DENTAL CLINICS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 30 November 1927, Page 7

DENTAL CLINICS

TfiOUBLI IN ENGLAND. PRACTITIONERS AT WAR. < London, October 19. The movement to Rive greater facilities to the general public in the matter of dental treatment continues to be a matter of strife in this country. To the amazement of the rank and file members several of their professional associations have sponsored a scheme which is held to be disastrous to the private practitioner. It is proposed in brief, to set up experimental clinics with a view to establshing a circle of elinics throughout the countrv that here dental treatment will be given to insured persons and probably to non-insured persons also. The British Dental Association, the Public Dental Service Association, and the Society of Dental Surgeons have endorsed the proposal, but the gauntlet of “uncompromising oppositjon" has been thrown down by the Incorporated Dental Society. “Sueh institutional mass production centres to cut the cost of dental •ervioes is not in the interests of the insured public.” it protests. “It also disregards the rights of the individual dentist, and in many industrial areas a lifetime spent on building up a practice will have been utterly wasted.” It points out that insured people number about one-third of the population. If they and their dependents resort to the clinics scores of dentists will he entirely deprived of their patients. The “pro-clinic” party, on the Other hand, state that no pressure will be put on people to attend (he clinics and they are not to he advertised in a manner detrimental to the private practitioner.