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“FOR | WOULD HAVE THEE TO KNOW, SANCHO, THAT. A-
MOUTH WITHOUT GRINDERS IS LIKE A MILL WITHOUTA , |.
‘ MILLSTONE; AND EACH TOOTH IS WORTH A TREASURE.’
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TIC

A MAGAZINE FOR
DENTISTS
DENTAL HYGIENISTS
DENTAL ASSISTANTS

ditor,

lseph Strack

ontributing Editors,
Arhur H. Levine, D.D.S.
oh Murray, D.D.S.

Art Director,
dward Kasper

April 1958 Vol. XVII No.4

CONTENTS

OW | INCREASED MY DENTAL

CTICE

What one dentist did to get
more patients and more in-

ON'T USE CONSUMER CREDIT
An informative, interesting ex-
planation of the high cost of

DENTAL HEALTH HAS A HEART

There is a special appeal in
the program at the Children’s
Hospital in Los Angeles ..... 7

INTISTS IN BUSINESS

They own race tracks, base-
ball teams, department stores,
hotels, furniture stores, radio
stations, finance companies,
insurance firms, trade schools,
funeral homes, drug stores,
restaurants, and tool-and-die

OUP DENTAL CARE PROGRAMS

Part 2 of a series: The Union
Health Center ............ .

ANGLES AND IMPRESSIONS
A thoughtful piece on the
plight of some dental labora-
tory owners; and a list of ex-
cellent tips on practice man-

PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY TICONIUM
413 N. Pearl St., Albany 1, N. Y.

ns expressed by contributors to TIC
"agazine do not necessarily reflect the
views of the publishers.

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. BY
IERSEY PRINTING CO., BAYONNE, N. J.

HOW | INCREASED
MY DENTAL PRACTICE

BY C. W. GARLEB, D.D.S.

In the beginning of 1957 I was suddenly confronted with a
big problem. The local Social Security office informed me
that, at seventy-one, I would have to net $4,200 each year in
1956 and 1957 to qualify for full coverage of $108.50 per month
when I reached seventy-two.

I had exceeded my net income requirement for 1956 by a
fair margin but had planned to taper down my practice as
soon as possible because of my rheumatoid back. I found it
becoming increasingly difficult to stand at the chair for four
or five hours daily. My practice had already fallen off be-
cause of my age. Some of my patients asked me if I was about
ready to retire, though I had never mentioned or intended re-
tiring.

Forty-one years of more-or-less lucrative practice—while
rearing four children and sending them to school, and provid-
ing a good standard of living for my family—did not leave my
wife and me quite enough income, without my working, to
keep us worry-free financially. But with the $108.50 monthly
for myself and an additional $54.30 for my spouse we felt that
our combined income, plus that from our investments, would
be ample and allow enough for medical expenses, good whole-
some living, and some traveling each year even if I found it
necessary to retire.

To make matters worse, 1957 began with poor income pros-
pects. A pamphlet issued by our local dental society stated
that about half the dentists in this area desired more work.

Not only that. In 1956 I had had an unusually heavy run of
denture work and did not expect such big jobs to continue.
In fact, the outlook for new dentures was very poor. So what
could I do—and without delay? I went into a brown study.
How could I increase my practice? And my income? I was
aiming for full Social Security allowance, no less, even if I
had to work more hours despite my aches. “For just one
more year,” I kept coaxing myself.

I remembered reading something several years ago. In a
survey the question was asked, “What do patients like most
about their dentists?” Three-fourths answered “Personal-
ity.” So personality ranked above skill and craftsmanship as
a patient-getter and patient-holder!

Page One

—
|
|

tic April 1958

Well, I knew I could qualify in skill, but I was
only reasonably sure about my personality (since
psychologists inform us that we do better if we
permit other qualified persons to analyze and di-
rect us, instead of doing it all ourselves).

But I chose to work out my own problem. To
begin with, I recalled having visited a dentist,
age about sixty-three, during my vacation trav-
els through the west. This D.D.S. frowned as I
saw him put on his white coat. I wondered if
something had just gone wrong or if he always
looked so sad and so displeased. He did not
know me from a patient. Didn’t he have a sense
of humor? Did he smile sometimes? Why did
he not beam enthusiasm and confidence, the
more to radiate skill and
the more to put his pa-

So, despite my aches, I did not allow myself
to slip into occasional grumpy moods. It wouldn’t
pay. I kept thinking: Only one more year; then,
nine more months; six more and so on, less and
less. I had even wondered if I could work from
one of those new dental seats. I tried operating
from a tall stool occasionally, but always shoved
it aside. Too awkward.

But there are other ways to attract patients.
I would sell more people on more dentistry by
showing them the many ways in which it would
benefit their health, appearance, comfort, self-
respect, personality. I would take a few minutes
here and there to do this work which is so very
necessary for better practice.

Since personality is a
dentist’s most desirable

tients in a willing mood?

asset—in the minds of

When I introduced my-

many of his patients—he

self he managed a wee

should acquire it if he

smile. During my quar-

lacks it and never let go

ter-hour visit with him he

never cheered up much.
“Business is not so good,”
he complained. “Oh, some
of the dentists around
here are busy. Patients
today expect so much

of it. As for myself, I
sometimes grimaced (be-
hind my face) from cricks
in my back as I followed
the advice in the song so
popular several decades

ago, “Smile, Darn You,

more than when I first
started to practice. It
makes dentistry more ex-
acting, more difficult, and
puts a constant strain on
us.”

From this strange, sad
fellow-practitioner I had
learned a valuable lesson.
Why were other dentists
in that area busier than
he? Because he lacked a pleasing personality,
that’s why.

What It Takes

Now what could / do to attract more patients ?
I stood before a mirror and studied my face.
When I smiled I looked younger, happier, more
enthusiastic, more optimistc, and even more
competent. Certainly these and other desirable
attributes help anyone in any business. Person-
ality—the quality that has what it takes for a
more successful dental practice.

Through my many years of practice, plus three
years as a salesclerk, I had cultivated friendli-
ness and kindness, and now I needed such traits
more than ever, at least until I reached my
Social Security goal!

Page Two

“THIS REPORT PLEASES ME.

Smile.”

So I greeted all patients
with a “new, improved
personality” and resumed
my dental practice “Un-
der new management.”

Attention to Other
Matters

I paid more attention to
children. Their parents
loved this. I showed them tricks with pencils,
strings, animal shadows on the walls and so on,
and gave them favors. I tried to be a good
mixer and was more accommodating also.

