cincinnati Public Dental

oed a set of objectives, a body of principles, and a it, he stresses, can be used by local communities to

dlan:

that dentistry, in cooperation with local authorities, gent.

‘ dental health services of this character, dentists > programs and set the standards of treatment. who is able to participate in these programs should p of the entire profession, these voluntary services serve the dental indigent, and to obviate:the need

is strongest in local communities that have no dental ommunities should, therefore, take the initiative in authorities. vernment to concern itself with the health of those ’ Dr. Lytle says. ‘Public health services are growing 1g; more people are becoming health conscious. increasing. If we dentists don't set up voluntary, sures, government will establish its own bureaucrat- —_ the dental needs of the indigent through a mn by it."

A Lae patient points to indicator that shows the of pupils in a class complying with the dental hea

= Dr. E. Horace Jones, dental supervisor of the Cincinnati Plan, with three creators of sea dental health posters. KLT)

highly instrumental in raising the general dental health level.

Defective teeth have been reduced from seven per child in 1945 to less than four per child today. Six- year-molar extractions have been reduced from 25.7 per 100 children to 15.8.

The Society, consisting of thirty-four dentists and four lay members, believes it can take credit for the fact that deciduous teeth are no longer regarded as Nature’s step-children. It all goes back to pioneering in early dental care by the four civic-minded den-