American Dental Educators Move LEFT - Push Advocacy for Universal Dental Care

Flap understands why the dental schools and the research folks associated with them are moving LEFT for universal dental coverage. It is called a guaranteed revenue stream or like many business enterprises of today a government bailout.

Advocates for dental education and dental research participated in the 2009 American Association for Dental Research-American Dental Education Association (AADR-ADEA) Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill yesterday. Representatives from dental schools visited 36 Members of Congress to advocate for universal coverage and access to oral health care in U.S. health care system reform. To achieve that goal, AADR-ADEA advocates urged Congress to make needed investments in dental education to ensure a robust, diverse health professions workforce. They also urged congressional leaders to support a 10% increase in the FY 2010 budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR).

"Grassroots advocacy by our members is an essential component of ADEA's legislative efforts. Raising the profile on Capitol Hill of dental education and research while health care reform is a priority on the agenda of national lawmakers is key to improving access to oral health care," said ADEA President Ronald J. Hunt, D.D.S.

Participants attended a one-day legislative workshop that included presentations by nationally known columnist and commentator Bill Press; frequent radio and television news guest and digital budget columnist for NationalJournal.com Stanley Collender; NIH Acting Principal Deputy Director Lawrence A. Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D.; and senior policy advisor at the Washington, DC law firm of Alston & Bird, LLP and former Clinton White House staffer Marilyn Yager. Before their legislative visits, participants were briefed by staff from the ADEA Center for Public Policy and Advocacy (ADEA CPPA) and AADR on each of the advocacy messages they would deliver to their elected officials.

The young generation of dental graduates amass hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt at ADEA dental schools, accept mass indebtness and then face the prospects of borrowing an additional $3-400 K to set up a private practice. Who can do this today?

Answer: Very few

Then, the young dentist needs to compete and attract patients to generate the necessary revenue to pay off the debt, overhead costs and gain some profit.

So, the solution by the American Dental Educators: Let the government provide us the patients, set up the practices and pay us.

But.......

Isn't this the same system of NHS Dentistry in the UK?

You know, the system where there is a horror story a month about folks pulling their own teeth or waiting forever to see a dentist?

Granted this is ONLY an Advocacy Day for the ADEA, but their move leftward towards government delivered universal care will not help American Dentistry.

And, Bill Press as a speaker? Can't you get somebody on the LEFT better than that?

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