More than ever I avoided polemic subjects
such as religion and politics. I tried not te dis-
agree with patients even if they told me that they
brushed their teeth twice daily when their gums
showed no evidence of any cleaning. I talked
about matters my patients were most interested
in: their children, current events, movies, tele-
vision, school, and the changes in discipline be-
tween fifty years ago, when I taught, and now.
I kept my dental quarters cleaner than ever.
This helped to brighten up both patients and
surroundings.

Then, in the past few years, I had permitted

IT’S FROM YOUR BANK.”

| $
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$$$ $$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ TAXING LABOR

It’s the very shank of the Bright New Year
And it would appear

I should be fresh-as-a-daisy free,

Nothing bothering me!

I have been wished good health, success,
But I confess

I don’t feel wealthy or relaxed;

I’m over-taxed!

I’m over-taxed in my body and mind
And, if you should look,

I’m also over-taxed, you’d find,

In my pocket-book!

I burn my candle at both ends
Over tax instructions
On depreciation, dividends,

“ad And deductions.

myself to become a bit careless with my dental
examinations, occasionally leaving slightly defec-
tive fillings for a later date. My patients, as well
as other dentists’ patients in this area, were not
yet accustomed to full-mouth X-rays every two
years or so. But overall, I did about 20 percent
more X-ray work and 15 percent more fillings of
all kinds—new and defective old ones, which I
replaced.

There were also old crowns and bridges which
were worn and had lost their full usefulness.
These I replaced with new modern appliances,
some of which I learned my patents would ac-
cept with enthusiasm.

Increase in Income

Other patients who came to have their dentures
rebased wanted new ones when I showed them
that occlusion, chewing power, and facial contour
had been lost through gum shrinkage. By paying
closer attention to the needs of my patients my
income rose gradually, and by the end of June
1957 I had attended to fifty more patients than
during the same period the previous year; and in
ayear, too, when many dentists complained about
poor income.

To illustrate my point, further, here is an
account of a case: A man who was wearing a
lingual-bar denture supplying the two lower first

S$ SF

My mind must suffer under strain
Of such subtractions

As “line 3 less line 4,” a pain
Leading to extractions!

So prop me up with coffee and
Receipted bills;

Count my exemptions, too, and hand
Me pens and pills.

Phone Mrs. Purdy that I plan
To fix her “plate”;
Book me solid, if you can,

With date on date.

The over-taxed, like me, should take
A rest, I know,

But I’ve got to get to work to make
The tax I owe!

sss

Helen Harrington $ $ $ $

molars came in to have two broken clasps re-
paired. It was a favorable case for a removable
bridge on each side, which I explained to him,
showing him samples. He accepted the idea im-
mediately. “If you say they should be success-
ful,” he told me, “just put them in and I can
dispense with the bar.” The bridges were sup-
plied and now he is very pleased with the new
arrangement.

Another case was that of an attractive single
woman age twenty-seven with two lower molars
and a second bicuspid missing on the left side
and a space on the right side large enough to
hold an appliance rigid. I showed her that her
left cheek was thinner because of her missing
teeth.

“T won’t have that,” she declared determinedly.
So I restored the area with a lingual bar ap-
pliance with appropriate rests and clasps. “I’m
glad I had this done,” she smiled happily.

Each dentist should determine for himself
what he can do best to attract more patients.
And dentists’ wives can help too. They can help
with those activities which would take their hus-
bands away from their work too much.

Careful planning for a better practice gave me
a larger number of patients and an increase in
income, making last year my best in the past
four.

6408 Chippewa Street
St. Louis 9, Missouri

Page Three

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ALA April 1958

THE
HIGH
COST
F MONEY

DON’T
USE

CREDIT

BY
HAROLD J. ASHE

Page Four

How can a dentist afford to pay 24 percent,
30 percent, or more for the use of any part of
the funds necessary to provide professional
capital or underwrite an ambitious investment
program? The simple answer is: He can't.
When he tries to do so he blights professional
earnings and depresses both investments and in.
vestment earnings.

Yet the fact is: A good many are in there
trying to do the impossible, particularly in re.
spect to investments. This sounds like a paradox
—and it is. It is a classic example of one hand
not letting the other hand know what it is doing
with money.

Years ago, the writer was struck by the
numerous taxpayers who, at the same time they
reported dividends from stock, rental properties
and, other income sources, claimed as deduc-
tions in their income tax returns heavy interest
charges. Even a casual examination of the
lenders to whom interest was paid underscored
one common denominator: these taxpayers were
paying out in interest at least as much as they
were gaining back in earnings on a like amount
of money, and more often than not interest
charges far exceeded the rate of earnings on
investment funds.

In one instance, a professional man had $2,000
in a bank savings account which, at that time,
drew only 1 percent interest a year. He was
paying the same bank almost 12 percent a year
on a car purchase it was financing. This seems
so ridiculous as to not warrant comment. Yet,
only recently, this writer picked up literature
in a bank urging its savings account depositors
to keep their accounts intact and borrow to
finance their needs. In another instance of which
this writer has certain knowledge, a dentist held
on to Series E savings bonds earning around 3
percent and, rather than cashing them in,
financed a loan at 3'2 percent a month from a
consumer finance company, putting up his car as
security.

Why ? Both individuals gave practically identi-
cal explanations, give or take a little rationaliza-
tion. Said each in effect: “I don’t want to touch
my savings. That’s for a rainy day.” One took
refuge in quoting his wife as authority for hold-
ing savings and paying instead an excessive in-
terest charge.

Fact overlooked is this: Such financial she-
nanigans have both a credit and debit side. The
individual practices self-delusion. He pretends
the newly contracted debt and its heavy interest
charges doesn’t exist. On the other hand, the
savings are still intact. Fact is, if the “rainy

day”
take c:
The d
If s<
to take
ing the
the nc
rate is
would
contra
intact,
actual
earnir
vestm
or bot
Exc
sional
than
ample
intere
an in
sale ¢
its re
Lik
short:

day” comes the savings will have to be tapped to
take care of the new obligation or other needs.
The debt may actually seed the rain clouds.

If savings, in whatever form, were drawn on
to take care of the acquisition, real cost of financ-
ing the acquisition would be only the amount of
the nominal interest lost, assuming the earning
rate is consistently less than the interest which
would be charged on a loan or conditional sales
contract. On the other hand, keeping savings
intact, and financing the acquisition, results
actually in diversion, however indirectly, of
earnings on savings plus earnings on other in-
vestments or drawing upon professional earnings
or both.

