The Dental Cartel Objects to Competition from Dental Therapists, Out of Concern for Public Safety

From Governing.com:

"Try finding a dentist in the remotest rural or deepest urban pockets of the land, and for blatantly economic reasons, they just aren’t there. That’s why states are looking to fix the problem by creating a so-called mid-level dental provider, sometimes referred to as a dental therapist or advanced dental therapist. Much like a nurse practitioner (NP) or physician assistant (PA) is to a doctor, this provider would be educated and licensed to perform basic dental services -- routine checkups, cleanings, filling cavities and extracting teeth -- under the supervision of a fully trained dentist. These providers would be charged with providing care in underserved areas."

MP: Sounds like a great innovative alternative that would make dental care more available, convenient, and affordable, right?  Sure, unless you're a member of the "dental cartel," aka the American Dental Association, and you don't appreciate the possibility of increased competition for your services.  Here's more from the article:

"In much the same way that the American Medical Association fought against the creation of NPs and PAs, the American Dental Association (ADA) and its state chapters are lobbying hard to thwart state legislatures as they work to create this new level of dental care providers, who are common and well liked in other parts of the world."

MP: It's probably not too surprising that the dental cartel's main publicly stated objection to the creation of a new level of dental provider is their concern about the public's "safety."  The cartel's possible loss of business from increased competition hasn't been mentioned, but I think we know better, don't we?

HT: Steve Bartin