If you watched it this evening, what did you think about it?

Webby

On Jun 29, 6:25 pm, The Webby <tmjiatroepide... at (no spam) cox.net> wrote:
If you watched it this evening, what did you think about it?

Webby

I didn't see the broadcast. What was it about?

- dentaldoc

In article
815f5f27-faef-4f1c-b506-149f927e3... at (no spam) w8g2000prd.googlegroups.com>,

 Bill <dental... at (no spam) hotmail.com> wrote:
On Jun 29, 6:25 pm, The Webby <tmjiatroepide... at (no spam) cox.net> wrote:
If you watched it this evening, what did you think about it?

Webby

Do I have to stand up as the only lefty in this group?

On Jun 30, 6:43 am, The Webby <tmjiatroepide... at (no spam) cox.net> wrote:
In article
815f5f27-faef-4f1c-b506-149f927e3... at (no spam) w8g2000prd.googlegroups.com>,

Bill <dental... at (no spam) hotmail.com> wrote:
On Jun 29, 6:25 pm, The Webby <tmjiatroepide... at (no spam) cox.net> wrote:
If you watched it this evening, what did you think about it?
Webby


In three minutes(!), of course it was very shallow. It doesn't really
address the main causes of dental problems in the first place.

I have been addressing these problems for over thirty years, and some
sensationalistic rating-grubbing news show give it THREE MINUTES??

And they couldn't even get the main issue defined!

The idea that "insurance" is the key to solving dental health problems
is complete hogwash.

In this country, people decide to spend more money on their HAIR than
they do on their teeth! Do we ever hear that there is a problem with a
lack of HAIR insurance?

The media here didn't even address the issue of priorities. Why do I
see my welfare patients wearing clothes that I couldn't afford myself?
($180 shoes? Who are we kidding?)Why am I giving them something for
free when obviously they have the money to buy fancy, unnecessary
stuff?

Well, my personal answer to that particular question is, that if I
didn't provide them with the free care, then they would suffer dental
disease. But that doesn't address the real problems of untreated
dental disease on a national scale.

The main problem is that people don't bother to take care of
themselves OR their children. That's it in a nutshell. The phony straw
man of "dental insurance" is about as relevant as "hair insurance."

People need to set their own priorities. When you see a lot of dental
disease, you'll find a skewed set of personal priorities.

- dentaldoc

In three minutes(!), of course it was very shallow. It doesn't really
address the main causes of dental problems in the first place.

I have been addressing these problems for over thirty years, and some
sensationalistic rating-grubbing news show give it THREE MINUTES??

And they couldn't even get the main issue defined!

The idea that "insurance" is the key to solving dental health problems
is complete hogwash.

On Jul 1, 7:35 pm, Mark & Steven Bornfeld
bornfeldm... at (no spam) dentaltwins.com> wrote:

Do I have to stand up as the only lefty in this group?

I'm afraid so Steve! Although I was there once so I know ehere you're
coming from.
Many of the problems plaguing the modern world can be pinpointed down
to a lak of personal responsibility and self-aid. If we continue to
believe that our health is someone else's responsibility (be it an
insurance or the government), these problems will never be solved.

Regards,
George

George wrote:
On Jul 1, 7:35 pm, Mark & Steven Bornfeld
bornfeldm... at (no spam) dentaltwins.com> wrote:

Do I have to stand up as the only lefty in this group?

I'm afraid so Steve! Although I was there once so I know ehere you're
coming from.
Many of the problems plaguing the modern world can be pinpointed down
to a lak of personal responsibility and self-aid. If we continue to
believe that our health is someone else's responsibility (be it an
insurance or the government), these problems will never be solved.

Regards,
George


How about education? Sanitation? Mail delivery? Licensing of
professions? Are you about to go Lyndon Larouche on us? (Probably the
best-known libertarian in the states).
I'm all for responsibility. But I'm not an absolutist about it. Ever
read Ibsen's "Ghosts"? "The father's sins are visited on the children".
Sure. If my father didn't raise me right, should I be held to the same
standard as the rich punk who went to the best schools? Is money and
opportunity the only legitimate determinant of success in life? Or is
there a public interest in seeing that people get the tools to succeed
(notice I say tools--not success itself).
I don't have all the answers. But the attitude in the states that "I've
got mine, you get yours" has its limits. I don't get the sense that most
of western Europe feels the same way about the responsibility of the
individual vs. the responsibility we have to the wider society.

Steve


--
Mark & Steven Bornfeld DDS
http://www.dentaltwins.com
Brooklyn, NY
718-258-5001

On Jul 1, 7:35 pm, Mark & Steven Bornfeld

bornfeldm... at (no spam) dentaltwins.com> wrote:
        Do I have to stand up as the only lefty in this group?

I'm afraid so Steve! Although I was there once so I know ehere you're
coming from.
Many of the problems plaguing the modern world can be pinpointed down
to a lak of personal responsibility and self-aid. If we continue to
believe that our health is someone else's responsibility (be it an
insurance or the government), these problems will never be solved.

Regards,
George

Bill wrote:

In three minutes(!), of course it was very shallow. It doesn't really
address the main causes of dental problems in the first place.

I have been addressing these problems for over thirty years, and some
sensationalistic rating-grubbing news show give it THREE MINUTES??

And they couldn't even get the main issue defined!

The idea that "insurance" is the key to solving dental health problems
is complete hogwash.

I completely agree!

What some people still fail to grasp is that insurance is always a less
than zero sum game:  To stay in business, insurance companies have to
charge more in premiums than they pay out in claims.  The kind of
situation in which this makes sense is when you are insuring an event
whose likelihood is very low, but which will be very expensive if it
occurs.  No one knows in advance who the unlucky people are going to be,
so the insurance company spreads the expenses of the unlucky few over
all of the policy holders, while at the same time taking a small
percentage of the money to cover its own operating expenses.

But dental checkups, cleaning, and filling of dental caries don't
qualify as unlikely events, so the only way an insurance company can pay
for them is to charge premiums that cover what the customer would pay
directly.  So a patient who can't afford to pay directly isn't going to
be able to afford insurance, either.  What they are really talking about
is having a government program that will pay for those who can't afford
either to pay directly or to buy insurance.  And such a program needs to
encourage patients to have regular checkups and to seek treatment early,
since this will be cheapest in the long run.

Bob

Do I have to stand up as the only lefty in this group? I don't see
many patients on public assistance, but I see plenty that I truly
believe cannot pay for anything like comprehensive dental care. They
don't walk in here wearing Manolos, either.
Yeah, many of them have made mistakes in life. Some are lazy, some
just unlucky. I figure I'm no one to judge. I've also seen children
with severe dental and other problems, and public assistance has failed
them.
I haven't seen the news clip, so I can't comment. In New York state,
welfare rolls are way down. Dentistry is expensive. I try not to hold
myself out as some moral paragon because I floss my teeth. And I don't
do full mouth reconstruction in a filthy mouth. But if you see oral
health care as part of health care and not in the same category as a
manicure, I don't think you can rationalize the situation as merely
badly set priorities (though that is certainly out there too).
I know enough about your history that I'm sure you didn't mean to leave
that impression.

Steve
Thank you Dr. Bornfeld for standing up for the libreal side, and thank