Exception: There may be justification occa-
sionally to borrow and pay interest rates higher
than a particular investment is earnings. Ex-
ample: A growth stock. Example: Paying an
interest rate somewhat in excess of earnings on
an income property, and particularly if a hasty
sale of property would result in taking a loss in
its real value.

Likewise, there may be occasions when a
short-term, higher-interest loan may be war-
ranted as an alternative to selling an investment
which it would be difficult to duplicate, its earn-
ings rate considered over the long haul.

With these exceptions noted, it seems a strange
way to build future security by hanging on to
every last holding and, in order to do so, pay ex-
cessive interest charges.

Nevertheless, the practice is widespread and
itis growing rapidly. Expensive consumer credit
is being resorted to more and more not only by
those who have no quick cash resources but by
those who do. The practice has become almost
the fashion.

Funds may be secured from consumer sources
either directly or indirectly, and some _ bor-
rowers seeks out both sources.

The direct loan. A dentist, pressed for funds
and already having exhausted all other sources,
may seek out a consumer finance company for
a “personal loan.” His car, furniture or other
personal possession is mortgaged as loan se-
curity. He may pay as high as 3% percent a
month on each month’s remaining unpaid bal-
ance. This is at a rate of 42 percent a year.

Thus, a dentist may secure a loan of $1,000 to
tide him over a financial crisis, either of his own
making or beyond his control. With twelve
monthly payments, the principal being reduced
each month, interest charges will total close to
$200. Spread over twelve months time, the aver-
age amount of the loan available to the borrower

will be only about $500—not the $1,000 face at
outset.

Again, a dentist short of funds and needing a
new car may get the contract financed by a
finance company. Here, too, a disproportionate
part of professional earnings or earnings on in-
vestments will be drained away in interest
charges. Two, three, or four times the money
borrowed will need to be working for the dentist
in his investments to foot the interest bill on the
car.

Indirect loans. Indirectly, a dentist may also
turn to consumer credit sources as a means by
which professional earnings may be stretched, or
be diverted to increase investments. With a
heavy investment program which leaves too little
for personal needs he may “charge” many of his
living expenses. This may postpone by as much
as 30 or 60 days the day of reckoning because, in
effect, such charging amounts to getting short-
term loans. For a while, this practice may seem
to be a solution to a dentist’s dilemma. In the
long run, it will make his situation worse. He
will have even less available funds for living
expenses because some funds must go for carry-
ing charges.

A dentist’s wife may be bemused by so-called
“revolving credit” plans offered by merchants.
These are usually scheduled to show a net re-
turn to merchants of 10 to 15 percent or more
of their funds so tied up. Every time a purchase
is made, a “service charge”—never called in-
terest—is added to the dentist’s bill.

A series of purchases, each insignificant, may
aggregate large over the years in terms of ex-
cessive interest paid to get the temporary use of
sellers’ funds, a dribble here and a dribble there.

Let’s consider an extremely simple transaction
familiar to us all. A dentist needs a new suit.
He’s just paid his income tax and is short of
cash. Besides, he’s vowed to buy a Series E
$100 bond every month. So he hunts up his
friend the clothier. The clothier sells him a suit
for $120, adds a service charge — not interest,
remember—of $12, with six easy payments of
$22. Fair enoughP Sure! What’s 10 percent
interest? It isn’t. That $12 charge figures out at
24.284 percent interest by whatever name. But
he bought his $100 bond. The bond will earn $25
in 10 years.

The dentist’s use of the clothier’s funds ranged
from $120 for one month to nothing at the end
of six months. At 6 percent interest (2 percent
on each month’s declining balance), a fair in-
terest charge would have been $2.10. Paying
$12 is borrowing a niggling amount of money the

Page Five

April 1958 CEC

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g April 1958

hard way, no matter how devious and self-de-
luding the process, and regardless of the fact it
is a personal, non-investment, transaction.

This process of borrowing from consumer
finance companies and using consumer credit,
either directly to get cash or indirectly to retain
cash, may be repeated many times in a year. It
may go on year after year. It may explain why
some dentists can’t seem to get ahead, and ac-
count for the difficulties of other dentists whose
investment programs never quite come off. They
hand over a large part of professional earnings
to finance companies. Then, because this de-
presses available professional earnings, they
string out their agony by using expensive con-
sumer credit in lieu of ready cash that isn’t
available. It doesn’t take very much borrowing
and charging to run up annual interest and
carrying charges of $500 to $1,000 or more for
a dentist with very moderate earnings. These
are the very earnings, above personal living
needs, which otherwise could be diverted in
their entirety to investments or annuities.

Lend to yourself. Probably the highest return
on investment a dentist is ever likely to make is
the lending of his own funds to himself. This is

a hard investment lesson to learn. This is not
intended to discourage making outside invest.
ments. Rather it is suggested that a dentist, as
a first order of investment business, make it a
practice to employ investment funds where they
can earn the highest rate of return. This high
rate of return is available in getting himself off
the borrowing hook. Then, and only then, is he
in a position to wisely invest surplus funds in
outside investments.

Getting himself and his family on a cash basis
is a first order of business, and will earn him far
more than most stocks or rental properties.
Using his own funds to finance major personal
purchases otherwise handled by consumer
finance companies will net him the same high
return as the gross of those who make this their
business. Having done this, with restraints on
purchasing and in keeping with his professional
earnings, he’s then in a far better position to
make investment. What’s more, he’ll not need to
lie awake nights debating whether he should
borrow or sell securities.

P. O. Drawer 307
Beaumont, California

(Wide World photo)

Connie and Kenneth Givans of Kansas City, Mo. Married six years, both are attend-
ing The University of Kansas City School of Dentistry. When they graduate, they wil!
go into practice together. Connie is a senior and Ken is a junior.

Page Six

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The time is one o’clock on Friday afternoon.
The place is a clinic in the Children’s Hospital
of Los Angeles. The girl is Helen McEvoy, who
arrives promptly, attired in her attractive white
uniform, with the blue VS emblem—for Volun-
teer Service—on the apron front. She is report-
ing for duty.

Officially she is Mrs. Leonard McEvoy, wife
of a Los Angeles specialist who is prominent in
dental society activities. However, Helen has a
title of her own. She is Dental Health Chair-
man for the women’s auxiliary afhliated with the
First District Dental Society, which embraces
the large and sprawling city of Los Angeles.

