Dental Care for the Poor

Why can poor people generally find affordable food, clothing, cars and even entertainment but not medical and dental care? It’s because the cost and availability of health care are regulated by the government instead of the free market.

A competent nurse or dental hygienist could provide most routine services, and refer the cases he or she can’t handle to a physician or dentist. Wouldn’t it be nice if these professionals could set up their own practices, charging rates that most Americans could afford?

But no, licensing laws herd us to people who invested their entire youth and a modest fortune acquiring an education that isn’t needed to clean teeth or treat abrasions. The quasi-governmental American Medical Assn. and American Dental Assn. then drive their members’ fees even higher by restricting the number of accredited professional schools, limiting the supply of graduates.

We need to end the medical and dental associations’ stranglehold on our health care system. Sure, there might be a small risk in relying on first-tier providers, so people might choose to see a fully trained physician or dentist now and then if they could afford it. But for those who can’t, a market of self-employed nurses and dental hygienists would be a lot better than what they have now: nothing!

GENE FELLNER, South Pasadena