Soon the Brits won’t have anything on us when it comes to smile profiles. And ugly teeth are just the beginning. The root of the problem is a shortage of dentists, which is intensified by a gallop to the money.

Free enterprise and dentistry positively collaborate in various ways – but without a public health (we are in this together) foundation, big holes in the dental care distribution system can open up that hurt real people.

We train fewer dentists because we are letting the “market” decide, which has contributed to the closing of many dental schools. While the market has its efficiencies, it cannot see or feel dental suffering. It only reacts to the money and most often the easiest money. There is no obvious easy money in helping kids and elderly improve their oral and dental health.

This “market” philosophy drops to its knees when children are in pain for weeks and months because dentists have fled for an oasis of plenty. Blaming dentists as money grubbing is a weak scapegoat theory – because few other private marketeers are planting their financial lips where they might get parched.

The reality is that most dental practices are small businesses; while not mom and pop exactly, they work on cash flow like all the others. Plus few of these rural/low-density and low-income areas are getting infusions of private market funds. Why should we expect dentists to sacrifice in these desert locations when most of us have long ago moved from them?

You know what brings a smile to my face? Politicians. Their pungent aroma and exquisite finesse of reality is robustly humorous. The burning tears of unforgiving laughter overflow when I think about how hard they work to do so little. This is not to say most politicians are bad or loathsome - actually… that is what I am saying. It is just hard to tell the truth when I'm talking about those who do it so infrequently.

How does this apply to dentistry? It has to do with one of those "give back a smile" programs. You know the ones where dentists donate their time, facilities and expertise to help kids with no funds to get good dentistry on a regular basis. These are great programs - but politicians should not comment on them or propose empty resolutions to "support" them.