During the past two years, a dental education
program has been going on successfully in the
Children’s Hospital, with two dental wives each
week giving instruction in diet and toothbrushing
to children and their mothers who come to the
various hospital clinics for treatment. A great
many of these children, and some of their
mothers, have merely a nodding acquaintance
with a toothbrush.

“Sure, we have a toothbrush in our family,
don’t we, mother?” pipes up one youngster,
thereby bringing up a picture of an entire family
lined up to use the same brush.

Armed with large models of the mouth and its
teeth, with an enormous toothbrush, with
bundles of literature under her arm, and with a
box of small free toothbrushes, Helen McEvoy
scurries through the hospital corridor to the
dental department to “set up shop.” She next
goes into the clinic waiting room and brings in
children, one by one. In a sense she does not
bring them in, they lead her. Many of them
know of this dental service and are eager to take
part. To them it is a game. Their mothers come
in with many of them.

Small, very thin Leonora, with huge glasses
and disordered little spindly braids of hair—

By KAY LIPKE

and no hair ribbons—perches in the dental chair
and stares in wrapt attention as Helen McEvoy
compares the mouth with its teeth to a house
with an upstairs and downstairs, which must be
cleaned thoroughly after every meal. She dem-
onstrates graphically with the big red toothbrush
the right way to brush “the sugar bugs away.”

Week after week, Helen McEvoy tells the chil-
dren how to rinse out their mouths at the school
drinking fountain after lunch, inquires about
their daily diet, and explains to their mothers
the right food for breakfast and the whole day.
She makes carrot and celery sticks, popcorn,
and raisins, sound much more delightful than
candy bars and cokes. She distributes literature
about toothbrushing, and the Mouseketeers.
The children love everything she says—and they
love her also. Mrs. McEvoy has two small
daughters of her own, and is essentially a
motherly young person. The children respond
to the warmth of her interest.

Both in Southern California and all over
America, dental education is making great
strides. It is a thrilling thing to watch. As a
pioneer project, the Southern California State
Dental Society this summer is sponsoring a
course in dental education, financed by the so-
ciety, at the University of Southern California
to instruct a group of grade school teachers in
the subject, so that they in turn can carry the
message to their small pupils.

However, there is a special appeal to the heart
in the Friday afternoon program at the Chil-
dren’s Hospital. The children who come to the
hospital all have health handicaps to overcome,
and many of them come from underprivileged
homes. Because of Mrs. McEvoy and her small
team of dedicated dental wives, they are learn-

ing early the rudiments of good dental health.

1993 Lucile Avenue
Los Angeles 39, California

Page Seven

April 1958 ve

April 1958

St. Thomas Apothecary Hall, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

The practice of dentistry is usually thought
of as a profession. The dentist is considered a
professional man. Yet, in the society in which
he lives, the present-day dentist must be both a
professional man and a business man in order to
be a success in the accepted standards.

There are those in the field of dentistry, how-
ever, who resent the business part of the prac-
tice. On the other hand, there are those who
take to the business end like the proverbial
duck to water, those who relish it, make a go of
it, expand into it, and a few who devote them-
selves to the field of business exclusively.

Take the case of Santa Anita Park in Arcadia,
California. This deluxe race track covers some
400 lushly-landscaped acres, employs over 5,000,
boasts half-mile-long stands, has 1,000 betting
windows, features four $100,000 classics each
season, accommodates 85,000 people, and handles
$6,500 in bets per minute, $400,000 per hour and
$100,000,000 per meeting.

Santa Anita Park (Los Angeles Turf Club,
Inc.), the world’s largest outdoor gambling es-
tablishment, is largely owned and controlled by
Doctor Charles Strub, a former dentist.

Santa Anita doesn’t miss a trick. It charges an
admission fee and a parking fee, it runs the Turf
Club and the Lanai Room, and it even sells the
manure to the citrus grove owners.

It spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on
full- and part-time gardeners, on landscaping
and on inside and outside exotic floral displays,
much of which the management allows the
women fans to dig up on closing day of each
season.

Santa Anita also owns much of the Lake
Arrowhead resort area and the Ocean Park
amusement pier.

At the University of California some six
decades ago, Charles Strub majored in both
dentistry and baseball. When the earthquake of
1906 leveled his San Francisco dental office, he
became a professional ball player and did den-
tistry on the side for the sporting crowd. This
type of dentistry and his business compulsion
undoubtedly influenced his decision to become
one of California’s first advertising dentists (ad-
vertisements, huge signs, credit, multiple offices,
etc.).

During World War I he became owner of the

Doctor Charles H. Strub

Doctor Charles H. Parson

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Doctor Leon A. Katzin

San Francisco Seals baseball team, turning it
into a fabulous money-making proposition. He
worked all angles, even to speculating in root
beer and peanut crops for sale to the fans. He
introduced the idea of large sums for minor
league players going to the majors, handling such
“names” as Lefty O’Doul, Frankie Crosetti, and
Joe Di Maggio. During the two decades ending
in 1940, Strub received more money for major
league players than any man in history.
Charles Strub was roundly criticized for or-
ganizing a race track at a time when “depression

Doctor Haley W. Bell

( Courtesy EBONY)

babies were crying for milk.” He is said’ to
have considerable influence in the California
legislature, especially when the matter of horse
racing comes up. On the other hand, Doctor
Strub is listed as a director of the Metropolitan
Opera Association, a regent of Loyola Univer-
sity, and a trustee of the Southern California
Symphony Society.

Doctor Charles H. Parsons is another dentist
who has become a successful business man. He
was born on a Kentucky farm almost seventy
years ago, the oldest of eleven children. Some
thirty years later he became a dentist and, by a
quirk of fate, several years later became a leading
business man in Ashland, Kentucky.

At one time he drove a mule team in a West
Virginia coal mine, worked in a foundry, did a
hitch in the Army, was a policeman in the Pan-
ama Canal Zone, and worked with an oil com-
pany in California. Finally, he returned to Ken-
tucky, finished his high school course, entered
the dental department of Central University
(now Centre College) and graduated in 1916.

His dental practice in Ashland flourished at a
time when procaine anesthesia first came into
broad use. As a result of his prosperity, Doctor
Parsons looked about for areas in which he
might invest some money. He had the opportu-
nity to buy a dry-goods and clothing business. He

1 Stump A., “DeLuxe Doctor of Odds,” True, Feb. 1955.

The C. H. Parsons Co., Ashland, Ky.
(Mahan Photo Service)

April 1958 rAd Cc

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Henry Clay Hotel, Ashland, Ky. Below: Henry Clay Motel, Ashland, Ky.

did so, planning to turn it over to a manager to
run. The manager lasted but twenty-four hours.
The doctor faced a real crisis. He made a radical
decision: he took over.

