I appreciated seeing Dr. Palo’s comments and beliefs regarding my column. Apparently, Dr. Palo missed the emphasis of the column, which I stated in the Summary section: "Dentists are advised to examine their practices to ensure that they are producing quality crown services at fees the public can afford."
There are readily available fee averages for any medical/ dental service. It is obvious that some practitioners in any health area have fees significantly higher than the national average, and that the quality of their services may or may not be directly related to the higher fees. My column challenges the validity of those disproportionate fees, if they are not based on legitimate reasons.
The column has nothing to do with Dr. Palo’s comment about "commodity mentality." It has to do with treating oral disease as a health service, and not as a self-serving, income-producing procedure based on the practitioner’s estimation of himself or herself. Most dental practitioners are honest, altruistic and interested in the welfare of their patients.
