Opening Up the Dental Market Is Like Pulling Teeth

The American Dental Association believes it's better for someone with a bad cavity to suffer constant pain or yank his own tooth than it is to run the risk of "uncontrolled bleeding" during a visit to a dental therapist [a new dental specialty infringing upon dentistry's lucrative monopoly]. The other argument against dental therapists is even more blatantly paternalistic:

In the long run, the only way to improve dental health is encourage people to take better care of their teeth, Dr. [Amid] Ismail [an ADA consultant] said.

"I'm not in favor of training just to fill teeth, because a solution of filling teeth is not going to reduce disease," he said. "The patients will go home, and they will drink six cans of soda a day, and they will come back with more cavities."