After almost forty years, a very, very shaky
start, a stock market crash, a depression, a war,
and a whole catalog of crises, the C. H. Parsons
Department Store is today housed in a modern,
seven-story building, grossing some three million
dollars a year, quite a feat in a city of less than
50,000. Affiliated with and owned by this com-
pany is the Parsons Furniture Store, the Par-
sons Land and Investment Co., the Henry Clay
Hotel, and the Henry Clay Motel. Doctor Par-
sons is chairman of all the boards.

Page Ten

The Henry Clay Hotel is the social and busi-
ness center of Ashland, providing restaurant,
ballroom, and banquet facilities, as well as sleep-
ing accommodations. To expand the latter, the
Henry Clay Motel, a $300,000 corporation was
launched.

Doctor Parsons has been married forty years,
has two daughters and six grandchildren. He is
active in church, civic, fraternal, and commercial
organizations. He is the author of a book, The
Doctor-Merchant,’ a selection of letters he has
sent monthly for a decade to the 20,000 patrons
of his department store.

A third business enterprise operated by den-
tists is WCHB. It is the first radio station in this
country built from the ground up by Negroes and
the first in the last ten years to be granted a Fed-
eral Communications Commission license to op-
erate in the Detroit area. It is owned and man-
aged by two dentists, Doctor Haley W. Bell and
his son-in-law, Doctor Wendell F. Cox.

WCHB (its owners’ initials) broadcasts from
Inkster with studios in Wayne and business offi-
ces in Detroit. The dental offices, however, are
in Hamtramck. The 500-watt station (1,000
watts is the target for the near future) was dedi-
cated in early 1957. It is manned by twenty-
three employees and is on the air daily from 6
A.M. to 6 P.M., devoting most of its air time to
news, religious programs, and music (from blues
to symphonies) with special appeal to Michigan’s

2 Parsons, Charles H., The Doctor-Merchant: His Inspira-
tional Letters. Exposition Press, New York, 1956.

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Negroes. Community organizations, however,
are also represented in its scheduling. Though
most of the performers are Negro, the engineer-
ing and business staffs are interracial.

Doctor Bell has other business interests aside
from WCHB (Bell Broadcasting Co.). They in-
clude a finance company, a tool and die firm, a
cemetery, a restaurant, an insurance company, a
trade school, and a funeral home. It is little
wonder that most of his large dental practice is
now handled by Doctor C. Robert Bass, his
other son-in-law. Haley and Mary Bell have two
daughters and five grandchildren.

Both Doctor Bell and Doctor Cox are general
practitioners and graduates of Meharry College
('22 and ’44). The latter served two years in the
Army (China-Burma-India), did graduate work
at Boston University, is on the board of the Vic-
tory Mutual Life Insurance Co. and has sports
as a hobby, especially golf and fishing. Wendell
and Iris have a son and a daughter.

Another successful dentist venture is the 117-
year-old St. Thomas Apothecary Hall at St.
Thomas, Virgin Islands (more a department
store than a drug store). It is owned and oper-
ated by a dentist from the States, Leon A.
Katzin.

The establishment employs thirty to thirty-five
people: chemists, pharmacists, drug clerks, pur-
veyors of food, drink and ice cream, a refrigera-
tion expert, an electrician, carpenters, and truck
drivers.

The Apothecary Hall, which imports from all
parts of the world, has pharmaceutical, cosmetic,
and liquor departments, as well as a bakery that
turns out two hundred dozen donuts daily.

In his spare time, Doctor Katzin enjoys the
Caribbean sun and surf and devotes much time
to communal activity, such as the synagogue of
the city. Incidentally, this is the second oldest
existing synagogue in the new world. All of its
woodwork is constructed of solid mahogany and
traditionally fine white sand is spread on its con-
crete floor.®

Perhaps it is as the English poet, William
Cooper, said: “A business with an income at its
heels furnishes always oil for its own wheels.”

3 Gillers, H., “Alpha Omegan in the Caribbean.” The Alpha
Omegan, April 1954.

240 So. La Cienega Boulevard
East Beverly Hills, California

=
DENTISTRY

“WHICH ONE OF YOU DEADBEATS !S NEXT?"

Page Eleven

Apri 1958 CEC

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THE UNION HEALTH CENTER

Group dental care is seen as the “wave of the
future” for dentistry by its proponents. They
point to the sharp shift that has occurred in the
method of paying for hospital care and physi-
cians’ services in the last decade: In 1948, 8.6
percent of the bill was paid by health insurance
benefits. Eight years later those benefits were
paying for 26.3 percent of the total bill. That
26.3 percent represented nearly $4 billion. To-
day insurance benefits probably are meeting
nearly 30 percent of the nation’s hospital and
medical care bill.

A student of the subject asks:'

Are improvements in benefits, the newer
forms of insurance—such as dental care, out-
patient services, benefits payable to nursing
homes, and the like—and the broader forms of
coverage represented by the establishment of
health centers and the sale of major medical
expense insurance going to close the gap be-
tween actual and potential protection more
rapidly than has been the case in the past 8
years?

The dentist can leave the answer to that ques-
tion to time. It will be more practical for him to
acquaint himself with the new forms of group
dental care programs that have been established
in the United States in recent years. Many stu-
dents of these programs believe that although
they now serve, in some measure, not much more
than a half million persons, they will have a sub-
stantial impact on the practice of dentistry in
the years ahead. For a limited number of den-
tists these new systems of dental services have
already become a way of (professional) life.

One of the three major private-agency types of
group care programs is the union health center
owned and operated by a union, with all dentists
working on a salary and with limitation of bene-
fits determined by availability of funds.

An example of such a center is the St. Louis
Labor Health Institute, which provides medical,
surgical, hospital, and dental care. The Institute
was established in 1945 as a non-profit, benevo-
lent organization by the International Teamsters

Page Twelve

Union, Local 688, St. Louis, Missouri. The union
members are largely warehouse workers, pack-
ers, shippers, stock clerks, factory secretarial
workers, clerical workers, and semiskilled and
unskilled laborers. Their average monthly in-
come is approximately $250.

The Institute provides dental care without
charge except for the costs of materials used.

