Dear reader,
I’m sitting at my computer musing at this last exchange I had with a sweet patient in Massachusetts who is being advised to get her porcelain veneers from Dr. So-and-So, because he’s an excellent dentist. Let me help you understand the disconnect there is in the dental profession over this issue of cosmetic dentistry.
The American Dental Association asserts adamantly that there is no such thing as a cosmetic dentist. Dentists, they say, learn in dental school how to do cosmetic dentistry. They go even further than that. They have written into their code of ethics that it is unethical for a dentist to tell the public about any special training they have in cosmetic dentistry. But it’s worse than that. There are some state dental boards that have made it illegal for dentists to say that they are any better at cosmetic dentistry than any other dentist. They have decreed that any dentist can do cosmetic dentistry, and their official position is that it is harmful to the public to say anything different.
Now I’d like you to construct in your mind a humorous scene. Let’s create a television studio, and three chairs on the set. Put Jessica Simpson on the left, a host in the middle, and then a spokesperson for the American Dental Association on the right. Jessica Simpson just says that she wants a new smile. The ADA spokesperson responds that she can go to any dentist in the country and get a perfectly fine new smile. Can you see where I’m going? What do you think Jessica Simpson will do? Well, she wants to laugh. If she’s polite, she will just ignore the spokesperson. And we all know what she will do for her new smile. She will get a recommendation of a high-powered cosmetic dentist who can do dazzling smiles and, no matter where he or she is in the country, she will fly there and get the work done. And she will end up with an absolutely stunning smile.
I wish the American Dental Association would one day awaken to the great disconnect they have with reality on this issue. ADA, everyone knows that there are dental artists out there who do beautiful work that 98% of dentists cannot possibly create. But you people at the ADA won’t admit it.
– Dr. Hall
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About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.
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