DENTISTS AND THE STATE
SIR,—Whilst the motives which inspire " General Dental Practitioner 'I: do him great credit, as he obviously wishes to do the best type of wor for those who consult him, his letter involves a measure of misrepresenta- tion of the policy of the governing board of the British Dental Associa- tion. This latter, which is, in effect, the policy-making instrument of the Association, consists of delegates from all parts of the country, and it has been their duty, which they have not shirked, to point out the dangers of the present scheme which, in their opinion, remain sufficiently great to prevent them recommending their fellow members to join. It is the avowed policy of the Minister to set up public dental clinics as soon as facilities are available, and having regard to the difficulties of controlling and administering the scheme, in its present form of payment, for items of service, it is inevitable that it will sooner or later be aban.( doned, or so restricted as to make whole-time salaried service the only practicable alternative for those practitioners committed to the present arrangements. The present terms of remuneration for items of service are generous, but no guarantee whatever has been given that these will not be downgraded at any time, and no distinction in terms of financial reward has been made for service by practitioners of special skill and experience. These dangers, as and when they materialise, will press most hardly on the keenest and most conscientious members of the dental profession, amongst which " General Dental Practitioner " can clearly be included, and the present difficulty he has already encountered bears no comparison with the greater dangers that he personally may later
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