The union sets aside $135 annually for health
services for its average family. The income of
the Institute is $1,000,000. Of this amount, about
$130,000 is spent on dentistry, while $132,000 is
put aside in a reserve and expansion fund.

Laboratory service is not done at the dental
clinic except prosthetic repairs, because it was
found to be more efficient to have prosthetic ap-
pliances made at commercial laboratories, ac-
cording to the Institute.

Approximately 19 percent of the visits made
by 9,000 Institute patients to its group care cen-
ter are for dental care in its closed-panel clinic.

The dental staff is equivalent to about 6 full-
time dentists who furnish full and comprehen-
sive dental service (except orthodontics) for
15,000 subscribers.

The cost per dental visit is approximately $6,
and the dental program costs $9 per eligible per-
son per year.

Emergency care and routine dental care are
given. An Institute official? pointed out that once
the dental patient has been seen for these condi-
tions, it is fairly easy to persuade him to return
for full-mouth dental X-rays and complete den-
tal clinical examination to be followed by ap-
pointments for whatever additional dental care
is indicated. The routinely appointed dental pa-
tient is initially scheduled for complete dental
X-rays, after which a thorough clinical examina-
tion of the teeth and buccal cavity is made. A
complete physical examination is also made.
After his first visit, the patient is scheduled “for
complete prophylaxis, fillings of carious teeth,
the reconstruction of bridges or dentures in
order to restore the dental mechanism to proper
health and function.”

Some idea of the standards of dental care can

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1958 CEC

PART 2 OF A SERIES BY JOSEPH GEORGE STRACK

be obtained from the following excerpts from a already noted that of 100 random cases visit- |
1954 report by Doctor James M. Dunning, for- ing the Institute in 1954, thirty-six gave no his-
mer dean of the Harvard School of Dental Med- tory of any previous visit to the dentist and
icine :° eight more had not been to the dentist within

— 6

The Institute claims to provide all types
of dental service except orthodontics . . . the
first statistics since the new Chief of Dental
Service* reorganized the record system, would
appear to bear out this statement. Crowns,
fixed bridges and gold work generally are not
frequent in occurrence, but there is no reason
to believe they are denied to patients who re-
quest them. Some examples brought in for
inspection were excellent. The low economic
and education level of the main patient group
is probably the determining factor in the type
of restorative work most commonly seen.

Diagnosis seems to be thorough. X-rays in
full survey of fourteen apical and two bite-
wing films are taken for all new patients and
liberally thereafter. Those seen were uni-
formly of excellent quality, well angulated
and well processed. Bite-wing x-rays are often
taken. Carious lesions are marked in red pen-
cil on the new record forms following explorer
and x-ray examination. Only a few minor
omissions were noted in the cases inspected,
and diagnosis of proximal caries seemed to be
very thorough. A good check list for less com-
mon oral conditions stimulates systematic re-
cording. One staff member with post-gradu-
ate training in oral surgery is consulted where
unusual conditions are found. Medical advice
is readily available and is apparently sought
when needed.

Exodontia and oral surgery seem to be well
performed. The ratio of 3026 extractions to
3947 fillings (1 to 1.3) ... is, however, a dis-
couraging one. The ratios in 1952 and 1953
were | to 1.5 and 1.8 respectively. Many neg-
lected cases come to the clinic, and the re-
moval of foci of infection has first claim upon
any operator’s time, but a dental service with
a constructive concept of dental health strives
to restore teeth rather than remove them.
Dentists with the Grenfell Mission in Labra-
dor, where dental caries takes an enormous
toll, have frequently achieved a 1 to 1 ratio of
extractions to fillings. In the industrial field
the Washington Evening Star dental clinic re-
ports a ratio of 1 to 2.6 over a three-year peri-
od. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Com-
pany, with a preventive program of long stand-
ing, reports that its employees received extrac-
tions and fillings from outside dentists in a
ratio of 1 to 8.6 in the year 1940. The situation
of L.H.I. can be explained in part by the fact

* Doctor Calvin Weiss: Doctor Weiss has been chief for the

last four years.

ten years. Nevertheless it is to be hoped that

continuing care of the teamster group and fur-

ther education on the importance of preserv-
ing the teeth will make possible a higher pro-
portion of restorative work in the future.

Maxillo-facial surgery is performed at some
disadvantage. The dentists do not get called
upon to assist in these cases. One case was
seen where a plastic surgeon reconstructed a
jaw with faulty occlusal relationship. It is
possible that the presence of a dentist on the
maxillo-facial team would have prevented this.

The staff members take justifiable pride in
their dental prosthesis. A number of prosthe-
tic cases were called in for inspection and,
with the exception of two or three in the early
stage of adjustment, all dentures fitted well
and showed good occlusion and esthetics.
Frames for partial dentures are chrome-cobalt
alloy castings of excellent design and fit. Full
lower dentures, always difficult to adapt, were
firm and apparently satisfactory to the wear-
ers. A few cases were noted where pre-ex-
traction x-rays showed lower teeth which
might have been saved with perhaps a small
amount of periodontal treatment. These teeth
would then have been most valuable as anchor-
age for lower partial dentures. In support of
the more radical treatment actually used, it may
be said that the educational level of the patients
quite possibly did not justify the initiation of
recurring periodontal treatment, nor was
there a demand for such....

The filling work performed in the clinic
seemed competent. Cement bases were fre-
quently recorded, though the proportion of
bases for synthetic restorations is low. Mar-
gins of alloy fillings were well-trimmed. Most
fillings were polished. One case of root canal
treatment (the only one seen) showed excel-
lent bone regeneration. It should be noted here
that root canal therapy is seldom undertaken
with a view of completion. Most of the treat-
ments listed were actually for the drainage of
acute abscesses prior to extraction.

Dean Dunning also made a number of other
criticisms of the dental program at the Institute
as that program was being carried out four years
ago. Representative observations included the
following :*

MeNeel refers to the “great amount of ini-
tial restorative dentistry” needed at L.H.I. and
looks forward to the day when this “backlog”
is reduced. How soon will that day come?
The first place to look for an answer to this

Page Thirteen

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CEC rpri i958

question would be in the figures for completed

restorative cases. The unsatisfactory quality

of these figures has been noted.

Almost more important than the difficult
question as to when initial care can be com-
pleted is the one as to how to prevent lapses
in maintenance among those who have achieved
their first completion. Intervals of two years
or more seemed much commoner than inter-
vals of six months among those cases showing
continued care after that first completion.
Eight per cent of the study sample discon-
tinued their care after apparent completion,
exclusive of those who received full artificial
dentures.

The clinic appointment book is filled weeks
in advance. Simon and Rabushka, in fact, list
the long wait for dental appointments as one of
the chief complaints registered about the Insti-
tute. There are cancelled appointments, to be
sure, and they are a source of concern to the
staff, but if they did not occur there would be
no time for emergencies. .. .

In 1955 the Council on Dental Health of the
American Dental Association commented upon
the Dunning report as follows:°

The Dunning report indicated a dearth of
adequate records until very recently, with an
accompanying absence of significant statistics
on which to base any evaluation of the effec-
tiveness of the dental service in providing a
full and comprehensive program. For exam-
ple, there is a noticeable lack of evidence of
completed cases. The clinic has no recall sys-
tem, the return for maintenance care being left
to the discretion of the patient... .

Doctor John O. McNeel, the late medical di-
rector of the Institute, stated frankly.®

At the beginning of the dental care program,
it might have been difficult to obtain dentists
on a full-time basis because of doubts about
prepaid dental care and because of opposition
by the local dental organizations. There has
been relatively little turnover of the dental
personnel since the initiation of the dental
care department. The number of acceptable
applicants has been maintained over the years
and at present shows no decline. The system
of part-time dentists has been quite satisfac-
tory and there would be great reluctance to
convert to full-time dentists. The remunera-
tion of the part-time dentists by the LHI
serves as a known constant supplement to their
private practice compensation, however vari-
able this latter factor may be.

Pay. after a brief trial period, is $5 per hour
(now $5.50) with advances by steps to $6 (now
$7) on a length-of-service basis. A dentist
working normal full-time hours at this rate of
pay would receive a yearly net income of
$10,400 to $12,500 ($11,400 to $14,500 at the new

rates). These figures are to be compared with

Page Fourteen

a median net income of $10,750 for dentists in
cities of one-half to one million population as
reported recently by the American Dental As.-
sociation. Thus it is not surprising that good-
quality men are attracted to the service. Con-
tacts both in and out of the Institute building
leave the impression that the dentists without
apparent exception are sincere and capable
men who enjoy their contact with the Institute.
Several of the younger ones have returned to
the Institute after military leaves of absence.
The average length of service is 3.6 years ina
group which did not exist till 1946 and did not
reach approximate present strength until 1952.
All men on the staff at present are graduates
either of St. Louis or Washington University
Dental Schools. Three graduated before 1930.
One of these older men, referring to his work
at the Institute, paraphrased thé baseball play-
er who remarked to a friend, “You know, they
pay me to do this!”

Today there are fourteen dentists in the dental
department and all of them work part-time, from
twelve to twenty-nine hours weekly. They main-
tain private practices of their own, and are paid
on a flat hourly schedule “which eliminates the
fee for each service that would present problems
of arriving at such a fee schedule. Incidentally,
it would be prohibitively expensive from a budg-
etwise point of view. The flat hourly fee ($5.50
to $7) places no premium on the amount of work
done or the number of patients seen, since it is
well known that physicians and dentists perform
at widely varying rates in so far as the number
of patients seen and the rate at which they see
patients. Requiring dentists to see the same
number of patients in a given hourly schedule
might cause a decline in the quality of care.”°
There are also seven dental assistants and one
registered nurse on the dental staff, which is
headed by Doctor Calvin Weiss.

Dentists are chosen for the Institute staff on
the following basis: they must be graduates of
Class A dental schools; licensed and registered
to practice in the State of Missouri; those with
specialized skills must have postgraduate train-
ing leading to proficiency in that dental special-
ty; membership in local, State, and national den-
tal societies; and character references.

In connection with special skills, the late Doc-
tor McNeel said:

Although several of the dental professional
staff have specialty qualifications, they prefer
to do general dental practice. There are fre-
quent “corridor consultations,” so that that pa-
tient has ready access to the knowledge and
skills of those possessing special training. There
is no hesitation in referring patients with spe-

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in the special skill called for, since the fear of
losing a patient because of referral is not a
factor.

In 1955 one official of the ADA reported :°
“it may be stated that the Institute is con-
scientiously supplying a high type of dental
care for some of the 15,000 potential patients.
No recall system is used because the clinic
could not handle the number who then would
be returning for service. Expansion of clinical
facilities is not anticipated because of the limi-
tation on the funds contributed by manage-
ment to the total health program to 5 percent
of the payroll.”

The present chief of dental services of the In-
stitute reports :°

We now have new quarters, eleven operat-
ing rooms and two dental X-ray rooms, which
give us much additional needed space.

We also have increased our dental staff to
fourteen dentists, in comparison to three and
a half years ago when we had only ten.

Another important situation that we feel we
have partly corrected is that we instituted a re-
call system (at least two and one-half years
ago) whereby when a patient has completed
his dental work a card is made out for him

Also some of the other corrections made
were things Doctor Dunning pointed out, and
we have attempted to alleviate other situa-
tions, such as maxillo-facial surgery problems,
which we have corrected to a great extent, and
the completion of more endodontic cases with
a view of undertaking them to completion.
Dean Dunning said in his report:'°

If praise be given here and criticism there
for detailed activities in the dental program,
all this is secondary to the main fact that a sin-
cere group of individuals is working to reason-
able capacity to give people what they want:
good treatment for existing dental disease.
Education, whether for health or any other ob-
jective, is wasted unless there is some degree
of fulfillment for the desires created. Fulfill-
ment is here.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Social Security Bulletin, December 1956.

2. “Dental Program of the St. Louis Labor Health Insti-
tute,” John O. McNeel, M.D., F.A.P.H.A., American Journal
of Public Health, Vol. 44, No. 7, July 1954.

3. Dental Service at the St. Louis Labor Health Institute,
James M. Dunning, D.D.S., M.P.H., published by the Insti-
tute (undated).

4. See 3.

5. Group Dental Health Care Programs, Council on Dental
Health, American Dental Association, 1955.

which is mailed to him—six months from the 6. See 2.
time of the completion—for the patient to “ oe
come in and make an appointment for a dental fa
examination and bite wing X-rays. 10. See 3.
Summary

St. Louis Labor Health Institute
1641 So. Kingshighway
St. Louis 10, Missouri

Established: 1945.

Area served: St. Louis, St. Louis County, East St. Louis,
and vicinity.

Sponsorship: Union.

Type of benefits: Service.

Method of operation: Group practice clinic manned by 14
part-time dentists. These represent the equivalent of 11 full-
time dentists. The physical facilities of the clinic consist of
11 dental operating rooms, 2 X-ray rooms, reception and re-
covery rooms. Laboratory is equipped for prosthetics, but
work is sent out as it is more efficient.

Number of enrollees: 15,045—(6,845 union members and
8,200 dependents)—men work in the trucking and warehouse
industry at semi-skilled and unskilled jobs—average monthly
income is less than $250.

Eligibility: 1. A regular member is an employee of a shop
covered by a 5% or a 34%.% welfare fund contract. The
5% plan covers dependents; the 3% plan only the member.
The membership is enrolled by groups only. Nearly all the
enrollees are under the 5% plan.

2. Wife or husband and/or dependent child of regular
member covered by a 5% contract. An unmarried member
covered by a 5% contract may name one blood relative who
lives with him as his dependent.

3. A sponsored member may be a child over 18 years of a
regular member, or any member of the family of a man
covered by the 3, % contract. Sponsored members pay an en-

roll-fee and minimal charges on a fee-for-service basis.

4. A special member is a union member employed in a
shop not covered by a L.H.I. contract. He pays 5% of his
regular salary into the fund. These members are generally
those who have been covered under one contract but are now
employed by a non-covered employer or are retired union
members. L.H.I. covers the employee, his spouse, and all
children under 18 for regular member. If no spouse or minor
child, eligibility may be extended to a blood relative.

Benefits: 1. Examinations, X-rays, and prophylaxis. 2.
Gingival treatments and periodontal treatment. 3. Restora-
tions and crowns. 4. Dentures, full and partial; fixed bridges.
5. Extractions and oral surgery. 6. Space maintainers.

Cost: One or more of the following pertain: 1. Five per-
cent of gross pay paid by employer to cover employee and his
dependents. 2. Three and one-half percent of gross pay paid
by employer. 3. Enrollment fee and minimal fee-for-service
received paid by sponsor member of the family of an em-
ployee on the 34,% plan. 4. Special member pays 5% of
gross pay directly into fund. 5. Patient pays a minimal charge
for certain materials (e.g. a single denture—$20.)

Controls: A medical director appointed by the Board of
Directors, with the advice of a Medical Conference Com-
mittee and the Professional Executive Committee, is respon-
sible for the functioning of the Center. The Chief of Dental
Service, a practicing dentist, is responsible for the Dental
Clinic.

(Based upon Digest of Prepaid Dental Care Plans, June 1,
1956; U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare,
Public Health Service, Washington, D.C.)

NEXT MONTH — PART 3

Page Fifteen

April 1958 Cc

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ve April 1958

Angles and Impressions

BY MAURICE J. TEITELBAUM, D.D.S.

Bins: Bills! Bills! The tantalizing tabulation
of the bills! Just like Mr. Average American,
most of the dentists I know are plagued with
bills, especially laboratory bills. Laboratory
owners I have spoken to tell me that a large per-
centage of dentists are delinquent in the payment
of their bills. It seems that they never get caught
up but keep a running balance on the books. The
financial returns on prosthetics make up the bulk
of the general practitioner’s income, so why keep
that man in the laboratory waiting? The dentist
who averages a $400 monthly bill and holds back
a hundred or so each month soon finds a labora-
tory bill for $1,000 staring him in the face. And
the laboratory man with a dozen or so of these
dental accounts finds himself about $10,000 in the
red. Furthermore, the laboratory owner cannot
hold back on his rent or his salaries, lest he find
himself out of business. Naturally, the best way
for a dentist to keep those laboratory bills from
getting out of hand is to pay them each month.
The simplest way is to set aside the amount of
each bill received and pay the total when the
monthly bill is received. One dentist I know
waits until his bill runs up to $200 and then sends
in a check. He may send in a check three times
a week or once a month, but he never falls behind
in his account and never lets his bill exceed $200.
However, if your bill is already in the four fig-
ures due to laxity in payments and it is difficult
to clear it up with one payment, you might add
$100 or so to each monthly bill until the balance
is cleared up.

Inci-dentals

A Philadelphia dentist has introduced a rew
word to the English language, “tooth-doodling.”
It means “the harmful practice of chronically
grinding and tonguing the teeth.” . .. Reminder:
About 1,000,000 Americans are blind in one eye;
about 260,000 are blind in both eyes; and about
340,000 have vision that is seriously impaired.
The most common cause of eye injury is the for-
eign body. In the dental office, foreign bodies at-
tacking the eye is the rule rather than the excep-
tion, so protect your eyes. Even if your vision
is excellent, it is a good procedure to wear “win-
dowpane” glasses when you work... . A British
dental journal reported the finding of carious le-

Page Sixteen

sions in the teeth of an ape man 800,000 years old.
... Doctor Sol Firman of Reseda, Calif., has de-
signed a “very simple, but very effective warm.
ing device” for novocaine cartridges. . . . For the
first time, foreign dental schools have been ac-
credited by the A.D.A. Council on Education.
They are all Canadian schools: the Universities
of Toronto, Alberta, Montreal, McGill, and Dal-
housie. . . . New York University College of
Dentistry has undergone a $1,000,000 expansion
program. According to Dean Nagle: “These new
quarters will at least double the area for the
teaching of the clinical sciences in dentistry.”
The college is the fourth oldest dental school in
the U.S. and the largest in terms of enrollment.

Tic Tips
Like any other profession, dentistry offers its
share of headaches and problems. To eliminate

or ease some of your burdens, here are a few
suggestions:

(1) Don’t attempt any dental work without
radiographs.

(2) Don’t make a complete diagnosis without
giving the patient a thorough prophylaxis.

(3) Don’t hesitate to suggest consultation if
the conditions defy your knowledge or
skill.

(4) Don’t attempt any work without explains
ing the procedure and cost to your pas
tient.

(5) Don’t make any extravagant promises or
guarantees.

(6) Don’t rush your work.

(7) Don’t work on minors without parental
consent.

(8) Don’t place dental restorations in teeth
with gingival bleeding or whose margins
are overlapped with puffy tissue.

(9) Don’t use impressions that are at all
doubtful in clarity or coverage.

(10) Don’t lose your temper with a patient.

Gagging

One of the most complete, shortest, and yet
all-inclusive safety first signs we’ve ever read is
in a western city and reads as follows:

167 persons died here last year from gas.

11 inhaled it.

9 put a lighted match to it.

147 stepped on it.

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Full text of "Tic 1958-04: Vol 17 Iss 4"

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